Senior RF Systems Engineer

Vast is looking for a Senior RF Systems Engineer, reporting to the Staff RF Engineer, to execute the development of the RF Systems for our Orbiter and Haven programs. This will be a full-time, exempt position located in our Long Beach location.

As a Senior RF Systems Engineer, you will develop creative solutions to complex systems, production and test problems. Your work will involve spacecraft that will deliver the most cost-effective and efficient solutions for our customers. You will play a critical role in the system development and production process relating to RF systems for Haven; including creating integration and test procedures and processes for efficient manufacturability. Your input will be vital in designing and developing new and existing RF hardware to support the mission.

Responsibilities: 

• Provide technical direction relating to RF systems and set top-level requirements to hardware agile development teams, integration, and test personnel.
• Working cross-disciplinary with manufacturing/integration engineers providing work instructions and installation procedures for integrating and testing RF hardware on the Haven vehicle. 
• Develop processes relating to RF hardware to improve part tracking, traceability and reliability.  
• Perform engineering analyses such as link budgets, antenna placement and coexistence.
• Component RE for existing off-the-shelf RF components or systems.
• Full life-cycle ownership for related systems, including development, testing, integration, operations and maintenance for related hardware (interfaces, modems, radios, antennas, etc.)
• Perform trade studies, use case development, requirements definition, derivation, validation and verification, interface definition, failure mode analysis, etc. 
• Support planning, development, production, integration, testing, and operation of the RF avionics system in close concert with related disciplines.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree in electrical engineering or related engineering discipline.
• 4+ years of experience with RF design, analysis, or unit level testing (significant academic projects, internships, and traditional professional experience all qualify).
• Experience with RF test equipment such as Spectrum Analyzers, VNAs, Power Meters, Cable Analyzers, SDRs, etc..
• Experience with software programming: Matlab, LabVIEW, Python, C/C++, JS, or other programming language.
• Familiarity with antenna measurement techniques and tools such as anechoic/reverb chambers, near field EM measurements.

Preferred Skills & Experience:

• Master’s Degree in electrical engineering or similar.
• Experience with full-lifecycle product development.
• Experience with electrical schematic capture software (Altium, Orcad or similar).
• Ability to creatively solve problems and weigh against multi-disciplinary requirements together while assessing risk and making design and development decisions. 
• Knowledge of space radiation effects on RF electronics and antennas.
• Prior experience with vehicle electrical bonding requirements.
• Experience with vehicle and instrumentation buses such as GPIB, USB, TCP/IP, CAN, SPI, and I2C, as well as serial I/O (RS232/422/285).
• Experience with the design and integration of RF systems consisting of radio transmitters, receivers, LNAs, PAs, couplers, filters, etc.
• Experience with simulation tools such as SPICE, ADS, CST, HFSS, etc.
• Strong sense of accountability and integrity with excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience with designing electronics for spaceflight environment, verifying workmanship and operability through environmental test (random vibration, shock, thermal, burn-in, and TVAC).