Principal RF Payload Engineer II

Please Note: To conform with the United States Government Space Technology Export Regulations, the applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., conditional resident, asylee or refugee (protected individuals as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

At CesiumAstro, we are developers and pioneers of out-of-the-box communication systems for satellites, UAVs, launch vehicles, and other space and airborne platforms. We take pride in our dynamic and cross-functional work environment, which allows us to learn, develop, and engage across our organization. If you are looking for hands-on, interactive, and autonomous work, CesiumAstro is the place for you. We are actively seeking passionate, collaborative, energetic, and forward-thinking individuals to join our team.

We are looking to add a Principal RF Payload Engineer II to our team. If you are great at what you do, enjoy working in a startup environment, and are passionate about developing leading-edge phased arrays for satellites, spacecraft, and aerospace systems, we would like to hear from you.

In this position, you will work closely with our Director of Conceptual Design to develop complex, state-of-the-art payload systems for space and airborne applications. You will work in close collaboration with the business development team as well as the RF/Antenna/systems engineering team on architecture concepts and enabling technologies for microwave radiometry, polarimetry and SAR systems. You will lead the development of space architecture concepts, sub-system design, payload design, requirements development, analysis and decomposition, high-level software and hardware system architecture design, concept of operations (CONOPS) development, and risk assessment.

The successful candidate will communicate effectively with team members and internal stakeholders, as well as participate in authoring content. 

• Evaluate customer/operational needs to define system performance requirements, integrate technical parameters, and assure compatibility of all physical, functional and program interfaces.
• Support reviews of requests for proposals to support solution development and response.
• Lead development cradle-to-grave from architecture-level trade studies through to hardware integration, test and operations.
• Define and validate payload system requirements and interfaces.
• Develop and direct technical concept development in support of proposals.
• Lead development of space architecture concepts, sub-system design, payload design, requirements development, analysis and decomposition, hardware system design, Link budget studies, gain line up, cascade analysis, array simulation studies, sources of noise / errors, concept of operations (CONOPS) development, and risk reduction.
• Define requirements or budgets for other subsystems such as: attitude control; position, navigation and timing; structural modes; calibration; thermal management
• Lead analyses to optimize total system of systems and/or system architecture.
• Develop designs and conduct research that results in new or novel sensing techniques, designs or capabilities . 
• Lead efforts in developing system engineering processes for requirements management, flowdown, and traceability.
• Experience performing simulation and analysis of RF system performance and remote sensing system expected performance from either first principles, raw or proxy data
• Develop our company culture for remote sensing development and customer engagement.

• Master’s or Doctorate degree in Electrical Engineering, Radar Engineering or a similar field
• 11+ years of experience in space RF remote sensing
• Very strong background in digital signal processing, statistics, linear algebra, imaging theory, data product retrieval, and L1/L2 algorithms
• Deep understanding of RF concept, impairments, and the resulting impact on baseband processing
• Background and practical experience with FPGA & modern vector processing engines 
• Experience with and understanding of satellite RF waveforms and phenomenology of remote sensing
• Experience with at least one scripting and one programming language (ideally Python & C++) 
• Experience working with product/component developers and vendors who provide critical functionality to the overall system.
• Experience with optical communications systems.
• Ability to hold a security clearance
• Excellent written and verbal technical communication skills 
• Ability to define work direction, track milestones, and demonstrate progress on large
• open-ended projects 
• Sense of urgency, with the ability to work well under pressure 
• The ability to work well in teams, with peers and management 

CesiumAstro considers several factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to, the role and associated responsibilities, a candidate’s work experience, education/training, and key skills.  Full-time employment offers include company stock options and a generous benefits package including health, dental, vision, HSA, FSA, life, disability and retirement plans.  

CesiumAstro is an Equal Opportunity employer.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected Veteran Status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Please note: CesiumAstro does not accept unsolicited resumes from contract agencies or search firms. Any unsolicited resumes submitted to our website or to CesiumAstro team members not through our approved vendor list or Talent Acquisition will be considered property of CesiumAstro, and we will not be obligated to pay any referral fees.