Senior Antenna Engineer

Astranis•San Francisco, CA

19h•$170,000 - $250,000•Onsite

About The Position

Astranis is hiring a Senior Antenna Engineer to design, qualify, and procure antenna system components for production and R&D programs. The role focuses on optimizing system-level antenna and RF performance and improving components and systems for geosynchronous communications satellites. Hardware design work includes feed array elements, polarization and frequency-selective surfaces, reflector systems and subreflectors, diplexers, and orthomode transducers (OMTs). The engineer will collaborate with structural, thermal, communications, and other engineering disciplines to meet overall system requirements. The role also involves developing antenna solutions with the business development and sales teams to meet customer requirements and improve antenna-system performance. The engineer will use design tools to develop communications antenna systems with on-orbit flexibility, work with vendors to procure and qualify space-rated components, and validate hardware through clean-room and anechoic-chamber testing. The position is onsite in San Francisco and includes assisting with recruiting, interviewing, and hiring teammates. Astranis offers equity and benefits including company-subsidized healthcare, disability and life insurance, 401(k) retirement planning, flexible PTO, and free on-site catered meals. The listed base salary range is $170,000–$250,000 USD. Applicants must meet specified U.S. citizenship or protected-individual requirements for compliance with space technology export regulations.

Requirements

Ability to relocate to San Francisco and work onsite.
5–15+ years of experience in relevant industry or academic roles.
Demonstrated ability to implement high-performance antenna systems in research or industry settings.
Ability to collaborate across engineering disciplines to design and build RF and antenna systems.
Strong antenna and microwave engineering fundamentals, including impedance matching, filters, combiners, and amplifiers.
Experience measuring components using vector network analyzers and antenna measurement ranges, including anechoic ranges or near-field scanners.
Demonstrated ability to solve engineering challenges innovatively and creatively.
Ability to use industry-standard design tools such as CST, HFSS, or TICRA, and to script engineering solutions using MATLAB or Python.
Must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or other protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), to comply with U.S. Government space technology export regulations.

Nice To Haves

Experience with digital beamforming, active feed networks, or reconfigurable antennas.
Understanding of co-site interference and antenna siting optimization.
Experience with link budgets and system calculations, including EIRP, noise figure, and G/T.
Experience designing waveguide components such as OMTs, diplexers, filters, and polarizers.
Experience with deployable reflectors.
Familiarity with aerospace antenna design and test principles, including spacecraft charging, passive intermodulation, and multipaction.
Experience testing EMI/EMC performance and understanding mitigation practices.
Experience with integrated electronics, including beamformers, amplifiers, cooling, packaging, and interconnects.
Experience with manufacturing technologies and their effects on RF/antenna design, including metal additive manufacturing, CNC machining, split block, composites, electroforming, and plating.

Responsibilities

Design, qualify, and procure antenna system components for ongoing production and R&D programs.
Optimize system-level antenna and RF performance and introduce component- and system-level improvements.
Design antenna hardware, including feed array elements, polarization and frequency-selective surfaces, reflector systems and subreflectors, diplexers, and OMTs.
Collaborate with structural, thermal, communications, mechanical, systems, and software engineering disciplines to meet overall system requirements.
Use design tools to develop high-performance communications antenna systems with on-orbit flexibility.
Work with vendors to design and procure space-qualified antenna and RF components.
Validate component performance through clean-room and anechoic-chamber testing.
Work with business development and sales teams to propose and develop antenna systems that satisfy customer needs.
Assist in recruiting, interviewing, and hiring additional teammates.