Senior RF/Communication Systems Engineer

Astranis•San Francisco, CA

9d•$170,000 - $280,000

About The Position

Astranis designs, builds, and operates advanced satellites for high orbits, providing dedicated and secure communications networks to commercial customers, governments, and the U.S. military. The Senior RF/Communication Systems Engineer will be responsible for the architecture, design, and modeling of satellite communication payloads. The role collaborates with antenna, SDR, RF, DSP, digital hardware, FPGA, mechanical, and thermal teams to design radio systems. The engineer will lead architectural trade studies and R&D efforts for new radio features, technologies, and custom components; establish system- and unit-level requirements through analysis or simulation; and design and test communications signal-processing algorithms. The role also contributes to recruiting, interviewing, and hiring teammates.

Requirements

Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering or equivalent.
At least 7 years of experience.
Strong oral and written technical communication skills.
Strong fundamentals in signals and systems and digital communications.
Familiarity with hardware components and their associated impairments and limitations.
Comfort testing radio hardware in a lab using equipment such as signal generators, signal analyzers, network analyzers, and oscilloscopes.
Proven ability to triage and debug issues discovered during testing.
Comfort developing software in Python and some C/C++.
Ability to learn new tools and workflows quickly.
Interest in working in a fast-paced environment and continually learning.
RF system design and budgeting experience.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with satellite radio systems, in the ground segment and/or space segment.
Experience planning, automating, and executing radio characterization tests.
Software experience, especially with Python, Git, and GNU Radio.
Experience with fixed-point implementation of signal-processing algorithms.
Familiarity with multirate signal-processing techniques, such as polyphase filters and resamplers.
Experience with multi-antenna systems, including beamforming and null steering.
Direct-sequence spread-spectrum (DSSS) modem design experience.
Familiarity with satellite waveforms and modems, including DVB-S2/x and DVB-RCS2.

Responsibilities

Own architectural trade studies and establish system- and unit-level requirements analytically or through simulation.
Lead R&D efforts for new radio features, technologies, and custom components.
Work with RF, antenna, digital hardware, FPGA, mechanical, and thermal design teams.
Design and test communications-related signal-processing algorithms.
Assist in recruiting, interviewing, and hiring additional team members.