Staff Engineer, Optics and RF

About the role

The Avionics team at Cowboy Space Corp. is seeking a Staff Engineer to lead the design, development, and qualification of RF hardware that powers optical communication links for space‑based platforms. You will own the RF circuitry from concept through flight‑ready hardware, working closely with optics, mechanical, thermal and systems engineers.

Key responsibilities

• Design RF driver and receiver circuits for optical links supporting up to 50 Gbps data rates.
• Develop end‑to‑end RF signal‑chain architectures for laser‑diode drivers, modulators and photodetector front‑ends.
• Create high‑speed RF/analog PCB layouts with specialized stack‑ups for signal integrity and impedance control.
• Perform signal‑integrity analysis, including impedance matching, crosstalk mitigation and eye‑diagram/jitter optimization.
• Collaborate with optics and photonics engineers on electrical‑to‑optical and optical‑to‑electrical interfaces.
• Support integration and testing of free‑space optical communication terminals, both transmitter and receiver electronics.
• Run RF circuit simulations (S‑parameter, transmission‑line modeling) and validate designs through lab measurements.
• Debug and troubleshoot high‑speed RF/optical link performance in lab and field environments.
• Document design decisions, test results and contribute to design reviews and technical road‑maps.

Required profile

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, RF Engineering, Photonics or a related discipline.
• 5+ years of professional experience designing board‑level RF hardware for high‑speed communication systems.
• Proven ability to take RF subsystems from architecture through flight qualification.

Required skills

• RF circuit design and simulation (S‑parameters, transmission‑line modeling).
• High‑speed PCB layout with impedance control and stack‑up optimization.
• Signal‑integrity analysis, including impedance matching, crosstalk mitigation and eye‑diagram/jitter analysis.
• Design of laser‑diode drivers, modulators and photodetector front‑ends for optical communication.
• Laboratory measurement and characterization of RF/optical links.
• Debugging of high‑speed RF/optical link issues in both lab and field settings.