RF Hardware Engineer III - Lunar Permanence

BLUE ORIGIN•Seattle, WA

2d•$130,706 - $182,988

About The Position

This role is part of the Lunar Permanence business unit, which develops Blue Origin’s Blue Moon landers and related products. To further Blue Origin's mission of having millions of people living and working in space, we are building the sustainable infrastructure for our transport of crew and cargo from Earth to the Lunar Surface. As part of a hardworking team of diverse specialists, technicians, and engineers, you will lead test and integration for the RF hardware that enables our lunar missions — radios and transceivers, solid-state power amplifiers, radar sensors, and GNSS receivers — at both the card level and the box/LRU level. You will take hardware from first bring-up on the bench through functional characterization, environmental exposure, and qualification, and you will be responsible for ensuring both the hardware and the records meet engineering and quality requirements upon test completion. You will also serve as the technical lead for EMI/EMC test and validation across the RF hardware portfolio, and will own multipaction analysis and test for high-power RF assemblies operating in vacuum. This is a hands-on, highly collaborative role where your test results directly drive design decisions and flight readiness.

Requirements

Minimum of a B.S. in electrical, computer, or aerospace engineering, physics, or related field
Minimum 3 years demonstrated aerospace test experience including: developing test requirements, plans, procedures, reports, and associated test equipment/test setups; operating and troubleshooting test setups and test articles; participating in environmental testing including Shock/Vibration, Thermal Cycles, Vacuum, and/or EMI/EMC
Minimum 5 years demonstrated hardware test experience of RF and avionics devices at the card, box, or system level (e.g., radios and transceivers, power amplifiers, radar, GNSS/navigation, RF distribution, Command & Control, Power, Input/Output)
Demonstrated experience planning and executing EMI/EMC testing, including radiated and conducted emissions and susceptibility, with working knowledge of MIL-STD-461, DO-160, or equivalent standards
Working knowledge of EMI/EMC design and mitigation techniques: grounding and bonding, shielding, filtering, cable routing and shield termination, and enclosure design
Proficient in the use of standard electronic lab test and troubleshooting equipment, including vector network analyzers, spectrum and signal analyzers, signal generators, power meters, oscilloscopes, and electronic loads
Desire to work hands-on, both independently and as part of a team, throughout the development and production phases of the mechanical and electronic assembly product lifecycle
Good written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills
Ability to work with multi-functional teams such as mechanical, systems, and operations to partner for the best test implementation solutions
Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum

Nice To Haves

Direct experience with multipaction analysis and test, including ECSS-E-ST-20-01 or equivalent methodology, susceptibility charts, margin policy, vacuum test article preparation, and detection techniques (nulling, harmonic, electron probe, optical, forward/reverse power)
Experience with multipaction and RF breakdown modeling tools (e.g., SPARK3D, CST Particle Studio, FEST3D, Ansys HFSS), and familiarity with high-power RF component and waveguide design considerations
Hands-on experience in anechoic, semi-anechoic, reverberation, or TEM/GTEM chambers, and with thermal vacuum chambers and vibration facilities
Experience developing, designing, and/or verifying custom Automated Test Equipment
Experience working with Python for instrument control and data analysis (SCPI, VISA, GPIB)
Familiarity with Linux and other Unix-style operating systems
Familiarity with git, JIRA, Windchill
Experience testing space-grade or high-reliability hardware to qualification and acceptance standards such as GSFC-STD-7000 (GEVS), MIL-STD-1540, SMC-S-016, or ECSS
Experience developing hardware to IPC J-STD-0001xS, IPC/WHMA-A-620x-S, and/or NASA-STD-8739.n standards
Familiarity with digital communication systems, spread spectrum, and modulation types such as PSK, APSK, and QAM, and with modulated signal test methods
Experience with GNSS test methods, including signal and constellation simulators
Experience with radar test methods, including target simulation, range and Doppler verification, and antenna pattern measurement

Responsibilities

Develop and review RF requirements, mitigation techniques, test plans, and procedures with an emphasis on providing your expertise on RF communications test, EMI/EMC, and environmental test methodologies and best practices
Serve as the technical lead for EMI/EMC test and validation across RF hardware, including conducted and radiated emissions and susceptibility, pre-compliance screening, and formal qualification testing; advise design teams on grounding, bonding, shielding, filtering, and harness treatment to close findings
Own multipaction and corona/RF breakdown analysis and test for high-power RF assemblies, including margin assessment, test article and vacuum setup preparation, detection method selection, and results interpretation
Support Design and Systems Engineers in RF and avionics hardware design and verification plan development, and advocate for design-for-testability at both the card and box level
Support card-level and box-level hardware bring-up and integration: first power-on, functional checkout, interface verification, debug, and troubleshooting alongside card and box Responsible Engineers
Work with Hardware and Software Design Engineers to design, build, and verify custom Automated Test Equipment, including RF test benches, fixtures, cabling, and calibration approaches
Perform and oversee RF performance characterization including gain, output power, efficiency, noise figure, linearity, spurious and harmonic content, phase noise, VSWR, and modulated signal performance (EVM, BER)
Support schedule development and resource coordination, including test facility, chamber, and equipment scheduling
Lead test readiness efforts, resolve work stoppages, and delegate supporting tasks
Lead and/or directly run test procedures
Enforce safety policies during test operations, including high-power RF exposure controls and high-voltage safety
Troubleshoot test anomalies real-time and identify test article and test equipment non-conformances
Lead anomaly investigations, root cause analyses, and development of recovery plans
Generate test record summaries and support generation of verification artifacts
Interface with internal and external test facilities, labs, and suppliers for chamber time, specialty testing, and third-party compliance activities
Develop/improve processes and standard procedures with emphasis on optimizing quality and efficiency of the team's performance
Train Test Specialists and other Test Engineers in RF test practice and EMI/EMC methods