Principal RF Antenna Engineer

K2 Space•Los Angeles, CA

7d•$200,000 - $270,000

About The Position

K2 is building the largest and highest-power satellites ever flown, unlocking performance levels previously out of reach across every orbit. Backed by $450M from leading investors including Altimeter Capital, Redpoint Ventures, T. Rowe Price, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Alpine Space Ventures, and others – with an additional $500M in signed contracts across commercial and US government customers – we’re mass-producing the highest-power satellite platforms ever built for missions from LEO to deep space. The rise of heavy-lift launch vehicles is shifting the industry from an era of mass constraint to one of mass abundance, and we believe this new era demands a fundamentally different class of spacecraft. Engineered to survive the harshest radiation environments and to fully capitalize on today’s and tomorrow’s massive rockets, K2 satellites deliver unmatched capability at constellation scale and across multiple orbits. With multiple launches planned through 2026 and 2027, we're Building Bigger to develop the solar system and become a Kardashev Type II (K2) civilization. If you are a motivated individual who thrives in a fast-paced environment and you're excited about contributing to the success of a groundbreaking Series C space startup, we’d love for you to apply. The Role You will be responsible for the test & measurement of radiofrequency (RF) and microwave electronics to be hosted on some of the largest, most powerful, rapidly designed and rapidly manufactured satellites ever deployed in space. In your first 6 months, you will work with a multidisciplinary team of antenna, RF, field programmable gate array (FPGA), digital signal processing (DSP), software, mechanical, and electrical engineers in order to prototype your systems and refine your designs. In your first two years you will have contributed to developing cutting-edge RF systems that will fly in space.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in computer, electrical, aerospace engineering, or other relevant science, technology, or mathematics discipline
8+ years of experience in microwave, RF, or antenna engineering
Experience with RF test equipment such as vector network analyzers (VNA), spectrum analyzer, etc.
Experience with anechoic chambers and antenna measurement assets such as near field scanners
Ability to work in a fast-paced and high velocity start-up atmosphere

Nice To Haves

Master’s or Ph.D. degree in a field related to antenna design and analysis
Experience with environmental testing for space electronics such as thermal, vibration, TVAC, radiation, and EMI/EMC testing per standards such as SMC-S-016
Experience with RF systems testing, including antenna characterization and insertion loss tests
Experience with antenna and electromagnetic modeling and analysis software tools such as Ansys Electronics Desktop HFSS and Altair FEKO
Experience with software defined radio hardware development including high speed RF data converters (digital to analog and analog to digital converters), clock trees, and data converter interfaces

Responsibilities

Lead research, design, and procurement of antenna elements
Qualify radiofrequency and antenna hardware through environmental testing including vibration, shock, thermal, and thermal vacuum (TVAC)
Assist with design and validation testing for radiofrequency and microwave hardware from UHF through Ka band, including phased array antennas, low noise amplifiers, power amplifiers, filters, high speed converters, and other RF electronic components
Execute development and production tests to meet internal and external customer needs
Collaborate closely with internal and external stakeholders to integrate your designs into the spacecraft system