Ground Systems · Ground Systems
Ground Station RF Engineer
Design and operate ground antennas, RF electronics and tracking systems supporting acquisition, telemetry and high-rate data delivery.
Role mandate
Build the capability for the era ahead.
This team member will combine subject-matter depth, sound judgment and disciplined execution to move the mission from architecture to measurable results.
Responsibilities
- Own the Ground Systems workstream for Ground Station RF Engineer and deliver measurable technical or operating outcomes.
- Own requirements, interfaces, performance budgets and verification for flight and ground systems.
- Coordinate hardware, software, payload, bus, network and mission-operation dependencies.
- Drive design reviews, risk retirement, integration and readiness through the mission lifecycle.
Required qualifications
- Engineering experience with spacecraft, payloads, RF systems, avionics, antennas or ground systems.
- Working knowledge of requirements management, interface control and verification.
- Ability to perform disciplined analysis and communicate technical risk.
Preferred experience
- Experience taking flight hardware or mission systems through qualification and operations.
- Familiarity with constellation, optical-link or quantum-communications programs.
Scientific and technical requirements
Physics, mathematics and engineering foundations
- Electromagnetics, transmission lines, antenna theory, microwave circuits, propagation, modulation, coding and statistical detection.
- Fourier analysis, complex phasors, S-parameters, noise, information theory and interference statistics.
Mathematics and working equations
- Friis: Pr = PtGtGr(λ/4πR)²L; express EIRP, free-space loss, atmospheric loss, polarization loss and implementation margin in dB.
- Carrier-to-noise density C/N0 = received carrier power − system noise density; Eb/N0 = C/N0 − 10log10(Rb).
- Shannon C = B log2(1 + S/N); use the selected modulation/coding curve rather than capacity alone for required margin.
- Antenna gain G = η(πD/λ)²; phased-array factor and element pattern jointly determine beamwidth and sidelobes.
Hardware, flight and infrastructure components
- Transmitter/receiver, modem, up/downconverters, PA/LNA, filters, diplexers, waveguide/coax, frequency reference and RF switch network.
- Reflector, horn, patch or phased array; beamformer; radome; tracking mount; calibration couplers and spectrum-monitoring chain.
Software, laboratory and analysis tools
- HFSS/CST or equivalent EM solver, ADS/AWR, MATLAB/Python link analysis, STK coverage, spectrum-planning and interference tools.
- VNA, spectrum/signal analyzer, signal generator, power meter, noise-figure analyzer, antenna range and BER tester.
Verification and mission skills
- Measure S-parameters, gain, pattern, axial ratio, EIRP, G/T, spurious emissions, intermodulation, Doppler tolerance, acquisition and end-to-end BER.
Authoritative technical references
The hiring sequence will follow operating milestones and project requirements. The position may begin through advisory, consulting or project-based work before moving into a full-time role.
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