Senior RF Front-End Design Engineer Satellite User Terminal

What you will do:

• Own RF front-end designs from system requirements and architecture through schematic capture, PCB layout, prototype bring-up, verification, and production release.
• Develop transmit and receive chains using power amplifiers, low-noise amplifiers, filters, duplexers, diplexers, switches, couplers, attenuators, mixers, synthesizers, transceivers, and frequency-conversion devices.
• Translate link-budget requirements into RF specifications for output power, sensitivity, noise figure, gain, linearity, dynamic range, bandwidth, EVM, adjacent-channel performance, phase noise, spurious emissions, and efficiency.
• Perform cascaded RF analyses covering gain, noise figure, sensitivity, P1dB, IP3, dynamic range, compression, EVM, phase noise, spurious performance, and link margin.
• Design device-level RF circuits, impedance-matching networks, bias networks, stability networks, power detectors, and protection circuits.
• Select RF components based on electrical performance, power consumption, thermal behavior, size, availability, cost, manufacturability, and reliability.
• Simulate RF circuits using Keysight ADS, Cadence AWR, or equivalent circuit and electromagnetic simulation tools.
• Define and review RF PCB stackups, controlled-impedance transmission lines, grounding, shielding, component placement, isolation, and critical RF routing.
• Develop architectures supporting TDD, FDD, or simultaneous transmit and receive, as required.
• Analyze transmitter leakage, receiver desensitization, harmonics, intermodulation, oscillator leakage, switching noise, and digital interference.
• Integrate the RF front end with the antenna, modem, baseband processor, ADC/DAC, firmware, power system, enclosure, and thermal solution.
• Plan and perform RF measurements using VNAs, spectrum analyzers, signal generators, power meters, noise-figure analyzers, oscilloscopes, and communication signal analyzers.
• Measure and optimize gain, noise figure, sensitivity, output power, EVM, ACPR or ACLR, harmonics, spurious emissions, stability, and efficiency.
• Correlate simulations with measured results, identify root causes of discrepancies, and drive corrective actions.
• Support environmental testing for user-terminal conditions, including temperature cycling, vibration, shock, humidity, and outdoor operation.
• Develop production calibration, test limits, automated test methods, and manufacturing verification strategies.
• Document requirements, analyses, schematics, design decisions, test procedures, results, and technical risks.
• Mentor engineers and technicians and help establish repeatable RF design and validation practices.

Required qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or a related field.
• Typically 7 or more years of hands-on RF or microwave hardware design experience.
• Demonstrated experience designing RF front-end hardware from requirements through production release.
• Strong understanding of transmit and receive architectures, impedance matching, gain, noise figure, linearity, stability, dynamic range, and RF filtering.
• Hands-on experience with RF circuit simulation tools such as Keysight ADS, Cadence AWR, or equivalent.
• Experience with schematic capture, RF PCB layout review, prototype bring-up, debugging, and characterization.
• Experience designing with PAs, LNAs, filters, switches, mixers, synthesizers, transceivers, or related RF components.
• Hands-on experience using VNAs, spectrum analyzers, signal generators, power meters, and other RF laboratory equipment.
• Ability to correlate simulated and measured results and resolve RF performance problems systematically.
• Strong technical communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Strong knowledge and understanding of satellite communication systems, with the ability to derive detailed technical requirements from high-level objectives and system direction.
• This is a fast-paced, high-impact environment - flexibility to occasionally work extended hours or weekends during critical periods is expected.
• Additional information
• As a member of our team, you will play a crucial role in driving our success. Our team members have a strong sense of dedication and responsibility; this includes a strong commitment to our mission to create an entirely new suite of global capabilities to improve lives, business efficiencies and build a smarter planet. This means that there will be times when extra hours, including nights and weekends, may be needed to meet critical deadlines and mission goals. In return, we offer a dynamic work environment with opportunities for professional growth and development and the chance to make a meaningful impact in a high-growth industry.
• An opportunity to really make a difference
• Sustainability at our core
• Fair and honest workplace
• Innovative thinking is encouraged
• Competitive salaries
• Continuous learning and development
• Health and wellness care options
• Financial solutions for the future
• Paid holidays
• Paid time off

Preferred qualifications:

• Experience with satellite communication terminals, cellular devices, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GNSS, IoT radios, or other wireless products.
• Experience with modem-to-antenna RF architectures and complete wireless signal chains.
• Experience optimizing PA performance for output power, efficiency, EVM, linearity, and adjacent-channel emissions.
• Experience optimizing receiver sensitivity while managing filter loss, LNA gain, interference, and ADC dynamic range.
• Familiarity with TDD/FDD isolation, receiver desensitization, coexistence, self-interference, and transmitter-noise requirements.
• Experience with RF shielding, EMI/EMC, grounding, power-supply noise, and digital-interface interference.
• Experience developing production calibration and automated RF test methods.
• Familiarity with outdoor-terminal regulatory, environmental, reliability, and manufacturability requirements.
• Experience supporting medium- or high-volume production.
• Phased-array antenna/RFFE experience is beneficial.
• Optional legal services (US only)

Additional information