Senior RF Systems Engineer

The Role 

You will be responsible for the overall successful integration and operation of radiofrequency (RF) electronics across some of the biggest, most powerful, rapidly designed, and rapidly manufactured satellites ever deployed in space. In your first 6 months you will develop, own, test, and integrate new RF and global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), including radios, antennas, and other hardware. You will work with a team of fellow RF, FPGA, software, mechanical, and electrical engineers in order to prototype your RF systems and execute environmental and performance testing to refine your designs. In your first two years you will have flown your RF systems in space and ensured reliable vehicle communications and customer data downlink. Following this, you will qualify your hardware for flight and begin designing even more capable RF systems for future generations of large and powerful spacecraft. 

Responsibilities 

• Oversee all technical and programmatic aspects of the RF avionics that fly on the satellite, including but not limited to telemetry, command, and GNSS radios, antennas, and link budgets from UHF through Ka-band 

• Serve as responsible engineer and owner of RF flight hardware, ground segment configuration management, flight concept of operations (CONOPS), and vehicle first contact 

• Qualify or work with vendors to qualify your designs through environmental testing including vibration, shock, thermal, and thermal vacuum testing 

• Collaborate with internal (mechanical, electrical, and software engineers) and external (vendors) stakeholders to integrate your designs into the spacecraft systems and software 

• Support mission operations, operate your hardware in flight, and coordinate ground segment scheduling 

Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or related science, technology, engineering, or mathematics field 

• 4+ years of experience in microwave / RF engineering 

• Familiarity or experience with RF mission operations, flight software integration, and ground segment configuration management 

• Fundamental RF knowledge including familiarity with crafting RF link budgets and doing antenna placement planning 

• Familiarity with Python or MATLAB 

• Experience with RF test equipment such as vector network analyzers (VNA), spectrum analyzer, etc. 

Nice to Have 

• Experience with flying hardware in space 

• Experience with environmental testing for space electronics such as thermal, vibration, TVAC, radiation, and EMI/EMC testing per standards such as SMC-S-016 

• Experience with RF modeling and analysis software tools such as Ansys Electronics Desktop HFSS, Altair FEKO, Keysight ADS, Cadence AWR Microwave Office 

• Familiar with software defined radio development including data converters (digital to analog and analog to digital converters), clock trees, data converter interfaces, and sampling concepts 

• Familiarity with digital communications systems & theory, including spread spectrum, forward error correction, and modulation types such as BPSK, QAM, etc. 

• Experience writing FCC licensing technical materials and maintaining spectrum rights 

• Ability to research novel solutions for unique large-scale satellite RF systems including but not limited to satellite communications and electronic warfare 

Compensation and Benefits:

• Base salary range for this role is $140,000 - $200,000 + equity in the company

• Salary will be based on several factors including, but not limited to: knowledge and skills, education, and experience level

• Comprehensive benefits package including unlimited paid time off, medical/dental/vision coverage, life insurance, paid parental leave, and many other perks

If you don’t meet 100% of the preferred skills and experience, we encourage you to still apply! Building a spacecraft unlike any other requires a team unlike any other and non-traditional career twists and turns are encouraged! If you need a reasonable accommodation as part of your application for employment or interviews with us, please let us know.

Export Compliance

As defined in the ITAR, “U.S. Persons” include U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents (i.e., Green Card holders), and certain protected individuals (e.g., refugees/asylees, American Samoans). Please consult with a knowledgeable advisor if you are unsure whether you are a “U.S. Person.”

The person hired for this role will have access to information and items controlled by U.S. export control regulations, including the export control regulations outlined in the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR). The person hired for this role must therefore either be a “U.S. person” as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.15 or otherwise eligible for a federally issued export control license.

Equal Opportunity

K2 Space is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with K2 Space 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.