Senior Electrical Engineer

Murata Manufacturing and Xona Space Systems sign MOU to leverage LEO satellite navigation capabilities. Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. ("Murata") and Xona Space Systems, Inc. ("Xona"), a commercial space company building the next era of global positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) infrastructure, have signed a memorandum of understanding ("MOU") to improve the accuracy and reliability of satellite (PNT) technologies. The companies will explore the potential to provide optimal products and solutions by combining Murata's long-standing expertise in high-frequency and wireless communications, sensors, timing devices, and module design with Xona's advanced LEO-based positioning and timing synchronization technologies. PNT is a foundational technology that plays a critical role in supporting modern society across communications infrastructure, industrial equipment, mobility, consumer IoT, and other sectors. Conventional PNT systems have primarily relied on GNSS1 for positioning and timing synchronization using medium Earth orbit satellites ("MEO")2. However, these systems face challenges such as reduced availability and accuracy in urban environments, and are vulnerable to increased threats from jamming and spoofing. In contrast, LEO satellites orbit closer to Earth, they can deliver stronger signals to the ground, which improves signal reception in city centers and indoor environments. In addition, their higher orbital speed compared with GNSS enables observation data in a shorter period of time, which enhances performance in urban areas viaaccelerated convergence times and reduction in multipath errors. Against this backdrop, technologies that combine satellites in different orbital layers, including LEO, are attracting attention as an approach to complement and strengthen the accuracy and reliability of PNT, with growing interest in their adoption for higher precision and enhanced resilience. Xona offers "Pulsar," a PNT service based on a satellite network composed of a constellation of dedicated LEO satellites with significantly stronger signals than traditional GNSS systems. As a purpose-built modern PNT service, Pulsar aims to achieve centimeter-level positioning accuracy, greater performance in urban areas, and enhanced resilience against jamming and spoofing. Pulsar is also compatible with GNSS, enabling these enhanced capabilities to be integrated with typical GNSS user equipment in a way that complements and improves existing systems. Murata has previously invested in Xona through WONDERSTONE Ventures, Murata's corporate venture capital (CVC) arm, and this initiative represents part of an ongoing collaboration built upon the existing relationship between the two companies. Based on this MOU, the two companies will explore the potential to provide optimal products and solutions by combining Murata's long-standing expertise in high-frequency and wireless communications, sensors, timing devices, and module design with Xona's advanced LEO-based PNT positioning and timing synchronization technologies, with the goal of realizing highly accurate and highly reliable positioning and timing synchronization. Looking ahead, the companies will evaluate potential applications in data centers and financial institutions that require highly accurate timing synchronization to support 5G/6G communications, as well as in off-road industries such as construction and agricultural machinery, where positioning needs are high in environments where GNSS is difficult to use. Through these efforts, the companies aim to enhance performance and create new solutions across various sectors. Murata recognizes the space domain as a new growth area and will continue to contribute to the evolution of social infrastructure and the creation of new value by advancing foundational technologies such as positioning and timing synchronization. 1GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System): A system that enables precise positioning and timing measurements using signals transmitted from satellites in Earth orbit. 2 MEO (Medium Earth Orbit): Artificial satellites orbiting at altitudes of approximately 2,000 to 36,000 km above Earth.

