At Vast, our mission is to contribute to a future where billions of people are living and thriving in space. We are building artificial gravity space stations, allowing long-term stays in space without the adverse effects of zero-gravity. Our initial crewed space habitat will be Haven-1, scheduled to be the world’s first commercial space station when it launches into low earth orbit in May 2026. Our team is all-in, committed to executing our mission safely and on time. If you want to work with the most talented people on Earth furthering space exploration for humanity, come join us.
Vast is looking for an RF Test Engineer, reporting to the Director, RF Engineering, to support the development of the systems that will be required for the design and build of artificial-gravity human-rated space stations. The RF Test Engineer will help develop and deploy creative test solutions for complex RF communications and antenna systems for artificial gravity space stations, your work will be vital in testing new and existing RF hardware to support Vast’s mission. Help us make the communication systems that will advance human spaceflight!
This will be a full-time, exempt position located in our Long Beach location.
Responsibilities:
- Work closely with RF and antenna engineers to design and build state of the art automated test systems for component level and vehicle level applications.
- Test automation software development for test instruments, data processing, test sequencing, and reporting.
- Define RF test system requirements and specifications.
- Support spacecraft RF test activities such as OTA, EMI/EMC, antenna pattern measurement, and system checkouts.
- Hands on environmental test for RF hardware (thermal cycling, TVAC, random vibration, shock, EMI/EMC, humidity, etc) as well as supporting spacecraft integration test in cleanroom facilities.
Minimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in ECE, EE, Physics, or related STEM discipline.
- 2+ years in an RF design and/or test role.
- Experience with RF test equipment such as Spectrum Analyzers, Vector Network Analyzers, Signal Generators, Communications Test Systems, Power Meters, etc.
Preferred Skills & Experience:
- Ms in ECE, EE, Physics, or related stem discipline.
- Mission oriented mindset with a strong desire for team success.
- Comfortable communicating deeply technical topics to a wide variety of audiences.
- Experience with GNU Radio and software-defined radios (SDRs).
- Understanding of RF modulation and media access control schemes such as BPSK, SOQPSK, GMSK, APSK, TDMA, FDMA, etc.
- Familiarity with IP networking and ethernet connected test instruments.
- Experience with serial communication protocols such as CAN, SPI, and I2C, RS-422/485.
- Understanding of RF schematics and RF electronics manufacturing.
- Experience with software development: Matlab, LabVIEW, Python, C/C++, etc.
- Familiarity with space rated avionics test standards such as SMC-S-016, GSFC-STD-7000, MIL-STD-461, etc.
Pay Range:
- RF Test Engineer: $120,000 - $150,000
- Senior RF Test Engineer: $140,000 - $170,000
U.S. EXPORT CONTROL COMPLIANCE STATUS
The person hired will have access to information and items subject to U.S. export controls, and therefore, must either be a “U.S. person” as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.62 or otherwise eligible for deemed export licensing. This status includes U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, lawful permanent residents (green card holders), and asylees and refugees with such status granted, not pending.EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
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What We Do
Vast is developing artificial gravity space stations to expand humanity across the solar system.
Vast’s mission is to enable large populations of humans to live and work in space, permanently.
Our solar system has the resources and room for humanity to thrive and expand without destroying Earth’s biosphere. Unlocking these resources requires in-space infrastructure and industry at an unprecedented scale.
We are building a world-class team to engineer the human experience in space.
Why Work With Us
We're developing artificial gravity space stations to expand humanity across the solar system in order to enable large populations to live and work in space. Not only is what we're working on groundbreaking, but the team prides itself on living by our values of respect, curiosity, action, and excellence making it a lot more fun to achieve our goal.
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