Senior RF/Electrical Engineer

About the role

As a Senior RF/Electrical Engineer at Lynk, you will wear many hats in radio frequencies, electronics, hardware, and software. You will analyze, design, implement, optimize, and enhance our nanosatellite communications payload and future constellation network. Responsibilities include link budget analyses, system dimensioning for coverage and capacity, traffic analysis, simulation, RF system design, coverage and frequency planning, interference analysis, and mitigation techniques. You will also support the iterative design and test of nanosatellite payload hardware, electronics, and software, working with software-defined radios, single-board computers, FPGAs, SoCs, processors, LNAs, filters, and antennas. Hands-on tasks may involve soldering, using spectrum analyzers, assembling circuits, and configuring RF channel simulators.

Responsibilities

• Support design of spacecraft payload hardware, including single-board computers, SDRs, FPGAs, SoCs, processors, LNAs, filters, amplifiers, and software design and development.
• Support selection and design of nanosatellite antenna technologies.
• Develop link budget analyses, simulations, traffic/capacity analysis, RF system design and dimensioning, coverage and frequency planning.
• Support spacecraft payload integration, testing, delivery to launch, and coordination with spacecraft bus partners/vendors.
• Design and plan payload testing configurations for in-lab and in-orbit communications performance testing.
• Interface with Systems Engineering team to inform constellation/network architecture based on RF communications payload performance.
• Perform bench-level mechatronics work, including testing, integration, assembly, programming, and prototyping of electronics hardware and software.
• Conduct software-based Systems Engineering analysis.
• Support development and maintenance of technical documentation for payload design and development.
• Work independently and in a team environment.

Qualifications

• A Bachelor’s degree or better in RF or Electrical Engineering.
• 7+ years of experience in design, integration, or test of space hardware.
• Experience developing space payload hardware and software, preferably communications systems.
• Hands-on experience with software-defined radios, antennas, FPGAs, GPUs, CPUs, SoCs, single-board computers, and microcontrollers.
• Programming proficiency in one or more languages such as C++, C, Python, or MATLAB.
• Experience with Linux-based systems.
• Familiarity with VHDL or Verilog and Altera or Xilinx FPGAs is desired.
• Proficiency with electrical design software like Altium is a plus.
• Strong knowledge of RF air interfaces and multiple access schemes (TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, CDMA, etc.).
• Hands-on experience integrating hardware and software systems.
• Fluent in Linux, Windows, and Mac OSX; proficient with Microsoft Office (Excel, Project, PowerPoint, Word).
• Hands-on experience programming microcontrollers and SDRs is desired.
• Knowledge of communications/networking protocols (e.g., IP, TCP/IP, SNMP, Ethernet, LTE, GSM, SIP).

ITAR Requirements

To comply with U.S. Government export control regulations (ITAR), applicants must be one of the following: (i) a U.S. citizen or national, (ii) a lawful permanent resident (green card holder), (iii) a refugee under 8 U.S.C. 1157, or (iv) an asylee under 8 U.S.C. 1158. Individuals who do not meet these criteria must be eligible to obtain necessary authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Job Location: Chantilly, VA