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Aerospace, Space Technology, Defense, Intelligence, Big Data, Analytics

Principal RF Electrical Engineer

Herndon, VAOnsiteFull TimePrincipal$170,000–$200,000 /yrPosted 18 days agoVisa sponsorship available

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Required skills

  • RF geospatial analytics
  • small commercial satellites
  • flight hardware
  • mission requirements
  • technical guidance
  • mentorship
  • cross-functionally
  • mechanical engineering
  • software engineering
  • systems engineering

Nice to have

  • radiation hardening

Role summary

HawkEye 360 is seeking a Principal RF Electrical Engineer and Team Lead for its Space Team. This role involves leading the electrical and RF design of small commercial satellites, focusing on digital, analog, power electronics, and RF payloads like SDRs and antenna systems. Responsibilities include overseeing PCB design, defining and executing tests, and leading a team of RF/Electrical Engineers. The ideal candidate will have a Bachelor's degree in RF/Electrical Engineering, 10+ years of hands-on RF electronics design and testing experience, expertise in PCB design and layout (Altium or similar), and a strong understanding of power, digital, analog, and RF fundamentals. Experience with lab equipment, flight hardware, and technical leadership is required. Desirable qualifications include smallsat/space industry experience, radiation environment design, and proficiency in Python, MATLAB, C++, or RF simulation tools.

HawkEye 360 is seeking a Principal RF Electrical Engineer and Team Lead on the Space Team. The Space Team's mission is to design, build, and test small commercial satellites that provide revolutionary RF geospatial analytics.

You will lead electrical and RF design of our space platforms, with emphasis on digital, analog, and power electronics design as well as RF payloads including Software Defined Radios (SDRs), RF front ends, and antenna systems. You'll oversee PCB design from schematic capture through layout and manufacturing while also defining and executing performance tests to verify mission requirements. You will lead a small team of RF and Electrical Engineers, providing technical guidance and mentorship while remaining hands-on with design and test activities.

This role requires strong Electrical and RF Engineering expertise, excellent communication skills, and the ability to work cross-functionally with mechanical, software, payload, and systems engineering teams.

Your main responsibilities will be:

  • Design digital, analog, and power electronics for satellite flight hardware while overseeing team execution of schematic capture, PCB layout, RF chain design, and power subsystem development to ensure technical accuracy and on‑schedule delivery.
  • Lead PCB design and layout activities with attention to RF design considerations including controlled impedance, grounding, shielding, power distribution, and signal integrity.
  • Establish engineering best practices, design standards, and review processes to maintain high reliability and consistency across all hardware designs.
  • Facilitate root‑cause analyses and corrective action efforts, aligning engineering teams around data‑driven problem solving for flight hardware anomalies.
  • Manage task planning, delegation, and technical roadmapping to ensure the RF/EE team meets program milestones from concept through flight qualification.
  • Work closely with PCB Contract Manufacturers (CMs) to ensure quality control and timely delivery of flight hardware.
  • Design and develop RF payload architectures and Software Defined Radio systems for space-based RF collection missions.
  • Develop test procedures and automation scripts to characterize SDR and RF front-end Performance.
  • Support spacecraft integration and testing efforts, including the design of Electrical Ground Support Equipment (EGSE), flatsats for functional testing, and satellite flight hardware testing.
  • Perform first article hardware unit testing, including reception inspection, burn-in testing, thermal validation, and hardware checkouts.

    • Your skills and qualifications:Essential education and experience:

  • Bachelor's degree in RF/Electrical Engineering or related field.
  • 10+ years of hands-on experience designing and testing RF electronics, including SDRs, mixers, filters, amplifiers, and receiver chains.
  • Expertise in PCB design and layout (Altium or similar) including schematic capture, component selection, and layout for mixed-signal and RF applications.
  • Strong Understanding of power electronics, high-speed digital design, and analog circuit design.
  • Strong understanding of RF fundamentals (impedance matching, S-parameters, noise figure, linearity, etc.) and software-defined radio architectures.
  • Experience using lab equipment such as Spectrum Analyzers, Network Analyzers, Signal Generators, Noise Figure Analyzers, and RF test chambers.
  • Hands-on flight hardware experience (satellite integration, RF lab testing, prototyping, troubleshooting).
  • Experience handling ESD-sensitive components and operating in cleanroom environments.
  • Strong communication skills to explain complex technical concepts to cross-functional stakeholders.
  • 1+ years of technical leadership, project leadership, or team lead experience.

    • Desirable:

  • Experience working in the smallsat or space industry with RF payloads or communication systems.
  • Experience designing for radiation environments (TID and Proton)
  • Experience with version control (git) and modern engineering workflows.
  • Proficiency with Python, MATLAB, C++, or other coding languages for RF analysis and test automation.
  • Experience with RF simulation tools (ADS, CST, Genesys, HFSS, Scikit-RF, Emerge, or similar) and RF modeling.
  • Familiarity with CAD (NX, SolidWorks, etc.) to support electro-mechanical integration.

    • We offer a compensation package that includes a competitive base salary plus annual performance bonus, benefits and equity. We consider many factors when determining salary offers, such as candidate's work experience, education, training & skills, as well as market and business considerations. We are also open to considering candidates with experience and qualifications at a different level than required in a job posting, which may affect the compensation package offered.

    Salary Range$170,000—$200,000 USD

    Company Overview:

    HawkEye 360 is equipping defense, intelligence, and national security leaders with mission-critical signals intelligence to enable faster, better decision making. By detecting, geolocating, and characterizing radio frequency emissions worldwide, HawkEye 360 delivers trusted domain awareness and early warning indicators to the US Government and allied partners. Our space-based collection, proprietary signal processing, and AI-powered analytics transform knowledge of RF spectrum into a strategic advantage. Proven by operational mission success, HawkEye 360 is redefining how signals intelligence strengthens national and global security.

    HawkEye 360 is committed to hiring and retaining a diverse workforce. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class.

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