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Salary: USD 130,000 - 170,000 / annual
Fortastra designs and delivers resilient, high-performance spacecraft for critical orbital assets and national security space operations. The company integrates advanced autonomy, sensing, and control into systems engineered for reliability, speed, and scale.
You will join Fortastra's Engineering Division as a Senior RF Engineer, owning the end-to-end design and implementation of RF communications systems for spacecraft. This is a hands-on, system-level role spanning analysis, hardware selection, and integration. You will define RF architectures, perform detailed link analyses, select and integrate COTS radios or design custom solutions, and ensure communications systems perform reliably in orbit.
Key responsibilities include:
- Own RF architecture for spacecraft TT&C (Telemetry, Tracking & Command) and crosslink communications from concept through flight
- Perform detailed link budget analysis for space-to-ground and inter-satellite links, including margin assessments and environmental sensitivity
- Select, architect, and integrate radios for TT&C and crosslinks, combining COTS hardware with custom designs as needed
- Define and implement communications schemes using space protocols such as CCSDS and DVB-S2
- Develop system-level RF requirements, interface definitions, and performance budgets for radios, antennas, and front-end hardware
- Collaborate with mechanical and systems engineers on antenna placement, mounting, panel integration, pointing, blockage, and thermal constraints
- Support antenna selection or design, including trades on patterns, gain, polarization, and frequency bands
- Work with digital, FPGA, and software teams to implement waveforms, modulation, coding, and electronic warfare algorithms
- Support or lead RF test activities including bench characterization, over-the-air tests, and system-level validation
- Contribute to resilience in contested environments by informing or developing EW-related capabilities
Fortastra's culture emphasizes simplicity, accountability, and disciplined execution. The company values engineers who prioritize technical rigor, bias for action, and intellectual honesty. You will own your systems end-to-end with high autonomy and direct impact on mission-critical reliability. The team is lean and elite, where every contributor directly moves the needle on the mission.
Requirements:
- B.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering, RF Engineering, or closely related field
- 5+ years of experience in RF system design for spacecraft, satellite communications, defense communications, or similar high-reliability RF systems
- Strong experience performing link budget analysis for RF communication systems, including space-to-ground and preferably crosslinks
- Familiarity with common space communications protocols and standards such as CCSDS and DVB-S2
- Experience with RF hardware selection and system integration, including radios, LNAs, PAs, filters, and related front-end components
- Experience with one or more RF design and analysis tools (e.g., STK, SystemVue, MATLAB, or similar) for link analysis and system trades
- Ability to work across disciplines with mechanical, digital, software, and systems engineers
- U.S. Citizenship required
- 5 days on-site in Torrance, CA
Desirable qualifications:
- Experience with antenna design or integration, including understanding of antenna patterns, gain, and polarization
- FPGA-based implementation of RF or EW algorithms
- Exposure to electronic warfare, RF signal analysis, or payload development
