Senior RF Systems Engineer
About The Position
SAIC is seeking a Space RF Payload subject matter expert with in-depth knowledge of digital signal processing, signals, remote sensing, mission analyses, and systems engineering. The role provides subject matter expertise to support customer decisions regarding contractors’ development of spaceborne RF signal-processing payloads, ground-processing systems, and overall mission capabilities. The engineer works in customer facilities in El Segundo, California, directly alongside customers. The position provides primary technical oversight for the development, build, verification, and deployment of Space RF payloads. It supports Government leadership and recommends design and build course corrections through delivery. The work also includes evaluating payload updates and their impacts on performance and spacecraft, assessing risk-reduction plans, coordinating with prime and subcontractors on schedule and progress, and overseeing payload integration and transition to operations.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or a technical field such as Physics, Math, or Aerospace Engineering, plus 14 or more years of experience in a relevant field; or a master’s degree in one of those fields plus 12 or more years of relevant experience.
- Experience with spaceborne RF payloads, signal processing, signals, and mission data processing.
- Ability to analyze, discover, and find solutions for technical issues in relevant technology.
- Working knowledge of orbital mechanics and environmental effects on spaceborne RF payloads.
- Experience applying systems engineering principles to payload development, build, and integration and test (I&T) onto spacecraft.
- Good communication skills with peers and customer leadership.
- An in-scope security background investigation (T5 or SSBI), adjudicated for SCI eligibility, and enrollment in the Continuous Evaluation program if applicable.
- Willingness to be nominated for access to Sensitive Compartment Information and Special Access Programs and to consent to a polygraph examination.
Nice To Haves
- 16 or more years of experience with RF payloads.
- Experience with integration and test of spaceborne RF payloads onto spacecraft.
- Familiarity with DoW acquisition processes.
- Experience as a project manager on a space payload program or Integrated Product Team (IPT).
- Ability to generate link budgets for end-to-end space-to-ground communications systems and/or RF payloads.
Responsibilities
- Act as primary technical oversight for the development, build, verification, and deployment of Space RF payloads.
- Provide Government leadership as needed and recommend course corrections to payload design and build through delivery.
- Generate requirements and evaluate compliance with requirements, including requirements flow-down.
- Evaluate concept designs and analyze alternatives.
- Assess Critical Technology Elements (CTEs), Technology Readiness Assessments (TRAs), and Manufacturing Readiness Assessments (MRAs).
- Develop Concepts of Operations (CONOPS).
- Provide technical oversight of payload integration onto candidate spacecraft.
- Oversee transition to operations, including development, operator training, payload initialization and checkout, and on-orbit operations.
- Assess proposed payload design updates and understand their performance and spacecraft impacts.
- Assess risk-reduction plans for improving the maturity of payload design and hardware.
- Work with prime and subcontractor contacts to ensure work is on schedule and progressing.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
