RF Validation Intern (Winter 2027)

About the role

Astranis builds advanced satellites for high orbits, expanding humanity’s reach into the solar system. Today Astranis satellites provide dedicated, secure networks to highly‑sophisticated customers across the globe – large enterprises, sovereign governments, and the US military. With five satellites on orbit and many more set to launch soon, the company is servicing a backlog of more than $1 billion of commercial contracts. Astranis is the preferred satellite communications partner for buyers with stringent requirements for uptime, data security, network visibility, and customization. Astranis has raised over $1.2 billion from some of the world’s best investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Baillie Gifford, Blackrock, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, and Snowpoint, and employs a team of 500 engineers and entrepreneurs. Astranis designs, builds, and operates its satellites out of its 153,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Northern California, USA.

As an RF Validation Intern (Winter 2027), you will work on hard problems, contributing to design validation and measurement automation of RF hardware for new and upcoming satellite designs.

Responsibilities

• Measure and validate performance of LNAs, power amplifiers, up/down converters, filters, oscillators, etc.
• Write automation code to automate and speed up the above measurements.
• Document test plans, measurement methodologies, and data for review.

Requirements

• Currently enrolled in a Bachelor's Degree program in electrical engineering, computer engineering, applied physics, or a related technical field.
• Passion for hardware development, including working in a fast‑paced environment and hands‑on design and development.
• Deep knowledge of basic RF concepts, such as transmission lines, S‑parameters, RF building blocks (amps/mixers/attenuators).
• Experience with Python and object‑oriented programming concepts.
• Experience taking RF measurements with spectrum analyzers, signal generators, network analyzers, etc.
• U.S. Citizenship, Lawful Permanent Residency, or Refugee/Asylee Status required (to comply with U.S. Government space technology export regulations).

Don't meet all the criteria? Not a problem – please apply even if you do not meet every requirement.

Qualifications

• Currently enrolled at a four‑year university.
• Internship duration: twelve weeks, hourly role.

Skills

• Python programming and object‑oriented concepts.
• RF measurement equipment: spectrum analyzers, signal generators, network analyzers.
• Knowledge of antennas and electromagnetics propagation (bonus).
• Experience with Software Defined Radios (SDR) (bonus).
• Experience automating RF measurements (bonus).