Sr. RF Engineer, 5G Tactical Communications

Assured Space Access, Inc; Irvine (CA); On-site; USD 155,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical coverage

401(k) with company matching

Relocation assistance

Hands-on ownership of real scope

Job summary

Assured Space Access Technologies, Inc. in Irvine, CA seeks a Sr. RF Engineer for the 5G Products team. You will own RF hardware inside the tactical base station, from architecture through conformance testing, with hands-on design and collaboration across engineering disciplines.

The role requires 8+ years of RF experience, LTE/5G NR knowledge, and the ability to obtain a U.S. Secret clearance. On-site work in Irvine, CA is required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or related field.
• 8+ years RF hardware design for cellular/wireless or tactical gear.
• Hands-on design of transmit/receive chains including PAs and LNAs.
• Knowledge of LTE/5G NR RF requirements and conformance testing.
• Proficient with RF test equipment and network analyzers.
• Experience with RF simulation tools (ADS, AWR).
• Ability to obtain and maintain U.S. Secret clearance (citizenship).
• On-site work in Irvine, CA.

Responsibilities

• Own RF architecture, budgets, frequency plan, gain, noise figure, and isolation.
• Design and select PA, LNAs, front ends, switches, and filters; guide filter specs.
• Simulate circuits and provide RF schematic/layout guidance.
• Bring up RF hardware, measure power, EVM, ACLR, and spurious emissions.
• Plan conformance tests and support production testing and failure analysis.
• Evaluate RF hardware for new bands and variants; support field deployments.

Skills

RF hardware design

8+ years experience

Transmit/receive chains

LTE & 5G NR knowledge

RF simulation tools

Test & conformance

Measurement instruments

Security clearance readiness

Education

Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering

Master’s in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Keysight ADS

Cadence AWR

Power meters

Job description

Assured Space Access Technologies, Inc. is a defense and engineering firm delivering phased array, radar, RF payload, and secure communications solutions to government and prime contractor customers. We are headquartered in Irvine, California. This role joins the 5G Products team, which builds CyberBase, a tactical secure 5G base station developed for defense customers and now also offered to commercial customers.

Team

5G Products, RF Engineering

Location

Irvine, CA (on-site)

Employment Type

Full-Time, Exempt

Base Salary Range

$155,000 – $200,000

Clearance

This position requires the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Secret clearance, which requires U.S. citizenship. An active clearance is preferred.

Position Summary

As the Sr. RF Engineer for 5G Products, you will own the radio frequency hardware inside our tactical base station: transmit and receive chains, power amplifiers, low-noise front ends, filtering, and antenna interfaces, and the RF performance the system has to deliver in the field. You will carry RF designs from architecture and link budgets through schematic, layout, bring-up, conformance and qualification testing, and production. The team is small, so the role is hands‑on. You will work with the Product Chief Engineer, the filter specialist, antenna engineers, the DC power and embedded engineer, software engineers, the mechanical lead, and the test technician, and you will support demonstrations and field deployments with the applications engineers. This is a senior individual contributor seat.

Key Responsibilities

RF Architecture and Design

• Own the RF architecture and budgets for the base station: frequency plan, gain, noise figure, linearity, output power, efficiency, and isolation across supported bands and configurations.
• Design and select transmit and receive chain components, including power amplifiers, LNAs, transceiver front ends, switches, and filters, and set filter requirements with the filter specialist.
• Simulate circuits and chains (Keysight ADS, Cadence AWR, or equivalent) and provide RF schematic and layout guidance.

Bring-Up, Test, and Compliance

• Bring up and characterize RF hardware in the lab: output power, EVM, ACLR, spurious emissions, sensitivity, and blocking.
• Plan and support 3GPP conformance, spectrum regulatory, EMI/EMC, and environmental testing, and resolve failures.
• Write RF test procedures with the test technician and support production test and failure analysis.

Product and Field Support

• Evaluate RF hardware for new bands, power levels, and commercial variants, and work with suppliers on component selection and availability.
• Support field demonstrations and deployments, interference and coexistence analysis, and customer RF issues.
• Present designs in design reviews and maintain RF designs and analyses under configuration control.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or a closely related field.
• 8+ years of RF hardware design for cellular, wireless, or tactical communications equipment.
• Hands‑on design and characterization of transmit and receive chains, including power amplifiers, LNAs, and filters.
• Working knowledge of LTE and 5G NR RF requirements (EVM, ACLR, spurious emissions, sensitivity) and conformance testing.
• Proficiency with signal analyzers, signal generators, network analyzers, and power meters.
• Experience with RF simulation tools (Keysight ADS, Cadence AWR, or equivalent).
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Secret clearance, which requires U.S. citizenship.
• Ability to work on site in Irvine, CA.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering.
• Experience with ruggedized or military radio, base station, or SATCOM hardware.
• Experience with power amplifier linearization (DPD) and thermal design of high‑power RF.
• Experience with O-RAN radio units or private or tactical 5G deployments.
• Experience taking RF hardware through MIL-STD-461 and MIL-STD-810 qualification and into production.
• Active Secret clearance.

What we offer

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage; 401(k) with company matching; and paid time off.
• Professional development support, including training and certifications relevant to your field.
• Relocation assistance considered case by case.
• Hands‑on ownership of real scope in a growing defense technology company.

Equal Opportunity

Assured Space Access Technologies, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

Compensation Range: $155K - $200K