Lead Antenna Engineer

About the role

Impulse Space is looking for a Lead Antenna Engineer in Redondo Beach to lead a team designing antenna systems for spacecraft communication systems and GNSS receivers. The engineer works with RF, avionics hardware, mechanical and other engineers to build performant, maintainable solutions, owning the antenna design lifecycle from initial design through prototype and characterization and supporting the design on orbit.

Key responsibilities

• Define antenna and feed network systems for low, medium and high gain spacecraft antennas.
• Lead a team of engineers on passive and active antenna designs from LEO to deep space.
• Architect and implement engineering processes that streamline antenna development, verification and production.
• Drive 1 GHz to 30 GHz antenna designs from initial analysis through prototype and characterization.
• Integrate antenna designs into RF front ends and vehicle structures with RF and mechanical engineers.
• Optimize designs for power handling, volume and mass constraints, and radiation and thermal environments on orbit.
• Analyze real-world performance, debug antenna issues on completed vehicles and improve vehicle radiated performance.
• Perform EM simulations of PCBs and other vehicle structures for desense analysis.

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, science or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience in research or development of antennas.
• Familiarity with 3D EM simulation tools such as CST, HFSS, COMSOL or CENOS.
• Experience analyzing antenna systems in the lab (s-parameters, isolation, radiation patterns, propagation effects).
• Strong foundation in RF concepts such as impedance matching, s-parameters, microwave network analysis and power handling.

Preferred skills and experience

• Master's degree or PhD in wireless communications, antenna engineering or a related field.
• 2+ years leading spacecraft or other high-reliability antenna projects.
• High-gain circularly polarized antenna design and RF system-level testing with spectrum analyzers, power meters, oscilloscopes and noise figure analyzers.
• Antenna hardware for launch vehicles, satellites or spacecraft, and system-level placement for desense mitigation.
• Integration with mechanical and vehicle engineers, and experience in a startup or agile environment.
• Familiarity with Earth station antenna systems.

Compensation is stated as $180,000 to $220,000 per year. Full-time hires may also be eligible for stock options, medical, vision and dental coverage and a 401(k) plan. The position is subject to U.S. export regulations (ITAR and EAR) and requires U.S. person eligibility or export license eligibility.