Jr. RF Engineer

Jump start your career with a great team!

Location: Based near Milwaukee, WI
Department: Engineering
Type: Full-time
Travel: Occasional travel required for customer/design support, trade shows, and onsite debugging

At CEL, we’re building more than wireless modules - we’re building relationships. With over 60 years of experience, we combine big-company stability with small-team agility. We’re based in Milwaukee and looking for a technically adept, customer-oriented Jr. RF Engineer to join us.

• Real Impact: We’re small enough that your ideas won’t get lost in the shuffle – you’ll shape products, strategy, and success.
• Collaborative Culture: Open communication, strong mentoring, and a focus on quality teamwork.
• Flexibility: We trust you to manage your time and projects. Our lab is based in Milwaukee, but there may be days you can work remotely.
• Competitive Compensation: Base salary based on experience, with variable pay tied to performance.
• Comprehensive Benefits: Enjoy the advantages of a well-established company with a startup spirit.

A Junior RF Engineer to conceive, design, develop, and test embedded wireless modules and systems. This role focuses on hardware‑based wireless products for industrial, commercial, IoT, and B2B markets. Candidates must be local to Milwaukee, WI
.

This job description is a starting place. We’re a small company without rigid roles – we have plenty to do, and we’ll help you grow wherever your interests take you.

• A self‑starter who adapts to change easily and takes ownership of projects
• Independent, organized, self‑disciplined, motivated, and eager to learn
• Able to collaborate and communicate across functional teams
• Effective and confident in decision‑making and problem‑solving
• Comfortable moving quickly, breaking things responsibly, and getting hands‑on in the lab
• Creative with a strong desire to learn

• Excellent interpersonal skills
• A demonstrated ability to work in a remote + local team environment (we use Slack, Skype, Email, etc)
• Ability to analyze defects, identify root causes, and implement corrective actions
• Experience with RF systems and board level design with a working knowledge of RF architecture
• Understanding of RF design techniques and constraints, including RF matching | Place and route constraints for both RF and high‑speed digital design | Clock distribution | Power distribution | PCB material selection, board stackup design and impedance control | Signal termination techniques | EMI control and reduction | Thermal design
• CAD/CAE tools: PADS schematic capture and layout, Fusion 360, or Inventor
• LabVIEW (or other automation) software development experience desired
• Work with Senior RF Engineers to perform RF module/system implementation throughout a product design cycle
• Hands‑on soldering skills down to 0201‑size chip components for prototype assembly and testing
• Part selection, prototyping, factory bring‑up, testing, lab bench debug, and root cause analysis
• Knowledge in wireless communication standards, modulation/demodulation, digital signal processing
• Understanding RF/microwave fundamentals and electromagnetic theory
• Understanding of module building blocks, including Power Amplifiers, LNAs, RF Switches, Filters, Flash Memory, etc
• Background with wireless networking protocols like Zig Bee, WiFi, Bluetooth, etc
• Provide support and debug capabilities to customers over call and email
• Ability to maintain confidentiality

• Experience characterizing and improving wireless performance
• Experience with logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, and function generators
• Familiarity with protocols like I2C, UART, SPI, USB, GPIO, RS232, RS485
• Experience optimizing embedded software for wireless stacks
• Familiarity with Git, software design methodology, and development processes
• Experience in embedded system development using Linux, RTOS, GCC, IAR on x86, ARM, MIPS, or PPC
• Experience with frameworks and build systems
• Programming in one or more languages
• Experience with development tools (IDEs, emulators, analyzers) and real‑time debugging
• Knowledge of Linux kernel development, device drivers, and board support packages
• Teamware: FTDI, J‑Link, or other debuggers
• Scripting skills (Lua, Python, Bash, Makefiles, etc.)
• Experience with U‑Boot, OpenWRT, or Yocto Linux

If you’re interested in joining the CEL Engineering Team, please email your resume and cover letter to .