RF SYSTEM ENGINEER

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Design and development of RF Systems for spacecraft, launch vehicles, and ground stations.
• Development of link budgets for spacecraft TT&C, proximity links and re-radiation systems.
• Write or update acceptance and qualification test procedures for radio related space qualified avionics components.
• Debug and characterize RF components and subsystems used for spacecraft communications in L-band, S-band and Ku-band.
• Development of automated test equipment and procedures to allow production testing of RF avionics components and subsystems.
• Assist in bring up, integration and troubleshooting of communication systems. Work closely with system integration and flight software teams during hardware in the loop testing.
• Supporting RF system bring up and verification at launch sites. 

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in an engineering discipline with emphasis in electromagnetic theory or RF communication system. 
• Must have at least 3 years of professional experience in RF System engineering.
• Must have experience with RF impairments analysis and link budget analysis.
• Experience with Radio related test equipment such as spectrum analyzers and Network analyzers.
• Must be able to navigate the smith chart and experience with transmission line theory, impedance matching, filter theory and S-parameters.
• Must have experience with RF passive components such as Hybrid couplers, Wilkinson dividers, waveguide, circulators, directional couplers, and antennas.
• Experience with digital communication theory with emphasis on Bit Error Rate, EVM and System Noise Figure calculation. 

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Experience in design of space communication systems and familiarity with space qualified RF electronic design.
• Previous experience with RF Design tools such ADS, AWR Microwave Office.
• Matlab, Python and/or LabVIEW programming experience.
• Familiarity with electromagnetic propagation and antenna systems.
• Familiarity with MIL-STD-461F, SMC-S-016, and NTIA standards.
• Experience characterizing radio performance in C-Band, X-Band and Ka-Band frequencies.
• Experience performing interference analysis and EMI/EMC evaluation for RF systems.
• Knowledge of digital communication systems, spread spectrum, and modulation types such as FSK, BPSK, QPSK, QAM, and PCM/FM.
• Excellent communication skills, documentation skills and proven track record of being a team player.