Sr. Avionics RF Engineer Verified today

Blue Origin · 6 Locations · RF & Comms · first seen 2026-09-03

Senior Electrical Engineer - RF Avionics

This role supports the development and operations of New Glenn, a single-configuration, heavy-lift orbital launch vehicle capable of routinely carrying people and payloads to low-Earth orbit, geostationary transfer orbit, cislunar, and beyond. Its first stage is fully reusable and was designed from the beginning to be human-capable.

What you will do

As part of the Avionics team, you will design, develop, and verify high-performance RF systems, radios and antennas for the New Glenn flight vehicle. You will own efforts to develop robust RF systems that ensure reliable data transmission during all mission phases, from pre-launch testing through orbital operations. You will work with RF team and technical leads to drive requirements definition, modeling, analysis, design, test and production release of on-vehicle RF systems. You will follow avionics designs through formal verification, environmental qualification, release, and participate in flight support activities.

You will develop low-cost next-generation radios for future launch vehicles. You will mentor and coach other avionics engineers within the RF team and have ownership of design modification and implementation of team standards, processes, and plans.

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor of Science in Electrical or Computer Engineering, Physics, or related field
10+ years proven experience in RF design of complex aerospace and space hardware
Desire to work hands-on, both independently and as part of a team, throughout the design, verification, qualification, and production phases of the electronic product lifecycle
Ability to earn trust, maintain positive and professional relationships, and contribute to a culture of inclusion
Working experience with software defined radio (SDR) implementations of radio transceivers
Hands-on experience with RF testing equipment (Vector Network Analyzers, Spectrum Analyzers, signal generators, etc.)
Working experience with RF PCB design, layout, verification, fabrication and testing

Additional Required Expertise

RF communication subsystem and/or component design, with strong background in RF principles; specific focus on L-band, S-band and Ka-band
Perform detail hardware designs for radio systems including software-defined radios, RF front-ends, and antennas
Coordinate with test engineers to design and implement performance and environmental testing for acceptance and qualification of radio hardware
Ability to work with multi-functional teams such as mechanical, ground, and operations to partner for the best design implementation solutions
Collaboration with manufacturing engineers to create and approve assembly drawings
Partnership with production engineering to develop and support sustaining engineering plans and procedures
Development, implementation, and ownership of test procedures, as well as planning and execution for all phases (development, acceptance, and qualification)
Experience in grounding and general board layout principles, including EMI/EMC tradeoffs

Preferred Qualifications

Master of Science in Electrical or Computer Engineering, Physics, or related subject areas
15+ years proven experience in RF design, development, integration, test, and operation of avionics systems or vehicles
Background with launch vehicle development programs