RF Design & Simulations Engineer

Job Description

Job Description

About Orion EdgeWe are an agile, early-stage startup in a rapid growth phase, developing next-generation electronic warfare (EW) and digital disruption equipment. Our mission is to deliver cutting-edge capabilities to the modern warfighter at speed. Orion Edge is currently delivering systems to the US Army and USSOCOM, and we are scaling quickly to support the broader Department of Defense (DoD). If you thrive in a fast-paced environment where your work directly impacts national security and you have the opportunity to scale your career with a growing company, you belong here.Position OverviewAs an RF Design & Simulations Engineer at Orion Edge, you will define the electromagnetic behavior of our systems before a single board is fabricated. You will architect and simulate the amplifiers, filters, matching networks, antennas, and transitions that make up our transmit and receive chains, and you will be accountable for the correlation between what the model predicts and what the hardware actually does.This role sits at the front of our hardware development cycle. You will work in Keysight ADS and Ansys HFSS to explore, optimize, and de-risk designs; hand validated geometries to our RF PCB Design Engineer; and then follow the design into the lab to prove it on a network analyzer. Every model you build should get more accurate because of the measurement that came before it.If you want ownership of RF performance from first principles through fielded hardware, and you want that cycle measured in weeks rather than years, this is your team.Education RequirementsBachelor of Science (B.S.) in Electrical Engineering, Electromagnetics, Physics, or a closely related technical field. M.S. in RF/microwave engineering or applied electromagnetics preferred.Key ResponsibilitiesCircuit Design & Simulation: Utilize Keysight ADS for schematic capture, linear and nonlinear circuit simulation, harmonic balance analysis, and planar EM simulation of amplifiers, filters, and matching networks.3D Electromagnetic Modeling: Use Ansys HFSS to model and optimize complex 3D structures, including antennas, waveguide transitions, RF connectors, enclosures, and cavity resonances.Performance Optimization: Analyze and optimize S-parameters, gain, noise figure, linearity, and power efficiency across targeted frequency bands and operating conditions.EM Co-Simulation: Perform layout-to-circuit EM co-simulation to verify that physical layouts match theoretical models prior to fabrication, and identify parasitic, coupling, and resonance risks before committing to a build.Simulation-to-Hardware Transition: Transition designs from simulation into hardware and lead lab validation of prototypes using vector network analyzers, spectrum analyzers, signal generators, power meters, and oscilloscopes.Model Correlation: Systematically correlate simulated results against empirical measurement, root-cause the deltas, and feed those corrections back into the modeling approach so future designs converge faster.Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration: Partner with PCB layout, digital/FPGA, firmware, and mechanical engineers to ensure RF requirements survive integration into a complete, environmentally hardened system.Requirements & Budgets: Develop RF requirements, link and cascade budgets, and feasibility analyses that inform system-level architecture decisions.Required Skills & ExperienceProfessional Experience: Minimum of 3 years of hands-on RF/microwave circuit design and electromagnetic simulation experience.Tool Proficiency: Strong proficiency in both Keysight ADS and Ansys HFSS, including harmonic balance, planar EM (Momentum/RFPro), and 3D full-wave solver setup, meshing, and convergence practice.Electromagnetics Foundation: Deep understanding of electromagnetics, transmission line theory, and RF/microwave circuit design principles, including impedance matching, resonance, and coupling behavior.Simulation -to-Measurement Correlation: Demonstrated experience correlating simulated EM results with real-world empirical lab measurements and using that correlation to tune and improve future models.Lab Competency: Hands-on proficiency with RF test equipment, including VNA calibration and de-embedding, spectrum analysis, and noise figure and power measurement.Component -Level Design: Practical experience designing and optimizing at least two of the following: low-noise amplifiers, power amplifiers, filters, matching networks, mixers, or antennas.Design Communication: Ability to produce clear design documentation, simulation reports, and trade studies that a cross-functional team can act on.U.S. Citizenship & Security Clearance: Must be a U.S. citizen and must be able to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance. This position requires access to export-controlled technical data under ITAR and EAR.Preferred QualificationsDefense RF Systems: Experience designing RF hardware for electronic warfare, SIGINT, radar, counter-UAS, or tactical communications applications.Wideband & High-Power Design: Experience with broadband amplifier design, multi-octave matching networks, or high-power transmit chain design and thermal co-analysis.Antenna Design: Demonstrated antenna design and characterization experience, including pattern measurement, anechoic chamber or range testing, and platform integration effects.SDR Integration: Familiarity with software-defined radio architectures and the analog front-end considerations that drive ADC/DAC dynamic range, filtering, and gain distribution.Additional EM Tools: Working experience with CST Studio Suite, Feko, Sonnet, or comparable solvers.Automation & Analysis: Proficiency in Python or MATLAB for design automation, parametric sweeps, post-processing, and test automation.PCB Layout Fluency: Practical familiarity with Altium Designer and RF layout constraints sufficient to work fluidly with the layout team.Environmental & EMC: Familiarity with MIL-STD-461 EMI/EMC and MIL-STD-810 environmental qualification requirements and their impact on RF design margin.Advanced Degree: M.S. or Ph.D. in applied electromagnetics, RF/microwave engineering, or antenna theory.Professional AttributesPhysically Grounded: You have a deep intuition for field behavior and you know when a simulation result is telling you something real versus when it is telling you your mesh is wrong.Measurement-Honest: You trust the bench over the model. When simulation and measurement disagree, you find out why rather than adjusting the plot.Methodical Problem Solver: You isolate variables systematically, separating solver artifacts from fixture effects from genuine design deficiencies.Clear Communicator: You can explain an impedance mismatch, a cavity resonance, or a noise figure budget clearly to layout, mechanical, and systems engineers who do not live in Smith charts.Self-Directed & Resourceful: You are comfortable owning ambiguous RF requirements, running your own trade studies, and building the analysis you need rather than waiting for it.Curious & Collaborative: You are energized by working across disciplines and by seeing your designs go from a solver window to a fielded system.