Senior RF/Communication Systems Engineer
San Francisco, CAFull-time$170–280K/yrSeen 5 days agoStill listed 5 days ago
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At a glance
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Job overview
Astranis designs, builds, and operates satellites for high orbits and provides dedicated satellite communications networks. The Senior RF/Communication Systems Engineer will architect, design, and model satellite communication payloads, collaborating with antenna, SDR, RF, DSP, mechanical, and other teams. The role also leads radio technology research and development, develops and tests communications signal-processing algorithms, and supports recruiting as the team grows.
Skills & qualifications
Skills
Qualifications
Benefits
Full job description
Astranis builds advanced satellites for high orbits, expanding humanity’s reach into the solar system. Today Astranis satellites provide dedicated, secure networks to highly-sophisticated customers across the globe – large enterprises, sovereign governments, and the US military. With five satellites on orbit and many more set to launch soon, the company is servicing a backlog of more than $1 billion of commercial contracts. Astranis is the preferred satellite communications partner for buyers with stringent requirements for uptime, data security, network visibility, and customization. Astranis has raised over $1.2 billion from some of the world’s best investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Baillie Gifford, Blackrock, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, and Snowpoint, and employs a team of 500 engineers and entrepreneurs. Astranis designs, builds, and operates its satellites out of its 153,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Northern California, USA. Senior RF/Communication Systems Engineer As a RF/Communication Systems Engineer at Astranis you will be responsible for the architecture, design, and modeling of our satellites communication payloads. You will work closely with many other teams including but not limited to the antenna, SDR, RF, DSP, and mechanical teams in order to design the best possible radio systems. Role
- Own architectural trade studies, and establish system and unit level requirements analytically or via simulation
- Lead R&D efforts for new radio features / technologies / custom components
- Work closely with many design teams, including RF, Antenna, digital hardware, FPGA, mechanical, thermal
- Communications related signal processing algorithm design and test
- Assist in recruiting, interviewing, and hiring additional teammates to our rapidly-growing team.
Requirements
- Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering or equivalent
- 7+ years of experience
- Strong technical communication skills (oral and written)
- Strong fundamentals in "signals and systems" and digital communications
- Familiar with hardware components and their associated impairments / limitations
- Comfortable working in the lab, testing radio hardware, using signal generator, signal analyzer, network analyzer, oscilloscope, etc
- Proven ability to triage and debug issues discovered in testing
- Comfortable developing software (Python, and some C/C++)
- Fast to learn new tools and workflows
- A passion for working in a fast-paced environment and constantly learning
- RF system design and budgeting
- Don't meet them all? Not a problem. Please apply even if you do not meet all these criteria.
Bonus
- Familiarity with satellite radio systems (ground segment and/or space segment
- Radio characterization test planning, automation and execution
- Comfortable with software, especially Python, git, GNU Radio
- Fixed point implementation of signal processing algorithms
- Familiarity with multi-rate signal processing techniques (polyphase filters, resamplers, etc)
- Multi-antenna systems (beamforming, null-steering)
- Direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) modem design
- Familiarity with satellite waveforms and modems (DVB-S2/x, DVB-RCS2)
What we offer:
All our positions offer a compensation package that includes equity and robust benefits.
Base pay is just one component of Astranis’s total rewards package. Your compensation also includes a significant equity package via incentive stock options, high-quality company-subsidized healthcare, disability and life insurance, 401(k) retirement planning, flexible PTO, and free on-site catered meals. Astranis pay ranges are informed and defined through professional-grade salary surveys and compensation data sources. The actual base salary offered to a successful candidate will additionally be influenced by a variety of factors including experience, credentials & certifications, educational attainment, skill level requirements, and the level and scope of the position. Base Salary $170,000—$280,000 USD U.S. Citizenship, Lawful Permanent Residency, or Refugee/Asylee Status Required (To comply with U.S. Government space technology export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the United States, or other protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3))
Our mission and products are built for everyone, regardless of gender, race, creed, or background. We believe in a diverse and inclusive workplace, and we invite all people to join our team and bring their unique perspectives to make us stronger. Astranis SMS Terms of Service
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How this job compares
Set against the 722 open RF Engineer jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 3, 2026.
- Pay
- This posting$170–280K/yr
- California median$146–202K/yr160 salary ranges
- US median$125–195K/yr501 salary ranges
This range's midpoint, $225K, is 27% above the California median midpoint ($177K) — in the top quarter of RF Engineer salary ranges in California.
- Openings
- Olive Jobs lists 207 open RF Engineer jobs in California and 722 across the US. Under 1% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
- Hiring the most in California
- Apple24 open
- SpaceX23 open
- Anduril Industries13 open
- Experience
- This posting asks for at least 5 years of experience; RF Engineer postings that state a minimum ask for 5 years at the median (610 postings).
- Education
- 477 of the 722 open RF Engineer jobs (66%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.
Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 3, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.
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