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Senior RF & Antenna Systems Engineer Verified today

Northwood Space · Torrance, CA · RF & Comms · first seen 2026-07-16
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Role

As a Senior RF & Antenna Systems Engineer you will define and evaluate phased-array RF architectures for Northwood's satellite ground-station network. You will translate mission and link requirements into antenna, aperture, beamforming, RF front-end, calibration, and tracking requirements, and evaluate how those choices affect end-to-end communications performance.

This role sits at the intersection of phased arrays, RF systems, SATCOM links, and physical-layer communications. You will work closely with antenna, RF, DSP/communications, digital, mechanical, manufacturing, software, and operations teams to ensure that the complete ground-station system achieves its required link performance.

Responsibilities

  • Define phased-array antenna and RF-system architectures for satellite communication ground stations.
  • Translate mission, coverage, link-availability, waveform, throughput, and regulatory requirements into aperture, RF front-end, beamforming, calibration, pointing, and tracking specifications.
  • Develop and maintain end-to-end SATCOM link budgets incorporating measured aperture and RF-chain performance.
  • Evaluate array architectures and tradeoffs involving aperture size, element spacing, polarization, scan volume, grating lobes, sidelobes, taper efficiency, channel count, beam count, and RF-to-digital partitioning.
  • Analyze analog, hybrid, and digital beamforming approaches in collaboration with RF and digital implementation teams.
  • Determine how antenna and RF impairments affect communications performance, including EVM, carrier acquisition, BER/BLER, throughput, spectral compliance, and link availability.
  • Analyze RF lineups and performance budgets for gain, noise figure, dynamic range, linearity, compression, intermodulation, phase noise, frequency stability, filtering, and isolation.
  • Define array calibration strategies addressing channel-to-channel amplitude and phase variation, temperature drift, mutual coupling, element failures, polarization error, and scan-dependent behavior.
  • Develop pointing, acquisition, tracking, beam-management, and handover strategies for operational satellite links.
  • Model propagation, atmospheric attenuation, polarization loss, interference, multipath, blockage, and other environmental effects relevant to ground-station deployment.
  • Build Python, MATLAB, or similar models combining array behavior, measured RF performance, propagation, and modem-level metrics.
  • Plan and execute conducted, chamber, near-field, far-field, over-the-air, and end-to-end communication-link testing.
  • Lead cross-functional investigations of degraded G/T, EIRP, link margin, EVM, acquisition, tracking, BER, throughput, or spectral performance.
  • Correlate analytical models and simulations with measured aperture, RF, modem, and operational link data.
  • Support regulatory submissions, spectrum coordination, partner interface reviews, system acceptance, and operational deployment.

Basic Qualifications

  • Bachelor's or advanced degree in Electrical Engineering, Communications Engineering, Applied Physics, or a related discipline.
  • 5+ years of experience with phased arrays, antenna systems, RF communication systems, or SATCOM terminals.
  • Strong foundation in antenna theory, array processing, electromagnetics, RF system design, and microwave propagation.
  • Experience with communication-link analysis, including EIRP, G/T, C/N0, Eb/N0, link margin, atmospheric loss, and interference.
  • Understanding of digital communications sufficient to relate RF performance to modulation-dependent EVM, acquisition, BER, throughput, and spectral performance.
  • Experience defining or evaluating RF lineups, including noise figure, gain, linearity, dynamic range, phase noise, filtering, and isolation.
  • Experience using MATLAB, Python, or similar tools for array, RF-system, propagation, or link analysis.
  • Hands-on experience with RF measurements and integrated system debugging using equipment such as vector network analyzers, spectrum analyzers, signal generators, noise sources, and vector signal analyzers.

Preferred Experience

  • Experience developing Ku-, Ka-, or higher-frequency SATCOM phased-array terminals or ground stations.
  • Experience with analog, hybrid, or digital beamforming and multi-channel RF architectures.
  • Experience with massive MIMO, adaptive beamforming, multi-beam systems, electronically steered arrays, SATCOM phased-array terminals or ground stations.
  • Familiarity with SATCOM waveforms and standards such as DVB-S2/S2X, CCSDS, or equivalent modem architectures.
  • Experience analyzing modulation-dependent EVM, BER/BLER, adjacent-channel leakage, spectral regrowth, amplifier backoff, and link degradation.
  • Experience with array calibration, mutual coupling, channel imbalance, thermal drift, radome effects, or field recalibration.
  • Experience with beam acquisition, monopulse or equivalent tracking, ephemeris-based pointing, polarization tracking, or satellite handover.
  • Experience with SDR-integrated RF systems or collaboration with FPGA, DSP, modem, and embedded-software teams.
  • Experience with HFSS, CST, or comparable full-wave electromagnetic tools.
  • Experience correlating chamber and laboratory measurements with field or operational satellite-link performance.
  • Familiarity with radar, sensing, 5G NR, 802.11ad/ay, MIMO, multi-beam systems, or electronic-warfare systems where the experience transfers to array and RF-system architecture.