Wireless Engineer - Satellite

Lynk • West Falls Church, VA

309d

About The Position

As a Spacecraft Communications Engineer at Lynk, you will wear many hats in the world of radio frequencies, electronics, hardware, and software. You will be responsible for the analysis, design, implementation, optimization, and enhancement of spacecraft communications systems for our satellites. Some work products will include spacecraft radio and ground station product evaluations, link budgets analyses, system dimensioning for coverage and capacity including traffic analysis and simulation, initial system design and dimensioning, coverage planning, frequency planning, interference analysis, and mitigation techniques. You will also be responsible for supporting the iterative design and test of our spacecraft payload hardware and electronics and software. This will include working with software-defined radios - SDRs, single-board computers, LNAs, and filters – you will also be involved in spacecraft communication systems antenna selection and design. While playing with all this hardware on a bench, you’ll probably need to pick up a soldering gun, use a spectrum analyzer, and/or configure an RF channel simulator.

Requirements

• A Master’s degree or higher in RF or Electrical Engineering or related field.
• In-depth knowledge and hands-on experience with software-defined radios, signal processing, and RF systems.
• Experience integrating radios, antennas, and ground stations into an operating communications system - preferably, a space communications system.
• Programming Proficiency in one or more programming languages is highly desired, such as C++, C, Python, MATLAB, etc.
• Proficient in working with Linux based systems.
• Working knowledge of some communications and networking standards, such as DVB-S2, CCSDS, LoRa, etc. and protocols, such as TCP/IP, SNMP, SCTP, Ethernet, Carrier Grade Ethernet, etc.
• Hands-on experience with programming microcontrollers and SDRs is desired.
• Must be good with computers. Fluent in Linux and Windows; Proficient with Microsoft Office.
• Must be able to work independently and in a team environment.

Responsibilities

• Continue to evolve Lynk’s spacecraft communications architecture, including components and systems that provide direct ground links, orbital relays, and inter-satellite links using SDRs.
• Evaluate and select spacecraft radios, antennas, and other RF components for spacecraft communication systems.
• Define Concept of Operations for spacecraft communications and related ground systems.
• Evaluate ground station options and select configurations that support the spacecraft communications Concept of Operations.
• Design, plan, and conduct payload testing configurations on the ground when testing spacecraft communications performance both in-lab and in-orbit.
• Interface with Systems Engineering team to inform constellation/network architecture and design based on spacecraft communications performance.
• Perform link budget analyses, simulations, traffic and capacity analysis, RF system design and dimensioning, coverage and frequency planning, etc. for spacecraft communications systems.
• Determine spacecraft antenna types, number, and placement required on spacecraft.
• Perform integration of spacecraft communications systems components and software for the spacecraft and in the lab.
• Support spacecraft integration, testing, and delivery to launch and spacecraft bus partners and vendors.
• Develop and maintain technical documentation for spacecraft communications systems architecture definition, design, and development.

What This Job Offers

• Education Level: Master's degree