Staff RF Engineer (R5991)

Shield AI · Seattle, Washington

  • Senior
  • Full-time
  • $185,000 – $275,000
  • Posted 2026-10-13
  • Confirmed live on 14 October 2026

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Job description

Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation and synthetic reality technologies. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube. 

We are seeking a highly motivated engineer to support the design, development, integration, and fielding of a next-generation autonomous aircraft system. This position requires a balance of technical rigor, rapid decision-making, and hands-on engineering to efficiently transition concepts into operational capability. The ideal candidate is comfortable solving complex problems, taking ownership, working within an accelerated aircraft development environment, and is motivated by getting meaningful capability into the hands of operators quickly.

WHAT YOU’LL DO:
• Own RF and microwave module designs from requirements and architecture through schematic capture, component selection, layout, bring-up, verification, qualification, and production release.

• Design active and passive RF circuits such as low-noise amplifiers, power amplifiers, filters and multiplexers, RF switches, limiters, couplers, attenuators, power detectors, and frequency-conversion stages.

• Develop RF front-end assemblies that meet gain, noise figure, output power, linearity, compression, efficiency, harmonic and spurious-emission, stability, isolation, and out-of-band rejection requirements.

• Perform circuit and electromagnetic analysis using tools such as Keysight ADS, Cadence AWR, HFSS, or CST, and correlate models with measured hardware performance.

• Create and review RF and mixed-signal PCB designs, including controlled-impedance routing, grounding, shielding, stack-up definition, power distribution, and placement of sensitive or high-power components.

• Plan and execute laboratory characterization using network analyzers, spectrum analyzers, signal generators, noise-figure analyzers, power meters, oscilloscopes, and automated test equipment.

• Diagnose difficult hardware issues involving instability, oscillation, intermodulation, self-interference, desense, thermal drift, mismatch, leakage, and electromagnetic coupling.

• Work closely with mechanical, thermal, avionics, communications, antenna, manufacturing, and test engineers to integrate RF hardware into size-, weight-, power-, cooling-, and environmental constraints.

• Develop verification methods, production test strategies, calibration approaches, and clear technical documentation that make designs repeatable and manufacturable.

• Support environmental and electromagnetic qualification, supplier engagements, hardware integration, ground test, and flight test as needed.

• Contribute to design reviews, share technical knowledge, and mentor other engineers at a level appropriate to the position.

• Perform other duties as assigned.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

• Hands-on experience owning an RF or microwave circuit, module, or PCB assembly through fabrication, bring-up, debugging, and measured verification.

• Strong understanding of S-parameters, impedance matching, transmission lines, stability, gain and noise figure, linearity and compression, nonlinear products, isolation, and cascaded RF performance.

• Experience creating or reviewing RF PCB layouts with controlled impedance, grounding, shielding, component placement, and signal-integrity considerations.

• Proficiency with common RF laboratory instruments and calibration methods, with the ability to distinguish hardware behavior from measurement artifacts.

• Ability to use simulation and measured data to make sound design decisions, document tradeoffs, and close requirements with objective evidence.

• Clear written and verbal communication skills and the ability to work effectively with cross-functional engineering and manufacturing teams.

• Ability to work on-site in a laboratory and hardware-development environment.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
• Experience with RF front ends for airborne, defense, space, robotics, or other high-reliability systems.

• Experience integrating GaN or GaAs power amplifiers, MMICs, LNAs, switches, limiters, frequency converters, or high-selectivity filter technologies.

• Experience designing for simultaneous transmit and receive operation, high-power RF, intermodulation control, adjacent-band rejection, or co-site interference and desense.

• Experience with Altium Designer and one or more RF or electromagnetic simulation environments such as ADS, AWR, HFSS, or CST.

• Working knowledge of thermal design, RF packaging, connect

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