Senior RF Hardware Engineer

Relativity Space•Long Beach, CA

6d•$148,000 - $222,000

About The Position

In this role you will be responsible for owning the development, test and integration of GPS-based navigation system avionics used within the Terran R launch vehicle. You will work with cross-functional partner teams across the company, conducting architectural trades, developing acceptance and qualification test plans, while being responsible for critical sensory infrastructure allowing for the landing, recovery, and reuse of the vehicle booster stage. Furthermore, you'll help to provide technical guidance across the vehicle's RF architecture - including telemetry downlinks, command uplinks, and antenna system deployment. You'll mentor hardware engineers on RF design fundamentals, review design analyses, and support architectural trades. This cross-system collaboration ensuring that our RF systems work cohesively from design through operations.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field
5+ years of experience in electronics designed for harsh environments and mission-critical applications such as launch vehicles, spacecraft, aircraft, or robotics
Experience with hardware bring-up, validation, debugging, and data analysis
Experience working with highly cross-functional teams (GNC, mechanical, electrical, software, etc.) to develop integrated electronics solutions
Deep understanding of RF system fundamentals including: Impedance matching and transmission line theory
Deep understanding of RF system fundamentals including: Link budget analysis and RF propagation effects
Deep understanding of RF system fundamentals including: Antenna theory (gain, beamwidth, polarization, radiation patterns)

Nice To Haves

In-depth knowledge of GNSS receiver systems including PVT calculation, satellite tracking/acquisition, error sources, and RF front-end architecture
Understanding of RF communication systems including modulation schemes (FSK, PSK, OQPSK, SOQPSK), channel coding, and bit error rate analysis
Experience in combining data from various navigation sensors (GPS, IMU, magnetometers, altimeters, LiDAR, etc.) to achieve robust and accurate navigation solutions
Experience with high-speed serial interfaces (SPI, PCIe, Ethernet, etc.); memory interfaces; design for SoCs, microcontrollers, and microprocessors

Responsibilities

Owning the development, test and integration of GPS-based navigation system avionics used within the Terran R launch vehicle.
Working with cross-functional partner teams across the company, conducting architectural trades, developing acceptance and qualification test plans.
Being responsible for critical sensory infrastructure allowing for the landing, recovery, and reuse of the vehicle booster stage.
Providing technical guidance across the vehicle's RF architecture - including telemetry downlinks, command uplinks, and antenna system deployment.
Mentoring hardware engineers on RF design fundamentals.
Reviewing design analyses.
Supporting architectural trades.
Ensuring that our RF systems work cohesively from design through operations.