RF Systems Engineer

Vast · Long Beach, California, United States

  • Junior
  • Full-time
  • $120,540 – $209,520
  • Posted 2026-11-09
  • Confirmed live on 10 November 2026

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Job description

Vast is developing next-generation space stations and space infrastructure using an incremental, hardware-rich, and capital-efficient approach. Vast is rapidly developing its multi-module Haven Station to support a continuous human presence in space for America and its allies, enabling advanced microgravity research and manufacturing, and supporting a growing space economy for government, corporate, and private customers. Haven Demo’s 2025 success made Vast the only operational commercial space station company to design, build, and operate its own spacecraft in orbit. Next, Haven-1 is targeted to become the world’s first commercial space station, with launch anticipated in 2027, followed by additional Haven modules. Additionally, the company recently announced two new offerings leveraging its space station components and the heritage of Haven Demo: Vast Satellite, a high-power satellite product line; and Vast Lunar Systems, power, communications, and habitats for the Moon.

Headquartered in Long Beach, California, and with more than 1,000 employees and over a billion dollars in private capital, Vast has built the facilities capable of manufacturing America’s next space station. The company plans to develop future habitats and systems for Mars, dedicated modules for government partners, and other crewed systems designed to unlock the expanding long-term space economy.

Vast is looking for a RF Systems Engineer, reporting to the Director, RF Engineering, to execute the development of the RF Systems for spacecraft including space stations and satellites.

As an RF Systems Engineer, you will manage communication system requirements and verification for space stations and satellites. Your responsibilities will include RF system design, link budgets, satellite coverage analysis, and definition of system concepts-of-operation (CONOPs). You will be expected to own one or more RF components and to collaborate with your mechanical, thermal, test, integration, and mission assurance engineering counterparts to guide those components through testing, integration, and operation during the mission.

This will be a full-time, exempt position in our Long Beach location.

Responsibilities:

• Own and manage spacecraft RF system requirements and verification plan

• Specify link parameters including modulation, error correction coding, symbol rate, and channel filter

• Calculate link budgets, considering data throughput requirements, link conditions, and ground station characteristics

• Estimate the expected data throughput and bit error rate based on your link budgets

• Maintain link budgets with consideration to on-vehicle antenna patterns, cable losses, radio specifications, and channel conditions for the expected orbit

• Support regulatory license applications by providing required analyses such as power flux density and antenna contours

• Use standard tools such as Ansys STK to estimate coverage and link variability during real mission orbit scenarios

• Document and review your work output with peers through trade studies and design reviews

• Own one or more RF products from development testing through mission operation

• Be a center of subject matter expertise over your RF components in the context of the overall RF system

• Plan the design, manufacturing, testing, integration, and delivery to the vehicle and coordinate the schedule with interfacing teams and project management

• Manage relationships with cross-functional teams including mechanical engineers, test engineers, manufacturing engineers, thermal engineers, and avionics engineers

• Manage vendors and clearly communicate requirements, deliverables, and schedule

• Define test plans and procedures for acceptance and qualification testing

• Define and document checkout tests to validate proper operation during and after integration at the vehicle level

• Support mission operations as a subject matter expert on the spacecraft RF system

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in ECE, EE, Physics, or related STEM discipline

• Familiarity with digital RF communication theory, components, and fundamentals

• Satellite Link budgets

• Satellite link figures of merit including

• G/T ratio

• Signal-to-noise figures of merit including C/No, Eb/No, etc

• Error vector magnitude (EVM)

• Noise figure

• Bit error rate

• Modulation schemes

• Interference

• IQ modulators

• Channel impairments

• EIRP

• Free space path loss (FSPL)

• Doppler shift

• Familiarity with antennas and propagation

• Antenna gain/directivity

• Antenna polarization

• Experience with RF measurements and concepts

• Spectrum analyzers

• Noise bandwidth

• Experience with RF fundamentals

• S-parameters

• Experience in programming

• Data analysis tools

• Experience with product management

• Vendor management

• Design reviews

• Requirements and verification

Preferred Skills & Experience:

• MS or PhD in ECE, EE, Physics, or related stem discipline

• Work experienc

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