Senior Antenna Design Engineer - Satellite User Terminals

E-Space•Arlington, TX

About The Position

E-Space is hiring a Senior Antenna Design Engineer to own satellite user-terminal antenna designs from requirements and concept development through simulation, prototyping, validation, and production release. The role focuses on compact, low-profile, embedded, multiband, dual-band, or wideband antennas for satellite communication terminals. It involves converting link-budget and system requirements into antenna specifications, conducting trade studies, designing antenna and passive RF structures, and integrating antennas with complex terminal hardware. The engineer will conduct full-wave electromagnetic simulations, plan and perform antenna measurements, correlate simulated and measured performance, and troubleshoot discrepancies. The role also supports tuning, design-for-manufacturing reviews, tolerance analysis, supplier interaction, production validation, and environmental verification. The engineer documents technical work and collaborates across engineering and business functions, while mentoring engineers and helping establish repeatable antenna design and verification practices. E-Space describes its work as developing a low Earth orbit space system for globally accessible IoT connectivity and services. The company offers a dynamic work environment, opportunities for professional growth and development, and the chance to contribute to a high-growth industry. Flexibility to occasionally work extended hours or weekends during critical periods is expected; additional nights and weekends may be needed to meet deadlines and mission goals.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, electromagnetics, applied physics, or a related field.
Typically 7 or more years of hands-on antenna design and development experience.
Demonstrated experience designing compact or electrically small antennas for size-constrained products.
Strong understanding of antenna theory, impedance matching, radiation patterns, polarization, efficiency, bandwidth, and near-field coupling.
Hands-on experience with at least one full-wave electromagnetic simulation tool, such as HFSS, CST, or FEKO.
Experience taking an antenna design from simulation through prototype fabrication and measured validation.
Experience operating VNAs and performing antenna-pattern, gain, efficiency, polarization, and return-loss measurements.
Ability to diagnose differences between predicted and measured antenna performance.
Experience integrating antennas into mechanically and electrically complex products.
Strong technical communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.
Strong knowledge and understanding of satellite communication systems, with the ability to derive detailed technical requirements from high-level objectives and system direction.
Flexibility to occasionally work extended hours or weekends during critical periods; extra hours, including nights and weekends, may be needed to meet critical deadlines and mission goals.

Nice To Haves

Experience with satellite communication terminals, IoT terminals, portable radios, GNSS, cellular, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or other compact wireless products.
Experience with circularly polarized, dual-band, multiband, broadband, spiral, crossed-dipole, patch, helix, monopole, or inverted-F antennas.
Understanding of satellite link budgets, polarization mismatch, multipath, terminal orientation, and coverage requirements.
Experience with antenna matching and tuning in the presence of production tolerances and enclosure variation.
Familiarity with outdoor-terminal regulatory, EMC, RF-exposure, and environmental requirements.
Experience transferring antenna designs into medium- or high-volume production.
Phased-array antenna/RFFE experience is beneficial.

Responsibilities

Own user-terminal antenna designs from requirements and concept development through simulation, prototyping, validation, and production release.
Develop compact, low-profile, embedded, multiband, dual-band, or wideband antennas for satellite communication terminals.
Translate link-budget and system requirements into antenna specifications, including frequency coverage, realized gain, efficiency, polarization, axial ratio, radiation pattern, return loss, bandwidth, and coverage.
Perform antenna trade studies involving size, bandwidth, efficiency, gain, polarization, ground-plane dependence, terminal orientation, and installation constraints.
Design antenna radiators, feeds, matching networks, baluns, hybrids, polarization networks, and other passive RF structures.
Develop circularly polarized or linearly polarized antenna solutions based on system requirements.
Conduct full-wave electromagnetic simulations using Ansys HFSS, CST Studio Suite, Altair FEKO, or equivalent tools.
Integrate antennas with terminal enclosures, PCBs, ground structures, radomes, cables, batteries, displays, processors, and nearby electronics.
Evaluate detuning, blockage, user interaction, cable coupling, enclosure effects, manufacturing tolerances, and material-property variation.
Plan and perform antenna measurements using VNAs, anechoic chambers, near-field or far-field ranges, and over-the-air test systems.
Correlate simulation with measured performance and resolve discrepancies through structured, data-driven troubleshooting.
Support antenna tuning, design-for-manufacturing reviews, tolerance analysis, supplier interaction, and production validation.
Develop environmental verification plans addressing temperature, humidity, vibration, shock, outdoor exposure, and other applicable user-terminal conditions.
Document requirements, analyses, design decisions, test procedures, results, and technical risks.
Collaborate with RF front-end, modem, baseband, firmware, mechanical, thermal, test, manufacturing, regulatory, and systems teams.
Mentor engineers and help establish repeatable antenna design and verification practices.