RF Engineering Supervisor

Job Title: RF Engineering Supervisor Job Description
The RF Engineering Supervisor is a senior, hands-on leadership role responsible for guiding an experienced RF engineering team in the specification, design, validation, release, and support of products used in flight test applications. This player-coach position combines technical depth in RF and analog circuit design with strong leadership, organizational, and collaboration skills, ensuring successful product development from requirements definition through production release and sustaining support.
Responsibilities
- Lead and supervise a team of RF design professionals responsible for developing RF circuits operating from 400 MHz through 6 GHz, with power levels ranging from milliwatts up to 50 watts CW and 500 watts pulsed power.
- Provide technical direction and hands-on contribution in the design, simulation, and analysis of analog and RF circuits, including matching networks, gain analysis, active filtering, and performance optimization.
- Oversee the design, simulation, and analysis of DC power supplies and ensure proper integration with RF and analog circuitry.
- Ensure robust understanding and application of performance characteristics for passive and active circuits such as amplifiers, oscillators, mixers, filters, and phase-locked loops (PLLs).
- Support the full design process from creation and refinement of requirements through design verification, validation, and production release.
- Plan, conduct, and participate in design reviews, including preliminary design reviews (PDR) and critical design reviews (CDR), and drive closure of associated actions and follow-ups.
- Use RF test equipment to troubleshoot, debug, and optimize product performance, ensuring reliable operation across specified frequency and power ranges.
- Perform de-rating and reliability analyses to support robust product design and long-term field performance.
- Support in-house and customer-required root cause and corrective action requests, ensuring timely resolution and continuous improvement.
- Provide sustaining engineering support for a diverse RF product portfolio, including updates, enhancements, and issue resolution.
- Collaborate with cross-functional design teams, Operations, Sales, and Program Management to ensure successful new product deployment and ongoing support of customer-centric programs.
- Support customers with RF link margin analysis and related technical assessments for transmitter and receiver architectures.
- Engage with customers from inception of RFQs through the entire product development cycle, providing technical leadership and clear communication.
- Manage team performance to meet identified project budgets and schedules, ensuring alignment with organizational objectives.
- Track, report, and present project performance, technical status, and risk assessments to senior leadership.
- Perform employee assessments, including screening and hiring of prospective candidates, and support ongoing development of team members.
- Demonstrate excellent communication, planning, and leadership skills to foster a collaborative and high-performing engineering environment.
Essential Skills
- Bachelors degree in Electrical, Electronics, or Computer Engineering from an accredited institution, with a minimum of 15 years of relevant experience.
- Masters degree in Electrical Engineering (MSEE) with 15 years of experience preferred.
- At least 2 years of experience in a management or leadership role within an engineering environment.
- Extensive hands-on experience designing RF circuits operating between 400 MHz and 6 GHz, including power levels from milliwatts to 50 watts CW and up to 500 watts pulsed power.
- Strong understanding of small- and large-signal parameters related to matching networks, gain analysis, and active filtering.
- Proficiency in design, simulation, and analysis of analog and RF circuits using tools such as Ansys HFSS, Microwave Office, and PSpice.
- Experience in the design, simulation, and analysis of DC power supplies.
- Solid knowledge of passive and active circuit performance, including amplifiers, oscillators, mixers, filters, and PLLs.
- Ability to use a variety of RF test equipment for troubleshooting, debugging, and product optimization.
- Experience performing de-rating and reliability analyses for RF and electronic systems.
- Familiarity with RF waveforms such as PCMFM, SOQPSK, BPSK, and QPSK.
- Experience with schematic capture and PCB layout tools for RF and mixed-signal designs.
- Understanding of transmitter and receiver architecture designs and associated RF link analysis.
- Demonstrated ability to work independently and to coordinate cross-functional design teams for successful product development.
- Proven ability to manage projects to meet defined budgets and schedules and report performance to leadership.
- Excellent communication, planning, organizational, and leadership skills.
Additional Skills & Qualifications
- Masters degree in Electrical Engineering (MSEE) is preferred.
- Experience with logic design utilizing Xilinx, Microsemi, and Intel FPGAs is desired.
- Experience designing and implementing digital filters using MATLAB/Simulink is preferred.
- Experience supporting Operations for new product deployment and sustaining activities.
- Experience supporting Sales and Program Management on customer-focused programs.
- Experience supporting customers with RF link margin analysis and system-level trade studies.
- Experience with transmitter and receiver architecture design and optimization.
- Experience conducting and participating in formal design reviews, including PDR and CDR.
- Experience performing employee assessments, including screening and hiring of engineering candidates.
- Six Sigma Black Belt certification is preferred.
- Strong analytical problem-solving and troubleshooting abilities in complex RF systems.
- Ability to serve as a player-coach, balancing hands-on technical work with team leadership and mentoring.
Work Environment
This role is based in a dedicated test and technology center environment focused on RF products for flight test applications. You will work closely with a team of experienced RF engineers and cross-functional partners in Operations, Sales, and Program Management. The environment involves regular use of RF test equipment, simulation tools such as Ansys HFSS, Microwave Office, PSpice, and design tools for schematic capture and PCB layout. Work typically follows standard business hours, with flexibility as needed to meet project milestones, conduct design reviews, and support customer engagements throughout the product development cycle. The setting emphasizes collaboration, technical excellence, and continuous improvement, with a culture that values clear communication, strong leadership, and high-quality engineering solutions.
Job Type & Location
This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Newtown, PA.
Pay and Benefits
The pay range for this position is $90.00 - $92.00/hr. Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors. Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job
classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be
subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits
available for this temporary role may include the following:

Medical, dental & vision
Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital
401(k) Retirement Plan Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available
Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents)
Short and long-term disability
Health Spending Account (HSA)
Transportation benefits
Employee Assistance Program
Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)
Job Type & Location
This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Newtown, PA.
Application Deadline
This position is anticipated to close on Nov 25, 2026.
Workplace Type
This is a hybrid position in Newtown,PA. About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without
regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability,
sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected
by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or
adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability,
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San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance:
Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the
city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants
with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector:
It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a
condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law
shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI):
We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process,
including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications
and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you
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