Space Communications Engineer - RF Systems

Job Description

Job Description

Onyx Aerospace is seeking a Space Communications Engineer – RF Systems to support the development, integration, verification, and flight demonstration of an advanced satellite communications system. This position will work as part of an integrated spacecraft and communications engineering team across the space, payload, ground, and user portions of the architecture, with particular emphasis on RF performance, link budgets, antenna interfaces, compatibility analysis, verification, and end-to-end communications performance.

Responsibilities

• Perform RF systems engineering and analysis for an advanced satellite communications system.
• Develop, maintain, and review forward- and return-link budgets, RF performance margins, and dynamic link analyses.
• Support calculation and verification of key RF ling budget parameters.
• Support development and maintenance of the RF Link Margin / Link Budget Report.
• Evaluate compatibility between the relay payload, spacecraft RF interfaces, user terminals, and ground systems.
• Support Ka-band antenna architecture, antenna gain/coverage, pointing, polarization, feed, diplexer, filter, LNA, HPA, and RF-chain analyses.
• Develop and maintain RF requirements, allocations, assumptions, margins, and compliance evidence.
• Support requirements traceability from customer service requirements through payload, spacecraft, and ground-segment RF performance.
• Participate in payload and spacecraft design trades affecting RF performance, mass, power, thermal, pointing, interfaces, and operations.
• Support RF payload interface definition with spacecraft bus and ground-system providers.
• Review antenna, RF hardware, and electronics supplier analyses, test data, specifications, and verification evidence.
• Support RF compatibility testing, payload functional testing, environmental testing, and end-to-end communications testing.
• Develop verification methods, test criteria, procedures, analysis products, and closure evidence for RF requirements.
• Support link-performance monitoring and analysis during commissioning and on-orbit demonstration.
• Support spectrum, frequency coordination, licensing, and regulatory activities as required by the program.
• Participate in technical interchange meetings, design reviews, readiness reviews, demonstration reviews, and customer technical evaluations.
• Identify and manage RF technical risks, assumptions, margins, and mitigation activities.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, RF/Microwave Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a closely related technical field.
• 3–10 years of relevant RF, satellite communications, communications systems, spacecraft communications, or closely related aerospace engineering experience.
• Experience with one or more of the following:
  • satellite communications;
  • RF link-budget analysis;
  • microwave systems;
  • antennas;
  • RF payloads;
  • ground-station communications;
  • TT
  • communications system integration; or
  • RF test and verification.
• Working knowledge of RF concepts including all aspects of link budget
• Ability to develop and review engineering calculations, link budgets, interface documents, specifications, test reports, and verification data.
• Ability to work across subsystem boundaries and understand system-level consequences of RF design choices.
• Strong analytical, written, and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to coordinate effectively with suppliers, program partners, and Government customers.
• U.S. Citizenship required.
• Ability to comply with applicable ITAR/EAR, CUI, cybersecurity, and government information-handling requirements.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Ka-band satellite communications systems.
• Experience with spacecraft communications spacecraft or relay systems.
• Experience developing or maintaining satellite link budgets using Excel, MATLAB, Python, STK, or comparable engineering tools.
• Experience with spacecraft RF payloads, antennas, LNAs, HPAs, filters, diplexers, frequency converters, or digital communications hardware.
• Familiarity with antenna pattern analysis, coverage modeling, pointing budgets, and polarization performance.
• Experience with RF test equipment such as spectrum analyzers, vector network analyzers, signal generators, power meters, or noise-figure measurement systems.
• Experience with RF compatibility, EMI/EMC, interference, or spectrum analyses.
• Familiarity with qualification, acceptance, and environmental testing of flight RF hardware.
• Experience developing requirements and verification evidence within DOORS, Jama, Cameo, or equivalent systems-engineering environments.
• NASA, DoD, commercial satellite, or human-spaceflight program experience.
• Experience supporting formal technical reviews such as SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, DRR, or flight-readiness reviews.

Desired Technical Profile

The preferred candidate is a systems-oriented RF engineer , not solely a component designer. The role requires an engineer who can understand how antenna performance, RF hardware, spacecraft pointing, user-terminal characteristics, ground infrastructure, operating concepts, and verification evidence combine to determine the end-to-end service performance.

Candidates with backgrounds such as Satellite Communications Engineer, RF Systems Engineer, Communications Systems Engineer, RF Payload Engineer, Antenna Engineer, or Ground Communications Engineer are strong fits.

Additional Information

Specific assignments and technical responsibilities will be based on the selected candidate's experience, technical expertise, and customer program requirements.

This position may support programs contingent upon customer funding or contract award. Candidates must be able to satisfy applicable export control requirements, background investigations, and customer security requirements.