Chief RF Engineer

Test and Measurement Systems, also known as NI, Product R&D is seeking a Chief RF Engineer to join our RF R&D team in Santa Rosa, CA. In this high-visibility role, you will lead the technical direction and evolution of next-generation, high-frequency RF/microwave hardware and subsystems of test and measurement equipment. This role is responsible for driving high‑impact architectural and technical decisions to ensure long‑term competitiveness, performance, and reuse across platforms.

You bring strong initiative and judgment to complex and ambiguous challenges, anticipate long‑term implications of design decisions on the larger portfolio, and influence outcomes through technical depth, clarity, and trust. You selectively engage in deep technical work on the most critical problems while guiding teams toward robust, scalable solutions. You contribute your perspective as a technical leader and RF subject matter expert to corporate initiatives to continuously improve and scale our engine

• Provide architectural oversight and technical direction on complex designs, intervening directly on critical challenges wh en needed

• Influence design decisions through data-driven analysis, simulation, and empirical results

• Guide RF/microwave designs (e.g. front ends, LO/PLL, filters, mixers, PAs/LNAs, switches/couplers) to meet specifications and acceptance criteria.

• Perform feasibility assessment of emerging technologies through research, prototyping, early modeling, and rapid experimentation.
• Drive concepts through prototyping, development, V&V, compliance (EMC/safety, RoHS/REACH), NPI, and sustaining activities with minimal oversight—determining methods and procedures for new assignments.

• Lead and review advanced RF system modeling, troubleshooting, and simulation‑to‑measurement correlation (e.g., LTspice, Ansys Designer, SI/PI simulation).

• Assess system‑level performance including sensing paths, signal conditioning, and inter‑device interfaces (SPI, I²C) when applicable to RF subsystems.

• Review and strengthen test strategies, validation approaches, and design rigor are applied consistently across project teams

• Mentor other engineers, guide design reviews, and promote consistent engineering rigor across the team. Apply or support design controls, risk analysis, and robust documentation.

• Build strong cross‑functional relationships, influencing decisions through well‑supported technical rationale.

• Occasional domestic/international travel (up to 10%) to support supplier builds, customer evaluations, or factory activities.

• Technical Lead for selected product development projects, owning the integrated technical direction from concept through release while partnering with project management on scope, schedule, cost, resource, and risk planning. Ensure technical direction aligns with product roadmaps, emerging technologies, customer needs, and business priorities

• Owns cross‑discipline technical alignment across Mechanical, Analog, RF, Digital, Calibration, Driver, System, Test, and other contributing functions to ensure project‑level design decisions are coherent, traceable, and executable.

• Drive requirements management for assigned projects, including translation of product and customer needs into unambiguous and nonconflicting system, subsystem, and discipline‑level requirements, specifications, acceptance criteria, and verification traceability.

• Drive project‑level technical risk management by identifying risks, defining mitigation plans, and ensuring risks are communicated clearly for decision making.

• Owns V&V strategy for assigned projects, ensuring test plans, coverage, evidence, and closure criteria demonstrate that requirements are met across all relevant disciplines.

• Support RF architecture definition across product lines, ensuring consistency, scalability, and reuse of designs and approaches

• Provide subject matter expertise for multiple areas as an independent reviewer for multiple portfolio projects

• Identify and drive architectural investments, technology…