Senior RF & Antenna Systems Engineer

Northwood is a modern space infrastructure company bringing the benefits of space to the masses through advanced communications technology. We are building a global network of phased array ground stations that enable real-time, reliable communication for satellite missions such as national security, global connectivity, and disaster response. With a vertically integrated approach, Northwood designs, builds, and rapidly deploys scalable systems that power the next generation of space missions. If you like solving complex challenges and seeing your work deployed around the world with real impact, Northwood is the place to do it.

Role
As an Senior RF & Antenna Systems Engineer you will define and evaluate phased-array RF architectures for Northwood’s satellite ground-station network. You will translate mission and link requirements into antenna, aperture, beamforming, RF front-end, calibration, and tracking requirements, and evaluate how those choices affect end-to-end communications performance.
This role sits at the intersection of phased arrays, RF systems, SATCOM links, and physical-layer communications. You will work closely with antenna, RF, DSP/communications, digital, mechanical, manufacturing, software, and operations teams to ensure that the complete ground-station system achieves its required link performance.
The ideal candidate has deep experience in phased-array or antenna systems and can reason beyond the aperture—connecting gain, scan loss, polarization, sidelobes, noise, linearity, phase noise, calibration, and propagation to EVM, acquisition, BER, throughput, and link availability.

Responsibilities

• Define phased-array antenna and RF-system architectures for satellite communication ground stations.

• Translate mission, coverage, link-availability, waveform, throughput, and regulatory requirements into aperture, RF front-end, beamforming, calibration, pointing, and tracking specifications.

• Develop and maintain end-to-end SATCOM link budgets incorporating measured aperture and RF-chain performance.

• Evaluate array architectures and tradeoffs involving aperture size, element spacing, polarization, scan volume, grating lobes, sidelobes, taper efficiency, channel count, beam count, and RF-to-digital partitioning.

• Analyze analog, hybrid, and digital beamforming approaches in collaboration with RF and digital implementation teams.

• Determine how antenna and RF impairments affect communications performance, including EVM, carrier acquisition, BER/BLER, throughput, spectral compliance, and link availability.

• Analyze RF lineups and performance budgets for gain, noise figure, dynamic range, linearity, compression, intermodulation, phase noise, frequency stability, filtering, and isolation.

• Define array calibration strategies addressing channel-to-channel amplitude and phase variation, temperature drift, mutual coupling, element failures, polarization error, and scan-dependent behavior.

• Develop pointing, acquisition, tracking, beam-management, and handover strategies for operational satellite links.

• Model propagation, atmospheric attenuation, polarization loss, interference, multipath, blockage, and other environmental effects relevant to ground-station deployment.

• Build Python, MATLAB, or similar models combining array behavior, measured RF performance, propagation, and modem-level metrics.

• Plan and execute conducted, chamber, near-field, far-field, over-the-air, and end-to-end communication-link testing.

• Lead cross-functional investigations of degraded G/T, EIRP, link margin, EVM, acquisition, tracking, BER, throughput, or spectral performance.

• Correlate analytical models and simulations with measured aperture, RF, modem, and operational link data.

• Support regulatory submissions, spectrum coordination, partner interface reviews, system acceptance, and operational deployment.

Basic qualifications

• Bachelor’s or advanced degree in Electrical Engineering, Communications Engineering, Applied Physics, or a related discipline.

• 5+ years of experience with phased arrays, antenna systems, RF communication systems, or SATCOM terminals.

• Strong foundation in antenna theory, array processing, electromagnetics, RF system design, and microwave propagation.

• Experience with communication-link analysis, including EIRP, G/T, C/N0​, Eb​/N0​, link margin, atmospheric loss, and interference.

• Understanding of digital communications sufficient to relate RF performance to modulation-dependent EVM, acquisition, BER, throughput, and spectral performance.

• Experience defining or evaluating RF lineups, including noise figure, gain, linearity, dynamic range, phase noise, filtering, and isolation.

• Experience using MATLAB, Python, or similar tools for array, RF-system, propagation, or link analysis.

• Hands-on experience with RF measurements and integrated system debugging using equipment such as vector network analyzers, spectrum analyzers, signal generators, noise sources, and vector signal analyzers.

Preferred experience

• Experience developing Ku-, Ka-, or higher-frequency SATCOM phased-array terminals or ground stations.

• Experience with analog, hybrid, or digital beamforming and multi-channel RF architectures.

• Experience with massive MIMO, adaptive beamforming, multi-beam systems, electronically steered arrays, SATCOM phased-array terminals or ground stations.

• Familiarity with SATCOM waveforms and standards such as DVB-S2/S2X, CCSDS, or equivalent modem architectures.

• Experience analyzing modulation-dependent EVM, BER/BLER, adjacent-channel leakage, spectral regrowth, amplifier backoff, and link degradation.

• Experience with array calibration, mutual coupling, channel imbalance, thermal drift, radome effects, or field recalibration.

• Experience with beam acquisition, monopulse or equivalent tracking, ephemeris-based pointing, polarization tracking, or satellite handover.

• Experience with SDR-integrated RF systems or collaboration with FPGA, DSP, modem, and embedded-software teams.

• Experience with HFSS, CST, or comparable full-wave electromagnetic tools.

• Experience correlating chamber and laboratory measurements with field or operational satellite-link performance.

• Familiarity with radar, sensing, 5G NR, 802.11ad/ay, MIMO, multi-beam systems, or electronic-warfare systems where the experience transfers to array and RF-system architecture.

Additional Information:

If you need a reasonable accommodation as part of your application for employment or interviews with us, please let us know.

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Northwood Space is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Northwood Space is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.