{"id":1206003,"url":"https://alion.io/job/shield-ai-rf-engineer-ii-r6053","title":"RF Engineer II (R6053)","company":{"id":50,"name":"Shield AI","domain":"shield.ai","url":"https://alion.io/company/shield-ai","size_band":"1001-5000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Lever","truth_index":{"grade":"B","score":75,"open_postings":54,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0.815,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":76,"computed_at":"2026-10-13T05:45:00Z"}},"role":"Hardware","role_family":"Hardware","seniority":"middle","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Seattle, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":110000,"max":170000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":170000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":2,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"Keysight ADS","optional":false},{"name":"Altium Designer","optional":true},{"name":"MATLAB","optional":true},{"name":"Python","optional":true}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-09-24T21:17:59Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-09-24","last_verified_at":"2026-10-13T22:15:40Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":19,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":1,"flags":[],"days_open":19},"description":"Job Description:\nShield AI develops intelligent autonomous systems that protect service members and civilians. The X-BAT Engineering team is building a next-generation autonomous aircraft for demanding and contested environments.\nWe are seeking an RF and Microwave Hardware Design Engineer to design and deliver compact, high-performance RF modules for airborne and ground systems. You will design and mature active and passive RF circuits, PCB assemblies, packaging interfaces, laboratory verification, and transition to production. The center of gravity of this position is hands-on module design rather than top-level communications architecture, waveform development, or link-budget ownership.\nThis position may be filled at the Engineer II (L2) or Senior Engineer (L3) level. The selected level will reflect the candidate's demonstrated technical depth, independence, scope, and impact.\nWhat you'll do:\nDesign RF and microwave modules from requirements and architecture through schematic capture, component selection, layout, bring-up, verification, qualification, and production release, with scope and independence appropriate to level.\nDesign active and passive RF circuits such as low-noise amplifiers, power amplifiers, filters and multiplexers, RF switches, limiters, couplers, attenuators, power detectors, and frequency-conversion stages.\nDevelop RF front-end assemblies that meet gain, noise figure, output power, linearity, compression, efficiency, harmonic and spurious-emission, stability, isolation, and out-of-band rejection requirements.\nPerform circuit and electromagnetic analysis using tools such as Keysight ADS, Cadence AWR, HFSS, or CST, and correlate models with measured hardware performance.\nCreate and review RF and mixed-signal PCB designs, including controlled-impedance routing, grounding, shielding, stack-up definition, power distribution, and placement of sensitive or high-power components.\nPlan and execute laboratory characterization using network analyzers, spectrum analyzers, signal generators, noise-figure analyzers, power meters, oscilloscopes, and automated test equipment.\nDiagnose difficult hardware issues involving instability, oscillation, intermodulation, self-interference, desense, thermal drift, mismatch, leakage, and electromagnetic coupling.\nWork closely with mechanical, thermal, avionics, communications, antenna, manufacturing, and test engineers to integrate RF hardware into size-, weight-, power-, cooling-, and environmental constraints.\nDevelop verification methods, production test strategies, calibration approaches, and clear technical documentation that make designs repeatable and manufacturable.\nSupport environmental and electromagnetic qualification, supplier engagements, hardware integration, ground test, and flight test as needed.\nContribute to design reviews, share technical knowledge, and support the growth of interns and less-experienced engineers at a level appropriate to the position.\nPerform other duties as assigned.\nRequired qualifications:\nBachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.\nTypically 1 or more years of relevant post-undergraduate experience for L2, or 2 or more years for L3. Applicable graduate study and research may count toward experience. Demonstrated capability and scope are more important than years alone.\nHands-on experience designing, building, or debugging an RF or microwave circuit, module, or PCB assembly through measured verification.\nSolid understanding of S-parameters, impedance matching, transmission lines, stability, gain and noise figure, linearity and compression, nonlinear products, isolation, and cascaded RF performance.\nExperience creating or reviewing RF PCB layouts with controlled impedance, grounding, shielding, component placement, and signal-integrity considerations.\nProficiency with common RF laboratory instruments and calibration methods, with the ability to distinguish hardware behavior from measurement artifacts.\nAbility to use simulation and measured data to make sound design decisions, document tradeoffs, and close requirements with objective evidence.\nClear written and verbal communication skills and the ability to work effectively with cross-functional engineering and manufacturing teams.\nAbility to work on-site in a laboratory and hardware-development environment.\nPreferred qualifications:\nExperience with RF front ends for airborne, defense, space, robotics, or other high-reliability systems.\nExperience integrating GaN or GaAs power amplifiers, MMICs, LNAs, switches, limiters, frequency converters, or high-selectivity filter technologies.\nExperience designing for simultaneous transmit and receive operation, high-power RF, intermodulation control, adjacent-band rejection, or co-site interference and desense.\nExperience with Altium Designer and one or more RF or electromagnetic simulation environments such as ADS, AWR, HFSS, or CST.\nWorking knowledge of thermal design, RF packaging, connector and cable interfaces, tolerance analysis, and design for manufacturability and test.\nExperience with EMI and EMC design and qualification for military or aerospace hardware.\nExperience developing automated characterization or data-analysis tools in Python, MATLAB, or a similar environment.\nExperience transitioning RF hardware from prototype through qualification and low-rate production.\nAbility to obtain an S//SAR level security clearance, if required by the program.","description_format":"text","description_chars":5506,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":2,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":[],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Military Drones","Defense Manufacturing","Defense AI","Drone AI"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-24T23:51:56Z"},{"event":"close","at":"2026-10-09T21:19:29Z"},{"event":"reopen","at":"2026-10-13T22:15:40Z"}],"visa":[{"country":"US","licensed_sponsor":true,"evidence":"H-1B filings in 12 months: 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