Murata and Xona partner on LEO satellite navigation for industrial applications. Reading Time: 6 mins read Murata Manufacturing has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Xona Space Systems to jointly develop next-generation satellite positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) solutions based on low Earth orbit (LEO) infrastructure. The collaboration targets highly accurate and resilient PNT for demanding industrial, communications, and mobility applications where conventional GNSS often reaches its limits. Strategic collaboration overview. The MOU formalizes cooperation between Murata and Xona to combine Murata's expertise in high-frequency and wireless communications, sensors, timing devices, and module design with Xona's advanced LEO-based PNT technologies. The companies will investigate product and module concepts that can enhance accuracy, robustness, and availability of positioning and timing in real-world deployments across multiple verticals. Murata has already invested in Xona through its corporate venture capital arm, WONDERSTONE Ventures, and this agreement represents a deepening of their existing strategic relationship. The collaboration aligns with Murata's recognition of the space domain as a key growth area and its ambition to contribute to the evolution of social and industrial infrastructure. LEO PNT Versus Conventional GNSS. Traditional PNT systems rely predominantly on global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) operating in medium Earth orbit (MEO), which can suffer from degraded availability and accuracy in urban canyons and indoor environments, and are increasingly exposed to jamming and spoofing threats. By contrast, LEO satellites orbit significantly closer to Earth, enabling much stronger received signal levels that improve reception in dense urban areas and inside buildings. The higher orbital speed of LEO satellites produces faster geometry changes, which allows observation data to be collected over shorter time intervals, improving convergence times and reducing multipath errors. As a result, hybrid concepts that combine GNSS with dedicated LEO PNT services are gaining attention as a pathway to higher accuracy and resilience for critical infrastructure and autonomous systems. Xona's Pulsar LEO PNT Service. Xona Space Systems is building Pulsar, a dedicated LEO satellite constellation designed as a high-performance PNT service with significantly stronger signals than legacy GNSS systems. Pulsar targets centimeter-level positioning accuracy, improved performance in challenging urban environments, and enhanced robustness against jamming and spoofing attacks. The service is designed for compatibility with existing GNSS user equipment, enabling Pulsar signals to be integrated alongside traditional GNSS to upgrade positioning performance without wholesale hardware replacement. This approach supports a smoother transition path for industrial, mobility, and infrastructure customers that seek higher precision and integrity while leveraging installed GNSS-capable devices. Murata's role in high-performance PNT hardware. Murata brings decades of experience in RF front ends, high-frequency components, wireless communications modules, sensors, and precision timing devices to the collaboration. By combining these capabilities with Xona's LEO PNT signals, the companies aim to explore optimized module solutions that deliver high-accuracy positioning and timing synchronization for system integrators and OEMs. The intent is to evaluate module architectures that can simultaneously handle multi-orbit satellite signals, robust timing holdover, and dense integration into compact industrial or communications equipment. Such modules could serve as building blocks for equipment vendors across communications, data center infrastructure, transportation, and automation markets. Target industrial and infrastructure applications. High-Accuracy timing for communications and finance. Murata and Xona plan to study applications in data centers and financial institutions that require highly accurate and resilient timing synchronization. These environments are increasingly sensitive to timing integrity due to high-frequency trading, distributed computing, and emerging 5G/6G network architectures that depend on strict phase and frequency alignment. By leveraging LEO PNT as an additional timing source alongside conventional GNSS, the companies aim to improve timing continuity in degraded GNSS conditions and strengthen resilience against interference and spoofing. This can help operators meet stringent service-level and regulatory requirements for critical timing infrastructure. Positioning in off-road and gnss-challenged environments. Another key focus area will be off-road sectors such as construction and agricultural machinery, where precise positioning is required in environments that can be challenging for conventional GNSS. In these applications, consistent sub-meter or even centimeter-level accuracy directly impacts productivity, safety, and automation capability. The stronger LEO signals and faster geometry of Pulsar can help maintain reliable positioning in obstructed environments, while integrated Murata-based modules can provide compact and robust hardware for OEM integration. This combination aims to support the scaling of advanced driver assistance and autonomous operation in heavy equipment and specialized vehicles. Advancing resilient PNT for modern society. PNT has become a foundational technology for modern society, underpinning communications networks, industrial automation, mobility, and consumer IoT ecosystems. The collaboration between Murata and Xona is positioned to support the transition from single-layer GNSS dependence toward multi-layer, multi-orbit architectures that provide higher integrity and resilience. Murata plans to continue investing in foundational technologies such as positioning and timing synchronization as part of its broader strategy to enable next-generation social infrastructure. By working with Xona and other ecosystem partners, the company aims to help bring robust LEO-based PNT services into mainstream industrial and infrastructure deployments worldwide. Murata in brief. Murata Manufacturing is a global leader in the design, manufacture, and sale of ceramic-based passive electronic components and solutions, communication modules, and power supply modules. The company focuses on advanced electronic materials, high-density multifunctional modules, and maintains manufacturing and R&D facilities around the world. Murata's portfolio spans capacitors, inductors, resistors, filters, sensors, connectivity modules, and power solutions used across automotive, industrial, communications, consumer, and healthcare markets. Its growing activities in space- and PNT-related technologies reflect an expansion into new domains that support the digital transformation of infrastructure and industry.

Xona, building the next era of global positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) infrastructure, today announced $170 million Series C funding.