Senior Communications Systems Engineer – Satellite & NTN

E-Space•Santa Clara, CA

3d•$150,000 - $200,000•Onsite

About The Position

E-Space is bridging Earth and space to enable hyper-scaled deployments of space-powered Internet of Things (IoT) solutions and services. We are fundamentally changing the design, economics, manufacturing, coverage limitations and service delivery associated with traditional satellite and terrestrial IoT systems. By building a highly-advanced low Earth orbit (LEO) space system—with a unique antenna design, highly sustainable spacecraft system and low-cost, small portable end-user devices—we can extend global satellite coverage, capacity and connectivity beyond legacy space services to provide a new kind of IoT platform that lets users sense, track, connect and act on information gathered, anywhere. As a Senior Communications Systems Engineer, you will be a critical member of the Autonomous Flight Systems and Simulations Team building highly accurate models of the spacecraft and space environments. You will enjoy large complex problems with multi-agent contributions to determine specific and probabilistic results. Your background will include either a first principles understanding of spacecraft guidance navigation and control mechanisms and forces, or radio frequency engineering and modeling.

Requirements

Master’s or PhD in Telecommunications, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
5+ years of experience in wireless systems engineering, focusing on RF/PHY, signal processing, and RAN architecture.
Strong knowledge of 3GPP cellular standards (LTE, 5G NR, NB-IoT) and Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) specifications (Release 17/18+).
Deep understanding of OFDM, MIMO systems, beamforming, and wireless communication theory across both baseband and RF domains.
Advanced proficiency in numerical modeling and simulation using MATLAB, C/C++, or Python.

Nice To Haves

Proven experience with LEO satellite constellation link budgets, payload architecture, and satellite channel modeling.
Solid background in higher-layer RAN protocols, including RRC, RLC, PDCP, and NAS.

Responsibilities

Lead comprehensive link budget analyses, RF line-up modeling, and payload trade-offs across RF and IF configurations for LEO satellite payloads.
Model channel propagation, satellite antenna patterns, RF impairments, co-existence, and self-interference mitigation strategies.
Analyze end-to-end network performance, optimizing system efficiency, capacity, latency, and overall network KPIs under dynamic operational conditions.
Partner across multidisciplinary engineering teams—including PHY/MAC algorithms, RF design, digital beamforming, modem, firmware, and mechanical engineering—to ensure end-to-end system integration.
Deep-dive into component- and subsystem-level designs to establish performance targets, evaluate test results, and resolve test failures.
Interface between wireless communications protocols and application endpoints to ensure seamless system and network-level operations.
Define test plans, review hardware/software designs, and drive root-cause analysis for system-level issues to ensure carrier-grade product quality.
Document technical specifications, expectations, and architecture updates for both internal engineering teams and external partners.
Communicate project status, technical risks, and trade-off decisions clearly across development teams and management.