Electrical Engineer, Optical Communications

Cowboy Space Corp.•San Carlos, CA

6d•Onsite

About The Position

Cowboy Space Corp. is building the infrastructure to power and connect the orbital economy. Our satellites operate in Low Earth Orbit to collect sunlight and enable a new class of capabilities—from powering on-orbit compute, to transmitting energy via infrared lasers (space-to-earth and space-to-space), powering on-orbit compute to delivering secure, high-bandwidth optical data. By rethinking how energy and data are generated and distributed in space, we’re unlocking entirely new ways to operate both in orbit and on Earth. The Role We are looking for an RF Engineer to design and deploy advanced communication systems with a strong emphasis on high-speed optical communications and software-defined radio architectures. This role sits at the boundary of networking, RF avionics, and embedded compute, requiring a systems-level approach to building robust, flight-capable communication pipelines. You will own the development of RF and hybrid RF/optical communication subsystems capable of delivering high-throughput data links under real-world constraints including motion, atmospheric interference, thermal variation, and limited power budgets.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Physics, or related field
3+ years of experience in RF systems, communications engineering, or related domain
Strong fundamentals in communication theory (modulation, coding, synchronization, signal propagation)
Experience in designing PCBA’s for communication systems
Experience with software-defined radio platforms
Hands-on experience with RF lab equipment (spectrum analyzers, signal generators, VNAs, oscilloscopes)
Familiarity with link budgeting and system-level performance analysis
Experience working across hardware and software boundaries

Nice To Haves

Experience designing or deploying high-speed optical communication systems (free-space optics, laser communications, coherent optical links, or photonics)
Background in avionics, aerospace systems, or other mission-critical embedded environments
Experience with real-time DSP implementation on embedded systems, FPGAs, or GPUs
Familiarity with SDR frameworks and low-level radio hardware (e.g., USRPs or custom RF front-ends)
Understanding of atmospheric effects on both RF and optical propagation (scattering, absorption, turbulence)
Experience with pointing, acquisition, and tracking (PAT) systems for optical links
Knowledge of antenna systems, phased arrays, or optical beam steering technologies
Experience with high-throughput data systems and low-latency communication architectures
Experience working within SWaP (size, weight, and power) constraints for flight systems
Strong debugging skills across the full stack: RF front-end, optical systems, firmware, and software

Responsibilities

Design, develop, and integrate communication PCBAs, modulators, and devices for airborne or space-based platforms
Architect and implement SDR-based communication pipelines (modulation, encoding, synchronization, and signal processing)
Develop high-speed optical communication links (free-space optics / laser comms), including link budgeting, pointing and tracking, and alignment strategies with intelligent failover and redundancy
Perform system-level trade studies from high-speed optical links
Design and validate end-to-end communication chains, from data streams, through communication PCBAs, and to optical front-ends
Collaborate closely with avionics, firmware, and compute teams to integrate comms systems into flight hardware
Develop test infrastructure for lab and field validation, including over-the-air testing and optical link validation setups
Analyze performance under real-world conditions (noise, interference, Doppler, atmospheric turbulence, pointing loss) and iterate rapidly
Own documentation, interface definitions, and system performance metrics for communication subsystems