RF​/Microwave Design Engineer – Defense, UAS & Emerging Platforms

RF / Microwave Design Engineer – Defense, UAS & Emerging Platforms

Microphase Corporation, part of Gresham Worldwide, specializes in advanced RF technology and solutions for the Defense and Telecommunications industries. Their primary product families include bespoke mission‑critical solutions for tactical communications, radar, missile guidance, avionics, 5G, and electronic warfare systems. All products are manufactured in the USA.

Base pay range: $ – $ per year.

Position

Purpose:

This role is a cornerstone of the company’s engineering succession plan, ensuring continuity of existing RF/Microwave designs while advancing new technologies to support future defense, UAS, and counter‑UAS (C‑UAS) platforms.

Qualifications:

• U.S. Citizen with ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Security Clearance.
• Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (BSEE) required; RF/Microwave focus strongly preferred.
• Minimum 5+ years of RF/Microwave engineering experience.
• Strong familiarity with MIL standards and defense specifications.
• Experience supporting products across the full lifecycle: legacy sustainment, redesign, and new development.

Primary Responsibilities:

Legacy Design Sustainment & Knowledge Transfer

• Support, maintain, and enhance existing RF/Microwave filter and multiplexer designs.
• Troubleshoot production, yield, and performance issues in active defense programs.
• Document legacy architectures, assumptions, tuning methods, and test strategies.
• Work alongside senior engineers to capture and transfer knowledge ahead of retirement transitions.

New & Future Defense / UAS Design

• Design lumped‑element and distributed RF/Microwave filters and multiplexers.
• Develop RF solutions optimized for size, weight, and power (SWaP) constraints.
• Model and simulate RF/Microwave performance using industry‑standard tools.
• Design for operation in wide temperature ranges, EMI‑dense and spectrum‑contested conditions, UAS command & control (C2) links, data links, telemetry, ISR payloads, navigation and GPS‑denied environments, EW and spectrum resilience applications.
• Select, specify, and qualify components for reliability and manufacturability.

Customer, Manufacturing & Test Collaboration

• Work directly with customers to develop solutions that meet or exceed requirements.
• Write and maintain test procedures for qualification, acceptance, and production.
• Design with strong emphasis on DFM, DFT, yield, and repeatability.
• Collaborate with technicians during prototype builds, tuning, and first‑article production.
• Support transition from prototype to full‑rate production.

Preferred / Additive

Experience:

• UAS, C‑UAS, EW, or airborne RF systems.
• Multi‑band RF coexistence challenges.
• RF resilience in denied or contested spectrum environments.
• Defense or aerospace production environments.
• Mentoring and collaboration mindset.
• Systems‑level RF thinking.
• Ability to bridge legacy designs with modern RF architectures.
• Comfort operating in regulated, mission‑critical environments.

Seniority Level: Mid‑Senior level

Employment Type: Full‑time

Location: Shelton, CT