Senior RF Antenna Engineer

Updated on 9/20/2023

51-200 employees

Website

Artificial gravity space station company

Locations

Long Beach, CA, USA

Experience Level

Entry

Junior

Mid

Senior

Expert

Desired Skills

Agile

Altium

MATLAB

OrCAD

CategoriesNew

Electrical Engineering

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree in electrical engineering or other engineering discipline
4+ years of experience with RF design, analysis, and/or unit level testing (significant academic projects, internships, and traditional professional experience all qualify)
Experience with the design and integration of RF Antenna systems consisting of radio transmitters, antennas, receivers, LNAs, PAs, couplers, filters, etc
Experience with simulation tools such as SPICE, ADS, CST, HFSS
Experience with RF test equipment such as Spectrum Analyzers, VNAs, Power Meters, Cable Analyzers, SDRs
Experience with electrical schematic capture software (Altium, Orcad)
Experience mentoring engineers in engineering best-practices and RF technical principles
Comfortable communicating deeply technical topics to a wide variety of audiences
Master's Degree in electrical engineering or similar
Ability to creatively solve problems and weigh against multi-disciplinary requirements together while assessing risk and making design and development decisions
Strong sense of accountability and integrity with excellent written and verbal communication skills
Proficiency in working with GNU Radio and software-defined radios (SDRs)
Knowledge of space radiation effects on RF electronics and antennas
Prior experience with vehicle electrical bonding requirements
Strong grasp of electronics and RF theory, and hands-on experience with electronics hardware, including both analog and digital
Ability to thrive at an early-stage startup where you will have the opportunity to help create and optimize key systems and processes
Familiarity with antenna measurement techniques and tools such as anechoic/reverb chambers, near field EM measurements
Experience with software programming: Matlab, LabVIEW, Python, C/C++, JS, etc
Experience with full-lifecycle product development
Experience with designing electronics for spaceflight environment, verifying workmanship and operability through environmental test (random vibration, shock, thermal, burn-in, and TVAC)
Knowledge of RF demodulation, decommutation, FEC and CRC decoding, IRIG or CCSDS decoding techniques, Best-Source Selecting, for use in RF receiving front-end systems
Analyze in-the-field operational RF performance data of RF antenna products and investigate methods to improve performance and debug issues

Responsibilities

Develop RF Antenna telemetry and tracking systems for the next generation of crewed space stations, including hardware, software and operations for space station tracking, mission data, payload data, and communications with visiting vehicles
Design and test RF antenna hardware in VHF through Ka-band - from concept to production
Perform architecture trade studies, requirements definition, component design, and manage development for various radios and/or laser systems (S-band, X-band, K-Band, infrared/optical, TDRS, C2V2, etc.)
Design, model and EM simulation of complex RF hardware (antenna, filters, passives)
Fabricate and characterize prototypes of antennas, passives, and RF front ends
Design of advanced antenna and feed systems for on-orbit spacecraft and ground systems
Full life-cycle ownership for related systems, including development, testing, integration, operations and maintenance for related hardware (interfaces, modems, radios, antennas, etc.)
Provide technical direction relating to RF systems and set top-level requirements to hardware agile development teams, integration, and test personnel
Partner with manufacturing/integration engineers to develop work instructions and installation procedures for integrating and testing RF hardware

Vast was founded to expand humanity’s frontier into the solar system and beyond. We believe that the next step on that journey is enabling manufacturing and habitation in LEO. We are building artificial gravity space stations to make this a reality. If you want to join a team that builds amazing things with the most talented people on Earth, please reach out.

Vast is looking for a Senior RF Antenna Engineer, reporting to the Staff RF Engineer, to develop and execute creative testing solutions for our complex RF and Antenna systems for our human-rated artificial gravity space stations.This will be a full-time, exempt position located in our Long Beach location.

As a Senior RF Antenna Engineer, you will architect complex RF systems and develop RF and Antenna components. Your work will involve developing communication systems for the Station to Ground and Station to Visiting Spacecraft. Your input will be vital in designing and developing new and existing RF hardware to support the mission.

