Sr. Antenna Engineer (Starship)

The role

This person will perform RF engineering for Starship vehicles. They will design antennas for communications and sensors, build prototypes, and manage hardware development from design through production.

What you will do

• Design of antennas for communications and sensors, in VHF through Ka-band
• Build and characterization of antenna, feed, and front-end prototypes
• Development of measurement systems to support design
• Analysis of wireless systems
• Multidisciplinary collaboration to improve RF manufacturing, mechanical integration, and testability
• Provide antenna expertise and RF radiation expertise to various aspects of the spacecraft

Required qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline
• 5+ years of relevant professional or project experience in antenna design/build/test and electromagnetic simulations
• Must be willing to work extended hours and weekends as needed
• Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. lawful, permanent resident, Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S.

Nice to have

• Master’s degree or PhD in electrical engineering with research/thesis work on RF or antennas
• Experience with test equipment such as spectrum analyzer, signal generator, network analyzer, power meters, and RF passive components
• Proficiency with basic RF concepts such as impedance matching, linear and aperture antennas, smith chart, power handling metrics (IIP2, IMD), microwave network analysis, RF filter design
• Experience with near-field or far-field chamber design and operation
• Familiar with antenna measurement techniques and tools such as anechoic/reverb chambers, near field EM measurements
• Experience with electrical schematic capture software (Altium, Orcad or similar)
• Experience with RF circuit simulation tools for cascade analysis: AWR, ADS, Genesys
• Experience with electromagnetics simulation tools such as HFSS, CST, Savant, or similar
• Experience with Python, MATLAB, or C/C++ programming for data analysis or test equipment interfacing
• Basic CAD skills for prototype designs and working directly with mechanical engineers

Benefits

• Company stock or long-term cash awards
• Potential discretionary bonuses
• Ability to purchase additional stock at a discount through an Employee Stock Purchase Plan
• Comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage
• 401(k) retirement plan
• Short and long-term disability insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid parental leave
• 3 weeks of paid vacation
• 10 or more paid holidays per year
• Paid sick leave

Before you apply

• Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. lawful, permanent resident, Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S.

About the company

SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of enabling human life on Mars.