Description

The RF Payload Design Lead will serve as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) and design lead for RF payloads to fly onboard small satellites for a variety of missions for DoD, NASA, and commercial customers. The job entails full lifecycle including concept development, system architecture, trade studies, performance analysis, system design, production, integration, test, and on-orbit support. You will use your experience designing and optimizing RF circuits and provide recommendations on part selections maximizing reliability while considering cost and schedule constraints.

Primary Responsibilities

As a lead engineer, you will have a role consisting of:

• Participate in development phases including concept of operations development, new product definition, detailed requirements flow down, trade studies, prototyping and development of proof-of-concept engineering models, architecture design, hardware selection, firmware and software development, radio and payload integration and test, spacecraft integration and test, and on-orbit support.
• Actively work with multi-domain team of engineers including software, firmware, electrical, mechanical, and test engineers to coordinate activity across multiple programs, including ground support, test equipment, software-in-the-loop (SWIL), and hardware-in-the-loop (HWIL) simulators.
• Analyze user requirements to derive design and performance requirements.
• Assist with developing and executing test procedures for components.
• Interface with system engineers and hardware engineers to derive software requirements and to obtain information on project limitations and capabilities, performance requirements, and interfaces.
• Mentor Junior software engineers in good engineering practices.

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or equivalent from an accredited university.
• 12+ years direct experience in related role.
• Experience in RF system performance and link analysis.
• Experience with software defined radios, transceivers, antennas, and steerable arrays.
• Experience in multiple spectral bands, waveforms, and modulations.
• Experience in signal processing and communications software.
• Strong skills with PCB design, schematic capture, circuit simulation, electromagnetic (EM) simulation, signal/power integrity, and Atlassian Tools (Confluence & Jira).
• Experience with space qualified design, development, integration, and test for radiation environments, thermal and power constraints, etc.
• Experience in laboratories and cleanrooms using test equipment, including oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, Signal Generators, RF Probe Stations, Noise Figure Analyzers, Load-pull Tuners, and other electronic test hardware, in bring-up, integration, test and troubleshooting of electronic boards/systems and components.
• Demonstrate technical expertise and application of engineering principles with the ability to organize, plan, schedule, and coordinate workloads to meet established milestones.
• Candidate must be a resident of the North Alabama area or willing to relocate to the Huntsville - North Alabama, AL area.
• U.S. Citizenship and an active Security Clearance and eligibility for Final Top Secret with SCI is required.

• Master's Degree or better in a related field.
• Experience developing DoD or NASA satellite payloads.
• Experience in electronic warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and/or communications payloads.