Staff RF Engineer (R5991)

Shield AI•Seattle, WA

1d•$185,000 - $275,000•Onsite

About The Position

Shield AI is seeking an RF and Microwave Hardware Design Engineer to design and deliver compact, high-performance RF modules for airborne and ground systems. The role centers on hands-on module design—not top-level communications architecture, waveform development, or link-budget ownership—and covers active and passive RF circuits, PCB assemblies, packaging interfaces, laboratory verification, and production transition. The engineer will own module designs from requirements and architecture through schematic capture, component selection, layout, bring-up, verification, qualification, and production release. They will analyze and measure hardware performance, address integration and environmental constraints, and develop repeatable verification, calibration, and production-test approaches. The role is based in an on-site laboratory and hardware-development environment and involves cross-functional work with engineering, manufacturing, suppliers, and test teams.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
Hands-on experience owning an RF or microwave circuit, module, or PCB assembly through fabrication, bring-up, debugging, and measured verification.
Strong understanding of S-parameters, impedance matching, transmission lines, stability, gain and noise figure, linearity and compression, nonlinear products, isolation, and cascaded RF performance.
Experience creating or reviewing RF PCB layouts with controlled impedance, grounding, shielding, component placement, and signal-integrity considerations.
Proficiency with common RF laboratory instruments and calibration methods, including the ability to distinguish hardware behavior from measurement artifacts.
Ability to use simulation and measured data to make design decisions, document tradeoffs, and close requirements with objective evidence.
Clear written and verbal communication skills and ability to work effectively with cross-functional engineering and manufacturing teams.
Ability to work on-site in a laboratory and hardware-development environment.

Nice To Haves

Experience with RF front ends for airborne, defense, space, robotics, or other high-reliability systems.
Experience integrating GaN or GaAs power amplifiers, MMICs, LNAs, switches, limiters, frequency converters, or high-selectivity filter technologies.
Experience designing for simultaneous transmit and receive operation, high-power RF, intermodulation control, adjacent-band rejection, or co-site interference and desense.
Experience with Altium Designer and one or more RF or electromagnetic simulation environments such as ADS, AWR, HFSS, or CST.
Working knowledge of thermal design, RF packaging, connector and cable interfaces, tolerance analysis, and design for manufacturability and test.
Experience with EMI and EMC design and qualification for military or aerospace hardware.
Experience developing automated characterization or data-analysis tools in Python, MATLAB, or a similar environment.
Experience transitioning RF hardware from prototype through qualification and low-rate production.
Ability to obtain a U.S. security clearance, including access at the S/SAR level, if required by the program.

Responsibilities

Own RF and microwave module designs from requirements and architecture through schematic capture, component selection, layout, bring-up, verification, qualification, and production release.
Design active and passive RF circuits, including low-noise amplifiers, power amplifiers, filters and multiplexers, RF switches, limiters, couplers, attenuators, power detectors, and frequency-conversion stages.
Develop RF front-end assemblies that meet gain, noise figure, output power, linearity, compression, efficiency, harmonic and spurious-emission, stability, isolation, and out-of-band rejection requirements.
Perform circuit and electromagnetic analysis and correlate simulation models with measured hardware performance.
Create and review RF and mixed-signal PCB designs, including controlled-impedance routing, grounding, shielding, stack-up definition, power distribution, and placement of sensitive or high-power components.
Plan and execute laboratory characterization using RF test instruments and automated test equipment.
Diagnose hardware issues involving instability, oscillation, intermodulation, self-interference, desense, thermal drift, mismatch, leakage, and electromagnetic coupling.
Work with mechanical, thermal, avionics, communications, antenna, manufacturing, and test engineers to integrate RF hardware within size, weight, power, cooling, and environmental constraints.
Develop verification methods, production test strategies, calibration approaches, and technical documentation to make designs repeatable and manufacturable.
Support environmental and electromagnetic qualification, supplier engagements, hardware integration, ground test, and flight test as needed.
Contribute to design reviews, share technical knowledge, and mentor other engineers at a level appropriate to the position.
Perform other duties as assigned.