Senior RF Front-End Design Engineer Satellite User Terminal

As a Senior Antenna Design Engineer, you will own the end-to-end design, simulation, and validation of advanced antenna systems for E-Space’s LEO satellite constellation and ground infrastructure. You are expected to independently design antennas using full-wave electromagnetic simulation tools, with HFSS as a primary design environment, and drive designs from concept through hardware validation.
 
On-site in California or Texas. Some travel between sites may be required.

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.

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.

Additional Requirements

This is a fast-paced, high-impact environment - flexibility to occasionally work extended hours or weekends during critical periods is expected.

Why E-Space is right for you:

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.

We want you to make the most of your journey at E-Space. That’s why we support and invest in the physical, emotional and financial well-being of our team members and their families. Some of what you can expect when working at E-Space:

• 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
• Optional legal services (US only)
• Paid holidays
• Paid time off

This is a full time, exempt position, based out of our Arlington, TX facility.  The target base pay for this position is $160,000 - $195,000 annually.  The total compensation packaged will be determined by various factors such as your relevant job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. 
 
We are redefining how satellites are designed, manufactured and used—so we’re looking for candidates with passion, deep knowledge and direct experience on LEO satellite component development, design and in-orbit activities. If that’s your experience – then we’ll be immediately wow-ed.
 
E-Space is not currently able to provide employment sponsorship for candidates who do not hold work authorization for the location of this role.