Principal RF Engineer

Join to apply for the Principal RF Engineer I role at Cesium Astro

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Join to apply for the Principal RF Engineer I role at Cesium Astro

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 Cesium Astro, 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, Cesium Astro is the place for you.

We are actively seeking passionate, collaborative, energetic, and forward‑thinking individuals to join our team.
We are actively seeking passionate, collaborative, energetic, and forward‑thinking individual to join our team as a Principal RF Engineer I. The ideal candidate has extensive experience in board‑level and system‑level RF electronics design. If you 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 be responsible for RF circuits, modules, and systems through all phases of the development process. The ideal candidate will be proficient in board‑level schematic design and PCB layout of RF circuits, system‑level communications concepts such as link budgets and modulation schemes, and end‑to‑end RF product development. The work will include many aspects of phased array communication systems, including RF front ends, frequency converters and synthesizers, filters, beamformers, power dividers, and phased array antennas.
As a principal hardware team member, you will be responsible for RF system and hardware designs from initial concept through requirements definition, architecture definition, part selection, detailed design, analysis, manufacturing, testing, qualification, and in‑orbit support of Cesium's products. Hardware design tasks will include block diagrams, detailed schematics, PCB layout and routing, simulations, and test design. Principal Engineers also serve as technical and professional mentors in their field and may be given the opportunity to lead company programs.
The successful candidate will also present engineering design review materials to our customers and executive team, as well as participate in proposal‑writing efforts. As such, excellent written and verbal communication skills are required.
This role will initially be remote, with a planned transition to in‑person work once our Florida office is established.

• Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Electrical Engineering (EE) from an accredited university or institution. Master of Science (MS) desired.
• Minimum of 9 years of industry experience in design and analysis of RF electronics and systems.
• Expert‑level proficiency in professional simulation tools such as CST and ADS, as well as EDA tools such Altium.
• Extensive hands‑on experience with lab instruments such as vector network analyzers, spectrum analyzers, signal generators, and oscilloscopes.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• Python or other programming languages.
• Aerospace electronics design, development, and qualification.
• Worst‑case circuit analysis, failure method and criticality analyses, and reliability analysis.
• Antenna design
• EMI/EMC design and mitigation techniques.

Cesium Astro 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,…