Comms Avionics Lead Engineer

The Comms Avionics Lead Engineer will lead the development and test of RF hardware for E-Space satellite communications equipment. The ideal candidate has 15+ years of experience in RF electrical design including 5+ years in RF communications system design.

This position will report to the Director of Electrical Engineering and will work closely with various engineering teams. The successful candidate will be based in our Saratoga, CA office.

What you’ll be doing:

• Own the satellite Comms subsystem electronics implementation from requirements to flight spanning RF, mixed signal electronics, and firmware interface domains.
• Develop Comms electronics subsystem requirements, block diagrams, analyses, and flow down requirements to unit levels in collaboration with other engineering disciplines.
• Guide the implementation of Comms unit level electronics, antennas, and interconnect according to subsystem and satellite requirements and con-ops.
• Lead the Comms subsystem hardware integration testing and qualification.
• Perform system level trade studies, simulations, and analyses for signal characterization, performance metrics, SWaP, etc.
• Lead design reviews for multi-disciplinary audiences.
• Support flight operations and end-to-end OTA comms testing.

What you bring to this role:

• Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or equivalent.
• 5+ years in RF over-the-air Comms system design including link budget engineering.
• 15+ years of experience in RF electrical circuit design, analysis, simulation, PCB implementation and testing.
• Proficiency with antenna design.
• Design proficiency with LNAs, PAs, filtering, mixers, signal modulation, etc.
• Proficiency with schematic capture and PCB layout.
• Proficiency performing circuit and signal analysis in HFSS, ADS, and SPICE
• Proficiency with digital processing systems including FPGAs, SoCs, memory, and high-speed comms interfaces.
• Proficiency with electronic lab equipment such as VNAs, spectrum analyzers, oscilloscopes, power supplies, soldering iron, etc.
• Demonstrated success working in a dynamic environment.

Bonus points for the following:

• Master’s degree in electrical engineering, Computer Engineering, or equivalent.
• Experience designing for space environments including radiation impacts and mitigation.
• Familiarity with Altium Designer
• FPGA design skills.
• Scripting skills in Python, Tcl, etc

Additional Requirements

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