Cowboy Space
Senior RF Engineer
$170K
San Carlos, California · On-site · Senior · Full-time · Posted Oct 15, 2026
- Experience
- 8+ years; no alternative stated.
- Education
- Bachelor's degree in electrical, computer, or aerospace engineering, physics, or a related field.
- Visa sponsorship
- Applicants must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.
About the job
Owns selection, development, integration, qualification, and flight support for RF communications systems and hardware on launch vehicles and spacecraft.
What you'll do
- Define RF requirements, maintain telemetry and command link budgets, and evaluate radios, antennas, and RF components.
- Bring up, characterize, integrate, and qualify RF hardware; develop test plans, benches, and verification records.
- Investigate RF anomalies, support flight operations, and coordinate FCC licensing and ground-station compatibility.
What they ask for
- Bachelor's degree in electrical, computer, or aerospace engineering, physics, or a related field.
- 8+ years developing or integrating RF communications systems for space applications, including hands-on hardware verification and environmental qualification.
- Experience translating communications requirements into radio and antenna selections, link budgets, and verification plans.
- Proficiency with RF lab equipment; working knowledge of digital communications, modulation, RF measurement, and EMI/EMC mitigation; ability to use Python or MATLAB.
Nice to have
- Experience with flight-radio integration, ground-station testing, and on-orbit operations; CCSDS, software-defined radio, or satellite modulation and coding experience.
- RF instrument automation, Linux, space-hardware standards, EMI/EMC verification, RF analysis tools, or spectrum licensing experience.
Pay
$170,000 – $202,00 annually (USD, base salary)
Tools
UHF, Ka-band, Python, MATLAB, CCSDS, SCPI, VISA, Linux
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative