Manager, RF Hardware Engineering
Leads ICEYE US's RF hardware engineering team, owning the RF architecture for next-generation SAR satellite payloads, radar subsystems, and vehicle communications — from requirements and design through test, integration, and launch. Core work spans phased antenna arrays, high-speed digitizers, RF front ends, data links, and RF analysis tooling (Python), plus hiring and mentoring engineers.
- Compensation
- $165K–$200K / yr
- Location
- Irvine
- Work setup
- Onsite
- Seniority
- Lead
- Employment
- Not specified
- Experience
- 2+ years
- Category
- Hardware
- Posted
Skills
Must have
- 8+ years of RF hardware engineering experience, including spacecraft or payload RF system design through the full design lifecycle
- 2+ years of direct engineering management or technical lead experience with a multi-discipline RF or hardware engineering team
- Deep background in RF hardware design including high-speed digitizers, low-noise RF circuits, antenna and phased array systems, and RF front-end integration
- Experience in RF test and validation, including anechoic testing, phased array characterization, RF test automation, and data analysis
- Experience developing RF subsystem requirements and deriving engineering requirements from mission-level performance goals
- Proficiency in microwave and RF analysis using Python or equivalent tools
- Familiarity with SAR imaging concepts and system design
- Advanced degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field
Nice to have
- 4+ years of hands-on experience in SAR payload design, integration, and test
- Direct experience with communications hardware design for space vehicles, including uplink/downlink RF systems and link margin analysis
- Experience with assembly, integration, and testing (AIT) for spacecraft and payloads, including environmental test (vibration, TVAC, EMI/EMC)
- Experience with formal verification and validation of space-rated RF systems
- Background in radar hardware architecture, waveform design, or pulse compression chain design
- Experience leading RF capture contributions — RFIs, RFPs, and technical proposals
- Master's or PhD in Electrical Engineering, RF/Microwave Engineering, or a related field
Full description
Third-party recruiters: Please do not contact us about this role.Manager, RF Hardware Engineering
At ICEYE, we design, build and operate the largest fleet of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites in the world. Using advanced technology, our constellation collects topographical data about any location on Earth, day or night, through any weather conditions.
Headquartered in Southern California, our customers are society’s heroes – intelligence professionals, warfighters, first responders, and scientific researchers. As a trusted mission partner, the United States and its allies depend on us for critical information when it matters most.
Role Description
ICEYE US is developing next-generation spaceborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) payloads and full space vehicles, and is seeking an RF Hardware Manager to lead the engineering team responsible for payload RF hardware, radar systems, and communications hardware design. Sitting within the Space Systems engineering team, this role owns the RF hardware architecture across SAR payload, radar subsystems, and vehicle-level communications — ensuring that antenna arrays, high-speed digitizers, RF front ends, and data links meet mission performance requirements across the full program lifecycle.
The manager will absorb and institutionalize relevant historical knowledge of ICEYE's SAR payload designs and RF architecture, guiding the translation of that knowledge into ICEYE US products, while simultaneously building the RF hardware foundation to support full space vehicle development. They will own the concept of operations (CONOPS) to inform RF design decisions across all engineering domains, serve as the primary RF technical authority at all program lifecycle reviews, and drive the team toward a verified, integrated flight article ready for environmental test and launch.
Responsibilities
- Lead, mentor, and grow a team of RF hardware, radar, and communications hardware engineers; own hiring, onboarding, performance development, and technical career growth for direct reports.\
- Own RF subsystem program execution: work breakdown, scheduling, resource loading, risk tracking, and status reporting against program milestones (SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, FRR).
- Set and enforce RF hardware engineering standards, processes, and operating framework governing how RF systems, radar hardware, and communications hardware are designed, analyzed, tested, and verified across the program lifecycle — including RF analysis standards, test automation frameworks, documentation formats, and RF verification readiness criteria.
- Serve as the RF hardware technical authority and primary cross-functional counterpart to systems engineering, mechanical, thermal, avionics, embedded software, firmware, and program management stakeholders.