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Staff RF Engineer

CesiumAstro

El Segundo, CAFull-time$165–199K/yrPosted 1 day agoStill listed today

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At a glance

Compensation
$165–199K/yr
Location
El Segundo, CA
Schedule
Full-time
Work Authorization
Not specified

Olive lists jobs from US employers, including remote roles you can work from the United States.

Job overview

CesiumAstro develops communication systems for satellites, UAVs, launch vehicles, and other space and airborne platforms. The Staff RF Engineer designs RF circuits and systems across the development process, including phased-array communications hardware. The role covers design through manufacturing, testing, qualification, and in-orbit support, and includes presenting engineering design reviews and contributing to proposals.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

VehiclesSpace TechnologyFinite AutomataEngineering DesignSpacecraftAerospaceDepartment of StateRFHardware DesignQuality AssuranceSoftware Development ProcessesBudgetingProposal WritingPCB DesignRF Electronics DesignRF AnalysisRF TestingRF TroubleshootingCSTADSAltiumVector Network AnalyzersSpectrum AnalyzersSignal GeneratorsOscilloscopesWritten CommunicationVerbal CommunicationMATLABProgrammingAerospace Electronics DesignAerospace Electronics DevelopmentAerospace Electronics QualificationWorst-Case Circuit AnalysisFailure Mode and Criticality AnalysisReliability AnalysisAntenna DesignEMI/EMC DesignEMI/EMC Mitigation

Qualifications

BS or MS in Electrical Engineering8 Years Industry Experience

Benefits

Medical Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
401(k) Match

Full job description

Please Note: To conform with the United States Government Space Technology Export Regulations, the applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., conditional resident, asylee or refugee (protected individuals as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

At CesiumAstro, we are developers and pioneers of out-of-the-box communication systems for satellites, UAVs, launch vehicles, and other space and airborne platforms. We take pride in our dynamic and cross-functional work environment, which allows us to learn, develop, and engage across our organization. If you are looking for hands-on, interactive, and autonomous work, CesiumAstro is the place for you. We are actively seeking passionate, collaborative, energetic, and forward-thinking individuals to join our team.

We are looking to add a Staff RF Engineer to our team. The ideal candidate has experience in board-level RF electronics design. If you enjoy working in a startup environment and are passionate about developing leading-edge RF hardware for satellites, spacecraft, and aerospace systems, we would like to hear from you.

In this position, you will be responsible for RF circuits and systems through all phases of the development process. The ideal candidate will be proficient in board-level schematic design and PCB layout of RF circuits, and system-level communications concepts such as link budgets and modulation schemes. The work will include many aspects of phased array communication systems, including RF front-ends, frequency converters and synthesizers, filters, beamformers, power dividers, and phased array antennas.

As a CesiumAstro hardware team member, you will be responsible for RF hardware designs from initial concept through requirements definition, part selection, detailed design, analysis, manufacturing, testing, qualification, and in-orbit support of Cesium's products. Hardware design tasks will include block diagrams, detailed schematics, PCB layout and routing, simulations, and test design.

The successful candidate will also present engineering design review materials to our customers and executive team, as well as participate in proposal-writing efforts. As such, excellent written and verbal communication skills are required.

JOB REQUIREMENTS AND MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

  • A Bachelor of Science (BS) or Master of Science (MS) degree in Electrical Engineering (EE) from an accredited university or institution.

  • 8 years of industry experience in design and analysis of RF electronics design, analysis, test, and troubleshooting.

  • Experience with professional simulation tools such as CST and ADS, as well as EDA tools such Altium.

  • Hands-on experience with lab instruments such as vector network analyzers, spectrum analyzers, signal generators, and oscilloscopes.

  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE

  • Experience with MATLAB or other programming languages.

  • Experience in aerospace electronics design, development, and qualification.

  • Knowledge of worst-case circuit analysis, failure method and criticality analyses, and reliability analysis.

  • Experience with antenna design.

  • Knowledge of EMI/EMC design and mitigation techniques.

CesiumAstro considers several factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to, the role and associated responsibilities, a candidate’s work experience, education/training, and key skills. Full-time employment offers include company stock options and a generous benefits package including health, dental, vision, HSA, FSA, life, disability and retirement plans.

CesiumAstro is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected Veteran Status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Please note: CesiumAstro does not accept unsolicited resumes from contract agencies or search firms. Any unsolicited resumes submitted to our website or to CesiumAstro team members will be considered property of CesiumAstro, and we will not be obligated to pay any referral fees.

How this job compares

Set against the 729 open RF Engineer jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 6, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$165–199K/yr
  • California median$147–202K/yr167 salary ranges
  • US median$125–195K/yr509 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $182K, is close to the California median midpoint ($178K) — in the middle half of RF Engineer salary ranges in California.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 219 open RF Engineer jobs in California and 729 across the US. Under 1% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in California
Experience
This posting asks for at least 8 years of experience; RF Engineer postings that state a minimum ask for 5 years at the median (616 postings).
Education
471 of the 729 open RF Engineer jobs (65%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 6, 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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