Principal RF Payload Systems Engineer

Nevada Heat Treating LLC•Longmont, CO

1d•$180,000 - $250,000•Onsite

About The Position

Vitesse Systems is hiring a Principal RF Payload Systems Engineer in Longmont, Colorado. The role supports the development of advanced communications payloads for LEO, MEO, and GEO satellite missions across the full payload lifecycle, from mission concept and requirements development through design, integration, testing, launch, and operations. The engineer contributes technical expertise in satellite communications payloads, RF systems, spacecraft systems engineering, and mission performance analysis. The position leads payload architecture development and system-level trade studies; translates mission requirements into technical specifications, system requirements, constraints, and verification plans; and develops and maintains payload models, simulations, performance budgets, interface definitions, and technical documentation. It also involves evaluating RF hardware and supplier proposals, overseeing technical assessments, and supporting payload integration, verification, environmental qualification, commissioning, anomaly investigation, and mission operations. The engineer collaborates with spacecraft bus, software, mechanical, thermal, electrical, antenna, AIT, and operations teams, as well as suppliers and bus manufacturers. Candidates must provide proof of U.S. citizenship or permanent residency for ITAR compliance and be able to pass a drug screen and criminal background check.

Requirements

Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Physics, or a related technical discipline.
At least 10 years of experience in satellite communications, RF systems engineering, payload engineering, or spacecraft systems engineering.
Experience developing communication payloads for GEO, MEO, and/or LEO satellite systems.
Strong understanding of satellite subsystems and spacecraft systems engineering principles.
Experience performing payload and system-level trade studies.
Experience supporting payload development through design, integration, test, and operational phases.
Strong technical understanding of RF communications systems and payload architectures; payload performance analysis and budgeting; spacecraft power, thermal, mass, and volume constraints; payload integration and verification; and satellite communications system design and performance evaluation.
Experience selecting payload active hardware, such as TWTA, SSPAs, LNAs, converters, and MLOs.
Experience with reflector-based antenna systems and DRAs.
Experience with communication payload thermal and power analyses.
Experience developing link budgets and assessing performance.
Experience with digital payloads, with and without digital beamforming, and phased-array antenna systems.
Proficiency with MATLAB, Python, STK, or equivalent engineering analysis tools.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office, Visio, and engineering documentation tools.
Must provide proof of U.S. citizenship or permanent residency to comply with ITAR requirements.
Ability to pass a drug screen under Vitesse’s policy.
Ability to pass a criminal background check under Vitesse’s policy.
Strong systems thinking and ability to understand interactions across payload, spacecraft, and mission elements.
Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
Ability to independently drive technical investigations and trade studies.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Ability to work effectively in multidisciplinary engineering teams.
Comfort operating in a fast-paced development environment with evolving mission requirements.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a related field.
Experience with regenerative payload architectures.
Experience with satellite manufacturing and production environments.
Experience supporting environmental testing, spacecraft integration, and launch campaigns.
Familiarity with technology readiness assessments, risk reduction planning, and payload qualification programs.
Experience supporting in-orbit testing, payload commissioning, and mission operations.
Familiarity with antenna analysis and modeling tools such as TICRA, GRASP, CST, HFSS, or equivalent.

Responsibilities

Lead development and evaluation of advanced communications payload architectures for GEO, MEO, and LEO satellite missions.
Perform system-level trade studies involving payload capacity, coverage, spectral efficiency, mass, power, thermal resources, and mission performance.
Assess how payload design changes affect spacecraft resources, mission performance, schedule, and operational concepts.
Develop payload block diagrams, interface definitions, and subsystem architectures.
Analyze mission requirements and translate them into technical specifications, system-level requirements, engineering constraints, and verification plans.
Support development and maintenance of payload requirements, interface control documents, and compliance matrices.
Contribute to CONOPS development and mission-level performance assessments.
Support requirements verification, validation, and technical baseline management throughout the program lifecycle.
Participate in program reviews, including SRR, PDR, CDR, MRR, TRR, FRR, and operational readiness reviews.
Develop and maintain engineering tools, simulations, and performance models.
Perform EIRP and G/T budgets, link budget analysis, conversion gain and loss budgets, and coverage and capacity assessments.
Build and execute simulations to evaluate payload performance under operational and environmental conditions; support performance assessments and sensitivity analyses.
Engage payload hardware suppliers and subcontractors in architecture development, hardware selection, and procurement activities.
Evaluate active and passive RF hardware for payload applications and review supplier analyses, documentation, specifications, and test results.
Assess payload design maturity, performance risks, and implementation approaches; participate in technical interchange meetings and design reviews with suppliers and bus manufacturers.
Support payload integration, verification, validation, and spacecraft-level testing.
Work with AIT teams to develop test plans, procedures, verification methods, and success criteria.
Support environmental qualification, including vibration, thermal vacuum, EMC/EMI, RF performance, and system-level testing.
Support payload commissioning, on-orbit checkout, anomaly investigations, operational performance assessments, operational procedures, payload initialization, and mission support.
Collaborate with spacecraft bus, thermal, mechanical, electrical, software, antenna, AIT, and operations teams to optimize mission performance.
Support design trades and resource allocation across payload and spacecraft subsystems.
Communicate technical findings and recommendations to internal and external stakeholders.
Perform other duties as assigned.