Radar Systems Engineer - RF Integration and Test

Role Overview

Own RF-centric integration, debug, characterization, and validation for radar hardware, subsystems, and test environments. Serve as the Integration and Test team's lead RF engineer across lab, production, chamber, and field environments — ensuring RF chains and test setups produce trustworthy measurements and enable rapid root-cause isolation.

Responsibilities

• Lead RF debug, characterization, and acceptance for radar hardware — transmit chains, receive chains, antennas, cables, adapters, switches, filters, LNAs, HPAs, SDRs, and frequency conversion stages — including qualifying new components for integration into radar systems.

• Diagnose RF failures by selecting and executing the appropriate measurements — S-parameters, VSWR, noise figure, phase noise, IP3/P1dB, gain/compression, group delay, harmonics/spurs, isolation, and time-domain — and reconcile component-level results against system-level performance such as detection range, sensitivity, and calibration accuracy.

• Choose the right instrument for the failure mode — VNAs, spectrum analyzers, signal generators, phase noise analyzers, power meters, oscilloscopes, noise figure analyzers, and supporting calibration standards.

• Isolate subtle RF issues such as insertion loss drift, intermittent behavior, phase instability, spurious content, compression effects, LO leakage, and timing/frequency drift.

• Define, configure, and calibrate RF test setups so measurements are repeatable and representative of system operating conditions.

• Determine whether an observed failure is caused by component defect, cable/connector/interface degradation, calibration error, fixture/setup limitation, environmental effect, or broader system interaction — and connect those measurement results back to radar-level performance impacts.

• Partner with systems, hardware, software, firmware, and integration engineers to root-cause failures that span RF, digital, timing, and test-setup boundaries.

• Create RF test procedures, acceptance criteria, troubleshooting guides, and characterization reports that technicians and engineers can execute repeatably.

• Plan and execute phased array testing in our anechoic chamber, including EIRP, transmit and receive beam patterns, sidelobe levels, beam steering accuracy, element-level calibration, and array calibration verification across the operating band.

• Stand up and improve RF portions of test racks, bench setups, and STE environments — including automated or semi-automated RF data collection, analysis, and reporting.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Applied Physics, or another related technical field, or equivalent hands-on RF test experience
• 5+ years of experience in RF test, RF integration, RF validation, radar systems, wireless systems, aerospace/defense systems, or a similar high-performance RF environment
• Strong hands-on experience using RF test equipment to debug hardware and characterize components and subsystems
• Strong understanding of RF fundamentals including scattering parameters, impedance matching, gain, noise figure, linearity, compression, isolation, phase stability, and frequency-domain behavior
• Experience designing and executing RF test plans and interpreting ambiguous measurement results
• Ability to connect component-level measurements to system-level behavior and performance degradation
• Strong documentation and communication skills, including the ability to explain RF issues clearly to cross-functional teams
• High attention to detail and disciplined lab/test practices

Preferred Requirements

• Experience with radar systems, phased array systems, EW systems, SATCOM systems, or other advanced RF/microwave platforms
• Hands-on experience with anechoic chamber testing of phased arrays or antennas, including EIRP measurement, near-field/far-field pattern measurement, beam steering verification, and array calibration techniques
• Experience diagnosing radar calibration failures or phase-sensitive RF performance issues
• Familiarity with phase noise measurement methods, equipment selection, and interpretation of results
• Experience characterizing high-power amplifiers, low-noise amplifiers, frequency converters, SDRs, antennas, cables, adapters, and passive RF networks
• Experience with RF/microwave frequencies where test setup quality, cable behavior, connector condition, and calibration technique materially affect results
• Experience creating custom RF test fixtures, calibration approaches, or troubleshooting methods for nonstandard hardware
• Familiarity with automation or analysis tools such as Python, MATLAB, LabVIEW, or instrument control frameworks
• Experience working in lab and field environments where environmental conditions, handling, and installation quality can affect RF performance
• Experience working closely with technicians to improve setup quality, measurement repeatability, and fault isolation speed