RF Systems EngineerDepartment: Avionics
Employment Type: Full Time
Location: Redondo Beach
Reporting To: Jake Messner, Director, RF & EMC
Compensation: $115,000 - $140,000 / year
DescriptionAs an RF Systems Engineer, your core responsibility will be to own top-level RF system architecture for all radio communications, ranging, and positioning systems at Impulse. You will define the roadmap for future radio programs, drive cross-team alignment, and maintain documentation of link budgets and mission-specific hardware. You will work with RF engineers, Avionics engineers, mechanical engineers, and others to meet communication system needs across a wide range of capabilities and missions. You'll work with uplink and downlink radios up to 32GHz, GNSS receivers, ranging radios, desense, coexistence, and antennas.
Responsibilities- Coordinate RF system development to ensure alignment across mechanical, thermal, electrical RF, software, manufacturing, and supply chain
- Lead system-level trades involving transmitters, receivers, antennas, RF mechanical, power, thermal, reliability, and manufacturing
- Provide updates to engineering leadership on progress, risks, trade studies, and development timelines
- Own the technical roadmap, including technical progress and timelines, for Impulse's future RF systems
- Work with business development to translate customer and mission needs into RF system requirements, architectures, and interfaces
- Maintain organization of RF system components, interfaces, and link budgets across Impulse's portfolio of customers and missions
- Interface with avionics engineers to define digital and power interfaces for RF devices
- Work with regulatory team to develop compliant RF systems and license Impulse's designs
Minimum Qualifications- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering or related technical field
- 2+ years professional experience with direct ownership of RF communication components or systems
- Experience in development of RF link budgets including antenna patterns, atmospheric modeling, link availability, and RF transmitter and receiver characteristics
- Demonstrated ability in system architecture design for a high-reliability application
- Proficiency in common RF lab equipment such as spectrum analyzers and VNAs
- Familiarity with EM concepts of RF transmitters, RF receivers, antennas, and transmission lines
- Experience designing for and proving compliance with spectral emissions masks or similar regulatory requirements
Preferred Skills and Experience- Familiarity with RF modeling tools such as HFSS, ADS, CST, or STK
- 2+ years of experience writing automation scripts for RF hardware test
- Proven experience working in aerospace communication links
- Experience working with high-performance GNSS receivers and GNSS simulators
- Experience with common RF protocols like SRS4, DVB-S2, and CCSDS
- Prior architectural design of L-Band, S-Band, X-Band, or Ka-Band hardware
- Familiarity with space environmental effects such as radiation, surface charging, plasma, multipaction, etc
- Familiarity with satellite spectrum licensing laws, agencies, and standards
- RF hardware debugging skills
Additional Information:Compensation bands are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual level and base pay is determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on job-related skills, education, experience, technical capabilities and internal equity. In addition to base salary, for full-time hires, you may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the
form of stock options, and access to
medical, vision & dental coverage as well as
access to a 401(k) retirement plan.
