Sr. RF/Microwave Engineer, Satellites (Starlink)

SpaceX•Redmond, WA

About The Position

SpaceX’s Satellite Payload Engineering team develops the RF devices that power Starlink satellites and ground antennas, including power amplifiers, waveguide components, reflectors, and antennas. The engineer will work on a multidisciplinary team developing high-performance wireless digital communication systems, from antenna to protocol level, and will design, implement, and verify electrical hardware for satellites and ground communication systems. The role involves modeling and assessing communication systems and designs, defining RF link and subsystem specifications, analyzing performance, and supporting regulatory, coordination, and market-access teams. Work may require extended hours or weekends to meet mission-critical deadlines.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, physics, or another engineering discipline.
At least 5 years of research and/or industry experience in RF/microwave circuit design.
At least 1 year of experience using a 3D electromagnetic simulation tool such as CST, HFSS, FEKO, SEMCAD, EMPro, TICRA, or XFDTD.
Ability to work extended hours or weekends as needed for mission-critical deadlines.
Must meet U.S. Government export-control eligibility requirements: be a U.S. citizen or national, lawful permanent resident, refugee, or asylee, or be eligible to obtain required U.S. Department of State authorizations.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in electrical or computer engineering, with an emphasis in RF/microwave circuits or electromagnetic theory.
Experience designing linear and nonlinear circuits, such as power amplifiers, low-noise amplifiers, mixers, filters, and PLLs.
Thorough understanding of RF passive components.
Familiarity with radio test equipment such as spectrum analyzers, vector signal analyzers, vector signal generators, and network analyzers.
Experience characterizing radio performance at microwave frequencies.
Knowledge of digital communication systems, spread spectrum, single- and multi-carrier techniques, and modulation types such as QPSK, APSK, and QAM.
RF/microwave design experience using ADS, HFSS, AWR, or similar tools.
Understanding of electromagnetic propagation and antenna systems.
Experience with schematic capture and layout using Altium Designer or another PCB design tool.
Experience with Matlab, Python, C++, or equivalent tools for modeling and analyzing RF systems.
Python and/or LabVIEW programming experience for test automation.
Knowledge of digital communication theory, especially bit error rate and system noise figure.
RF/microwave design experience in the Ku, Ka, V, and E-band frequency ranges.

Responsibilities

Simulate and model communication systems.
Work with system architects, RF engineers, antenna engineers, modem/DSP engineers, and ASIC engineers to partition functions between hardware and software.
Assess the feasibility of designs in support of architectural definition.
Derive top-level specifications for RF links and RF and antenna subsystems.
Characterize and analyze system performance.
Provide technical support to regulatory, coordination, and market-access teams.
Design, implement, and verify electrical hardware for satellites and ground communication systems.

Benefits

Potential eligibility for long-term incentives in the form of company stock or long-term cash awards.
Potential discretionary bonuses.
Employee Stock Purchase Plan with the ability to purchase additional stock at a discount.
Medical, vision, and dental coverage.
401(k) retirement plan.
Short- and long-term disability insurance.
Life insurance.
Paid parental leave.
Various other discounts and perks.
Up to 3 weeks of accrued paid vacation.
10 or more paid holidays per year.
Washington State paid sick time in compliance with state and federal law.
Company shuttles for roundtrip travel from select Seattle locations to the SpaceX Redmond office, Monday through Friday.