Senior Staff Engineer – CATV RF Design

AOI is committed to providing equal opportunity in all of our employment practices, including hiring, placement, promotion, training, transfer and compensation, to all qualified applicants and employees without regard to race, color, national origin, citizenship, religion, sex, veteran status, age, disability, marital status, or any other category protected by State or U.S. Federal law. Moreover, we endeavor to treat our employees fairly.

We are seeking a highly experienced Senior Staff Engineer with deep expertise in CATV RF and HFC network design, including active device architecture and amplifier design. This role serves as a senior technical authority responsible for the design, optimization, and modernization of broadband HFC networks and the active components that power them. The ideal candidate brings 15+ years of progressive RF engineering experience within the cable telecommunications industry and demonstrates strong technical leadership, innovation, and cross‑functional collaboration.

• Lead end-to-end RF design and architecture for CATV/HFC networks including system expansion, segmentation, node splits, and capacity upgrades
• Develop cascade designs including amplifier spacing, tilt planning, equalization strategy, and link budget analysis
• Perform forward and return path design including mid-split, high-split, and extended spectrum DOCSIS implementations
• Support fiber deep, DAA (Remote PHY/Remote MACPHY), and DOCSIS 3.1/4.0 evolution strategies
• Define and maintain RF design standards, engineering guidelines, and performance metrics
• Design and optimize broadband RF amplifier stages for HFC applications across 5 MHz–1.8 GHz (and beyond for extended spectrum)
• Develop gain stage architectures including push‑pull and GaN/LDMOS‑based output stages
• Perform distortion analysis including CCN and NPR performance
• Design automatic gain control (AGC) and automatic level control (ALC) systems
• Engineer equalization networks and slope compensation to maintain flatness across extended bandwidth
• Analyze thermal performance, power dissipation, and efficiency of amplifier modules
• Evaluate noise figure, return loss, isolation, and impedance matching performance
• Support power supply integration, standby powering schemes, and surge protection design
• Conduct simulation and modeling using RF design tools (e.g., ADS, Microwave Office, SPICE‑based modeling)
• Lead validation testing including sweep alignment, MER/SNR performance, ingress resilience, and field qualification
• Experience with Altium CAD software tools
• Conduct system‑level performance analysis including MER, SNR, group delay, distortion products, and return path noise
• Optimize cascade depth and amplifier count to balance performance, cost, and reliability
• Lead troubleshooting of plant impairments related to active device nonlinearities or misalignment
• Collaborate with operations teams on deployment, activation, and field support
• Serve as subject matter expert on RF active devices and HFC architecture
• Mentor junior engineers and guide technical development of the organization
• Partner with product, operations, and executive leadership on long‑term network strategy
• Evaluate vendor components, silicon technologies, and emerging architectures
• Support compliance with SCTE, ANSI, and FCC standards

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or related technical discipline (required)
• Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering or related field (preferred)
• 15+ years of experience in CATV/HFC RF design
• Direct experience designing or architecting broadband RF amplifiers for HFC systems
• Strong understanding of RF transmission theory, impedance matching, and nonlinear distortion mechanisms
• Extensive knowledge of DOCSIS 3.0/3.1/4.0 and extended spectrum evolution
• Experience with RF modeling and simulation tools
• Proven ability to lead complex technical initiatives

• Experience with GaN or LDMOS device technologies in broadband applications
• Familiarity with digital predistortion (DPD) techniques
• SCTE certifications (SCTE-T, SCTE-IE)
• Experience leading extended spectrum or DOCSIS 4.0 deployments
• Background in hybrid analog/digital amplifier module design

This position will be on‑site based in Duluth, GA.

In addition to competitive salary, AOI offers

• Flexible and competitive health (medical, dental, vision) plans offer the employee with the right options to meet individual and family needs
• Employer matching on 401(k) deferrals
• Generous PTO policy, with unused PTO payout at end of the year
• Relocation package available within US
• Immigration sponsor ships (Must be currently authorized to work in the US)

We do not accept unsolicited proposals from third‑party recruiters or agencies. Contacting hiring managers directly may result in disqualification of submissions.