RF Engineer (Starshield)

$120,000 - $145,000/Yr

SpaceX - Hawthorne, CA

Full-time - Entry Level

Hawthorne, CA

Transportation Equipment Manufacturing

About the position

As an RF Engineer on the Starshield team at SpaceX, you will be involved in advanced development programs that support US National Security. This role focuses on leveraging SpaceX's Starlink technology for government use, particularly in areas such as earth observation, communications, and hosted payloads. You will collaborate with a diverse team of engineers to design and build RF capabilities for communications and remote sensing in low earth orbit, working in a fast-paced environment that emphasizes rapid iteration and problem-solving.

Responsibilities

• Drive program-level decisions on RF system designs
• Research novel solutions for unique large-scale satellite RF systems
• Collaborate closely with hardware, FPGA, DSP, and software engineers to design and validate RF systems
• Develop and provide full life cycle support of RF hardware, including PCBA board testing and defect detection
• Create electromagnetic simulation models of hardware to evaluate performance
• Modify electrical schematics and mechanical drawings for flight applications to enhance reliability and manufacturability

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in computer engineering or electrical engineering
• 1+ years of experience in RF engineering
• Experience with modeling/analysis tools such as HFSS, CST, ADS, MATLAB, C/C++, and/or Python
• Experience with RF test equipment such as VNA and spectrum analyzer

Nice-to-haves

• Master's degree in electrical engineering with emphasis in microwave/RF engineering
• 1+ years of professional experience in a relevant field
• Experience modeling RF and channel impairments such as multipath and phase noise
• Experience designing RF systems including radio astronomy, SIGINT, ELINT, radar, or wireless communications
• Experience with software-defined radios and frameworks like GNU Radio
• Understanding of link budgets and analysis related to communications and remote sensing systems
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret SCI clearance

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage
• 401(k) retirement plan
• Short & long-term disability insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid parental leave
• Access to long-term incentives such as company stock and stock options
• Potential discretionary bonuses
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan
• 3 weeks of paid vacation
• 10 or more paid holidays per year
• 5 days of sick leave per year