Responsibilities:

Develop RF Antenna telemetry and tracking systems for the next generation of crewed space stations, including hardware, software and operations for space station tracking, mission data, payload data, and communications with visiting vehicles.
Design and test RF antenna hardware in VHF through Ka-band - from concept to production.
Perform architecture trade studies, requirements definition, component design, and manage development for various radios and/or laser systems (S-band, X-band, K-Band, infrared/optical, TDRS, C2V2, etc.)
Design, model and EM simulation of complex RF hardware (antenna, filters, passives)
Fabricate and characterize prototypes of antennas, passives, and RF front ends.
Design of advanced antenna and feed systems for on-orbit spacecraft and ground systems.
Full life-cycle ownership for related systems, including development, testing, integration, operations and maintenance for related hardware (interfaces, modems, radios, antennas, etc.)
Provide technical direction relating to RF systems and set top-level requirements to hardware agile development teams, integration, and test personnel.
Partner with manufacturing/integration engineers to develop work instructions and installation procedures for integrating and testing RF hardware.

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor’s Degree in electrical engineering or other engineering discipline.
4+ years of experience with RF design, analysis, and/or unit level testing (significant academic projects, internships, and traditional professional experience all qualify).
Experience with the design and integration of RF Antenna systems consisting of radio transmitters, antennas, receivers, LNAs, PAs, couplers, filters, etc.

Preferred Skills & Experience:

Experience with simulation tools such as SPICE, ADS, CST, HFSS.
Experience with RF test equipment such as Spectrum Analyzers, VNAs, Power Meters, Cable Analyzers, SDRs.
Experience with electrical schematic capture software (Altium, Orcad).
Experience mentoring engineers in engineering best-practices and RF technical principles.
Comfortable communicating deeply technical topics to a wide variety of audiences.
Master’s Degree in electrical engineering or similar.
Ability to creatively solve problems and weigh against multi-disciplinary requirements together while assessing risk and making design and development decisions.
Strong sense of accountability and integrity with excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Proficiency in working with GNU Radio and software-defined radios (SDRs).
Knowledge of space radiation effects on RF electronics and antennas.
Prior experience with vehicle electrical bonding requirements.
Strong grasp of electronics and RF theory, and hands-on experience with electronics hardware, including both analog and digital.
Ability to thrive at an early-stage startup where you will have the opportunity to help create and optimize key systems and processes.
Familiarity with antenna measurement techniques and tools such as anechoic/reverb chambers, near field EM measurements.
Experience with software programming: Matlab, LabVIEW, Python, C/C++, JS, etc.
Experience with full-lifecycle product development.
Experience with designing electronics for spaceflight environment, verifying workmanship and operability through environmental test (random vibration, shock, thermal, burn-in, and TVAC).
Knowledge of RF demodulation, decommutation, FEC and CRC decoding, IRIG or CCSDS decoding techniques, Best-Source Selecting, for use in RF receiving front-end systems.
Analyze in-the-field operational RF performance data of RF antenna products and investigate methods to improve performance and debug issues.

Pay Range:

Senior RF Antenna Engineer Level III: $135,000-$170,000
Staff RF Antenna Engineer Level IV: $160,000-$200,000

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Base salary will vary depending on job-related knowledge, education, skills, experience, business needs, and market demand. Salary is just one component of our comprehensive compensation package. Full-time employees also receive company equity, as well as access to a full suite of compelling benefits and perks, including: 100% medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents, flexible paid time off for exempt staff and up to 15 days of vacation for non-exempt staff, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, free catered meals and snacks and beverages, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, One Medical membership, ClassPass credits, personalized mental healthcare through Spring Health, and other discounts and perks.

U.S. EXPORT CONTROL COMPLIANCE STATUS

The person hired will have access to information and items subject to U.S. export controls, and therefore, must either be a “U.S. person” as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.62 or otherwise eligible for deemed export licensing. This status includes U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, lawful permanent residents (green card holders), and asylees and refugees with such status granted, not pending.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

Vast is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Vast is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.