Senior Space Radar RF Engineer

Rocket Lab Corporation; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 142,000 - 270,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock equity

Employee stock purchase program

comprehensive benefits

Paid vacation & holidays

401(k) with company match

Onsite fitness centers

EV charging subsidy

Snacks and beverages

Merch discount

Job summary

Rocket Lab is seeking a Senior RF Engineer II – Radar to lead development of space-based radar systems at our Long Beach, CA headquarters. You will drive radar architecture, integrate RF components, and support calibration and testing for space platforms.

The ideal candidate has extensive hands-on experience with space-based radar, waveform design, and mission operations, with strong orbital mechanics knowledge. The role offers generous compensation and a full benefits package.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, or related field.
• 8+ years of relevant experience.
• Hands-on experience with space-based radar systems including system integration and mission operations.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical development of space-based radar systems including architecture design, prototyping, integration, test, and flight development.
• Define and maintain radar performance requirements and link budget specifications accounting for orbital parameters.
• Conduct radar payload design trades including antenna selection, waveform optimization, and processing architectures for space platforms.
• Drive key technical decisions for radar modes, timing, PRF selection, and RF chain design considering orbit dynamics.
• Complete radar analyses including range/Doppler resolution, SNR, ambiguity analysis, interference assessment, and orbital effects on performance.
• Develop and execute radar calibration strategies and image quality validation methods for spaceborne systems.
• Support spacecraft integration activities and interface with bus subsystem teams (power, thermal, ADCS, data handling).

Skills

Space radar systems

RF systems

Waveform design

Doppler processing

Orbital mechanics

Link budgets

System integration

Radar testing

Education

Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering

Tools

MATLAB

STK

Job description

Rocket Lab is seeking a Senior RF Engineer II – Radar to lead development of space-based radar systems at our Long Beach, CA headquarters. You will drive radar architecture, integrate RF components, and support calibration and testing for space platforms.

The ideal candidate has extensive hands-on experience with space-based radar, waveform design, and mission operations, with strong orbital mechanics knowledge. The role offers generous compensation and a full benefits package.