Senior RF Electrical Engineer

AERONIX•Melbourne, FL

About The Position

The Senior RF Electrical Engineer leads the architecture, design, analysis, and validation of advanced RF systems across tactical radio bands (HF, VHF, UHF) and microwave and satellite communications bands (L, S, C, X, Ku, Ka). The role guides RF product development from concept through production, including requirements definition, link budgets, schematic design, PCB layout direction, thermal considerations, and system verification. The engineer influences technology road maps, supports customer programs, and mentors junior engineers. The position is located in Melbourne, Florida.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or a related field.
15 or more years of RF engineering experience in industry, aerospace, defense, or high-frequency commercial sectors.
Expert-level knowledge of RF circuit design, including transceivers, LNAs, PAs, mixers, filters, PLLs, oscillators, and antenna systems.
Ability to lead the design and development of RF subsystems, including transceivers, LNAs/PAs, mixers, filters, synthesizers, and antenna front ends.
Hands-on experience with RF schematic design and PCB layout, including routing, grounding, stack-up control, shielding, controlled-impedance lines, and RF-specific DFM considerations.
Hands-on experience with RFIC/MMIC-based components such as amplifiers, mixers, switches, dividers, and PLLs.
Solid understanding of propagation effects, modulation methods, common RF impairments, and signal conditioning across frequency bands.
Proficiency in cascade analysis, IP2/IP3, noise and linearity budgeting, and system-level RF performance optimization.
Demonstrated expertise in RF hardware testing, troubleshooting, and qualification.
Experience with RF/microwave test equipment and automated/ATE environments.
Experience supporting production builds, diagnosing RF performance deviations, resolving test failures, and driving corrective actions with manufacturing and test engineering teams.
Must be a US Person and able to obtain and maintain a DoD Secret clearance.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree.
Familiarity with DSP concepts related to modern RF architectures, including digital predistortion, filtering, and modulation.
Familiarity with tactical radio waveforms and interoperability standards such as SINCGARS, Link-16, SRW, and WNW.
Experience with space-grade RF hardware, screening, documentation, and environmental qualification.
Experience with RF subsystems used in radar, including phased arrays, high-frequency front ends, and microwave/mmWave architectures.
Antenna design, modeling, test, or selection experience for tactical, microwave, or SATCOM systems.
Background in DFM/DFT, production support, and manufacturing test processes for RF hardware.
Familiarity with MIL-STD-461, MIL-STD-810, CISPR 22/32, and related qualification standards.

Responsibilities

Perform end-to-end RF system design and analysis, including full-wave simulation, modeling, link budgets, cascade analysis, and environmental and thermal assessments.
Develop RF and mixed-signal schematics and collaborate with PCB layout teams on RF routing, grounding, shielding, thermal performance, and EMI/EMC compatibility.
Architect, evaluate, and optimize RF signal chains for transceivers, tactical radios, microwave links, and satellite communication systems.
Perform cascade analysis of RF and microwave modules and systems to predict gain, IP2/IP3, noise, and power spectrum.
Use industry tools for circuit, electromagnetic, and system-level modeling.
Lead RF hardware bring-up, integration, calibration, and system validation.
Plan and execute test campaigns using RF test equipment and automated test environments.
Collaborate with manufacturing to apply DFM/DFT principles and support production test strategy development.
Execute RF design tasks independently or in small teams and collaborate across multidisciplinary groups.
Prepare design documentation and present RF architectures, analyses, and test results to internal teams, customers, and technical review boards.
Provide technical guidance and mentorship to junior engineers.