RF Systems Engineer

Vast • Long Beach, CA

3h • $120,540 - $209,520 • Onsite

About The Position

Vast is seeking an RF Systems Engineer to develop RF systems for spacecraft, including space stations and satellites. Reporting to the Director, RF Engineering, the role manages communication system requirements and verification, including RF system design, link budgets, satellite coverage analysis, and system concepts of operations. The engineer will own one or more RF components and collaborate with mechanical, thermal, test, integration, and mission assurance teams to guide those components through testing, integration, and mission operation.

This is a full-time, exempt position based in Long Beach, California. The position includes responsibility for requirements and verification planning, link analysis, RF product development and testing, vendor and cross-functional coordination, and support for spacecraft mission operations.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in ECE, EE, Physics, or a related STEM discipline.
• Familiarity with digital RF communication theory, components, and fundamentals.
• Knowledge of satellite link budgets and link figures of merit, including G/T ratio.
• Knowledge of signal-to-noise figures of merit, including C/No and Eb/No, as well as EVM, noise figure, and bit error rate.
• Knowledge of modulation schemes, interference, IQ modulators, channel impairments, EIRP, free-space path loss, and Doppler shift.
• Familiarity with antennas and propagation, including antenna gain/directivity and polarization.
• Experience with RF measurements and concepts, including spectrum analyzers and noise bandwidth.
• Experience with RF fundamentals, including S-parameters.
• Experience in programming and data analysis tools.
• Experience with product management, vendor management, design reviews, and requirements and verification.

Nice To Haves

• MS or PhD in ECE, EE, Physics, or a related STEM discipline.
• Work experience.
• Startup experience.
• Aerospace experience.
• Experience with design for space and testing for space environments.
• Experience with EMI/EMC and environmental testing.
• Knowledge of SMC-S-016 test requirements for launch vehicles.
• Experience with RF measurements, spectral masks, and spur measurements.
• Experience with analysis software such as STK, Python, and Matlab.
• Knowledge of RF for satellite communications and orbital mechanics.
• Knowledge of P1dB, transmission line loss, spectral regrowth, harmonic distortion, and RF passive components.
• Knowledge of satellite communications standards such as CCSDS and DVB-S2.
• Knowledge of DSP for RF communications, receiver synchronization, Shannon theory, the Nyquist sampling theorem, and forward error correction.
• Knowledge of antenna and propagation effects, including multipath, axial ratio, and cross-polarization.

Responsibilities

• Own and manage spacecraft RF system requirements and the verification plan.
• Specify link parameters, including modulation, error-correction coding, symbol rate, and channel filter.
• Calculate link budgets based on throughput requirements, link conditions, and ground station characteristics.
• Estimate expected data throughput and bit error rate using link budgets.
• Maintain link budgets that account for on-vehicle antenna patterns, cable losses, radio specifications, channel conditions, and the expected orbit.
• Support regulatory license applications with analyses such as power flux density and antenna contours.
• Use tools such as Ansys STK to estimate coverage and link variability during real mission orbit scenarios.
• Document and review work with peers through trade studies and design reviews.
• Own one or more RF products from development testing through mission operation and serve as a subject matter expert for those components within the overall RF system.
• Plan RF product design, manufacturing, testing, integration, and delivery to the vehicle, coordinating schedules with interfacing teams and project management.
• Manage relationships with mechanical, test, manufacturing, thermal, and avionics engineering teams.
• Manage vendors and communicate requirements, deliverables, and schedules.
• Define test plans and procedures for acceptance and qualification testing.
• Define and document checkout tests to validate operation during and after vehicle integration.
• Support mission operations as a subject matter expert on the spacecraft RF system.

Benefits

• Company equity for full-time employees.
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents.
• Generous paid time off, including vacation and the ability for eligible employees to cash out unused vacation annually.
• Paid parental leave.
• Short- and long-term disability insurance.
• Life insurance.
• Access to a 401(k) retirement plan.
• ClassPass credits.
• Personalized mental healthcare through Spring Health.
• Employee discounts and other perks.
• Free snacks, drip coffee, cold drinks, and dinner meals; subsidized lunch.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level