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Salary: USD 170,000 - 202,000 / annual
Cowboy Space Corporation is building space-based solar energy infrastructure to solve the global energy crisis. The company develops modular, scalable satellites that collect sunlight in Low Earth Orbit and transmit energy via infrared lasers (space-to-earth and space-to-space), power on-orbit high-performance computing clusters, and provide secure optical data transport. Founded in 2024 by Baiju Bhatt (co-founder of Robinhood), the company has raised ~$365 million from top-tier investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Index Ventures, and Breakthrough Energy Ventures. The team includes veterans from SpaceX, Blue Origin, Stoke Space, Astranis, and NASA.
In this Senior RF Engineer role, you will own the selection, development, integration, and radio systems for the launch vehicle and spacecraft. You are a hands-on individual contributor with technical ownership across suppliers and cross-functional teams (electrical, mechanical, software, integration, test).
Key responsibilities include:
- Define RF requirements and maintain link budgets for telemetry and command links, including antenna performance, losses, interference, and ground-station compatibility
- Evaluate radios, antennas, and RF components across UHF through Ka-band; assess performance, interfaces, qualification evidence, and integration risks
- Own radio and RF hardware bring-up, configuration, characterization, and integration with flight software and vehicle avionics
- Develop and execute acceptance and qualification plans for RF hardware, including functional, vibration, shock, thermal, thermal-vacuum, and EMI/EMC testing
- Develop RF test benches, fixtures, cabling, calibration methods, and automation; identify testability needs early
- Lead RF anomaly investigations and support flight operations
- Prepare technical inputs for FCC licensing and coordinate compatibility testing with ground-station providers
- Partner with navigation sensor teams on GNSS antenna and RF interfaces
Requirements:
- Bachelor's degree in electrical, computer, or aerospace engineering, physics, or related field
- 8+ years of experience developing or integrating RF communications systems for space applications, including hands-on hardware verification and environmental qualification
- Experience translating communications requirements into radio and antenna selections, link budgets, and hardware/system-level verification plans
- Proficiency with RF laboratory equipment: vector network analyzers, spectrum/signal analyzers, signal generators, power meters, oscilloscopes
- Working knowledge of digital communications, modulation, RF measurement methods, and EMI/EMC mitigation (grounding, shielding, filtering, cable routing)
- Ability to use Python or MATLAB for test support and data analysis; clear documentation and cross-disciplinary problem-solving
Preferred experience:
- Taking supplier-provided flight radios through vehicle integration, ground-station testing, and on-orbit operations
- CCSDS protocols, software-defined radio interfaces, or satellite communication modulation/coding schemes
- Automating RF instruments using SCPI, VISA, or comparable interfaces; Linux environments
- Space-hardware qualification standards (GEVS, MIL-STD-1540, SMC-S-016, ECSS) and EMI/EMC verification planning
- RF analysis tools (HFSS, FEKO, ADS, AWR) or spectrum licensing/coordination documentation
ITAR requirement: Must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or eligible to obtain required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.
