Senior Space Radar RF Engineer II

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

Job summary

Rocket Lab is seeking a Senior RF Engineer II – Radar to lead system development of space-based radar applications at our Long Beach headquarters. You will drive architecture, testing, and calibration, interfacing with spacecraft subsystems and multidisciplinary teams to deliver mission-ready radar payloads.

The role requires a strong radar/RF background, experience with space platforms, and U.S. citizenship with the ability to obtain a DoD TS/SCI clearance.

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.
• Strong understanding of orbital mechanics and spacecraft systems.
• Working knowledge of spacecraft subsystems including power, thermal, ADCS, and their impact on radar payload design.
• Strong radar system knowledge including waveform design, pulse compression, and Doppler processing.
• RF systems knowledge including link budgets, linearity, and noise analysis.
• Experience delivering radar/RF systems from requirements through testing for space applications.
• Proficiency with radar simulation tools and orbital analysis software.
• Experience with radar testing including range measurements and RF performance characterization.
• U.S. citizenship is required due to program requirements.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a DoD TS/SCI clearance.

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.
• Analyze mission requirements including orbit selection, ground track patterns, and revisit characteristics.
• Develop and execute radar calibration strategies and image quality validation methods for spaceborne systems.
• Support the development of radar test plans, procedures, and automated test systems.
• Lead the design and development of radar GSE including calibration sources and test fixtures.
• Support spacecraft integration activities and interface with bus subsystem teams (power, thermal, ADCS, data handling).
• Support the development of product documentation including ICDs, test reports, and User Manuals.
• Design and analyze radar waveforms for various space-based imaging and detection applications.
• Perform radar system modeling and simulation using MATLAB, STK, or custom codes including orbital propagation.
• Assess and integrate COTS RF components for space-qualified radar transmit/receive chains.
• Support hands-on radar testing including EIRP measurements, receiver sensitivity, etc.
• Interface with multidisciplinary teams including RF, digital, mechanical, thermal, structural, and software engineers.

Skills

Space-based radar

RF systems design

orbital mechanics

waveform design

RF testing

MATLAB

STK

DoD TS/SCI clearance

U.S. citizenship

Education

Bachelor's degree in electrical or aerospace engineering

Tools

MATLAB

STK

Job description

Rocket Lab is seeking a Senior RF Engineer II – Radar to lead system development of space-based radar applications at our Long Beach headquarters. You will drive architecture, testing, and calibration, interfacing with spacecraft subsystems and multidisciplinary teams to deliver mission-ready radar payloads.

The role requires a strong radar/RF background, experience with space platforms, and U.S. citizenship with the ability to obtain a DoD TS/SCI clearance.