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Rocket Lab is seeking a Senior RF Engineer II - Radar to lead the technical development of space-based radar and RF systems, including Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and advanced radar applications for spacecraft. Based at Rocket Lab's Long Beach headquarters, you will drive radar system architecture, oversee RF component integration, and support hands-on radar testing and calibration for missions ranging from interplanetary exploration to national security initiatives.
Key responsibilities include leading technical development of space-based radar systems through architecture design, prototyping, integration, test, and flight development. You will define and maintain radar performance requirements and link budget specifications accounting for orbital parameters, conduct design trades for antenna selection, waveform optimization, and processing architectures. You'll drive key technical decisions for radar modes, timing, PRF selection, and RF chain design while considering orbit dynamics, and complete comprehensive radar analyses including range/Doppler resolution, SNR, ambiguity analysis, and interference assessment.
You will analyze mission requirements including orbit selection, ground track patterns, and revisit characteristics, develop and execute radar calibration strategies and image quality validation methods for spaceborne systems, and support development of radar test plans and automated test systems. Additional responsibilities include leading design of radar ground support equipment (GSE), supporting spacecraft integration with bus subsystem teams (power, thermal, ADCS, data handling), and developing product documentation including ICDs and test reports.
On the RF engineering side, you will design and analyze radar waveforms for space-based imaging and detection applications, perform radar system modeling and simulation using MATLAB, STK, or custom codes including orbital propagation, assess and integrate COTS RF components for space-qualified radar chains, and support hands-on testing including EIRP measurements and receiver sensitivity validation. You'll interface with multidisciplinary teams across RF, digital, mechanical, thermal, structural, and software engineering.
Customer and program support includes reviewing proposals and requirements for space-based radar opportunities, scoping and driving new radar capability development, supporting engineering reviews (PDRs, CDRs, TRRs), providing technical troubleshooting support to internal and external customers, and maintaining awareness of product development and production schedules.
