RF Engineer II (R6053)

Shield AI develops intelligent autonomous systems that protect service members and civilians. The X-BAT Engineering team is building a next-generation autonomous aircraft for demanding and contested environments.

You will design and deliver compact, high-performance RF modules for airborne and ground systems. Your focus will be on hands-on module design, including active and passive RF circuits, PCB assemblies, packaging interfaces, laboratory verification, and transition to production.

Responsibilities:

• Design RF and microwave modules from requirements and architecture through schematic capture, component selection, layout, bring-up, verification, qualification, and production release.
• Design active and passive RF circuits such as low-noise amplifiers, power amplifiers, filters and multiplexers, RF switches, limiters, couplers, attenuators, power detectors, and frequency-conversion stages.
• Develop RF front-end assemblies that meet gain, noise figure, output power, linearity, compression, efficiency, harmonic and spurious-emission, stability, isolation, and out-of-band rejection requirements.
• Perform circuit and electromagnetic analysis using tools such as Keysight ADS, Cadence AWR, HFSS, or CST, and correlate models with measured hardware performance.
• Create and review RF and mixed-signal PCB designs, including controlled-impedance routing, grounding, shielding, stack-up definition, power distribution, and placement of sensitive or high-power components.
• Plan and execute laboratory characterization using network analyzers, spectrum analyzers, signal generators, noise-figure analyzers, power meters, oscilloscopes, and automated test equipment.
• Diagnose difficult hardware issues involving instability, oscillation, intermodulation, self-interference, desense, thermal drift, mismatch, leakage, and electromagnetic coupling.
• Work closely with mechanical, thermal, avionics, communications, antenna, manufacturing, and test engineers to integrate RF hardware into size-, weight-, power-, cooling-, and environmental constraints.
• Develop verification methods, production test strategies, calibration approaches, and clear technical documentation that make designs repeatable and manufacturable.
• Support environmental and electromagnetic qualification, supplier engagements, hardware integration, ground test, and flight test as needed.
• Contribute to design reviews, share technical knowledge, and support the growth of interns and less-experienced engineers.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Typically 1 or more years of relevant post-undergraduate experience for L2.
• Hands-on experience designing, building, or debugging an RF or microwave circuit, module, or PCB assembly through measured verification.
• Solid understanding of S-parameters, impedance matching, transmission lines, stability, gain and noise figure, linearity and compression, nonlinear products, isolation, and cascaded RF performance.
• Experience creating or reviewing RF PCB layouts with controlled impedance, grounding, shielding, component placement, and signal-integrity considerations.
• Proficiency with common RF laboratory instruments and calibration methods.
• Ability to use simulation and measured data to make sound design decisions.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills and the ability to work effectively with cross-functional engineering and manufacturing teams.
• Ability to work on-site in a laboratory and hardware-development environment.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with RF front ends for airborne, defense, space, robotics, or other high-reliability systems.
• Experience integrating GaN or GaAs power amplifiers, MMICs, LNAs, switches, limiters, frequency converters, or high-selectivity filter technologies.
• Experience designing for simultaneous transmit and receive operation, high-power RF, intermodulation control, adjacent-band rejection, or co-site interference and desense.
• Experience with Altium Designer and one or more RF or electromagnetic simulation environments such as ADS, AWR, HFSS, or CST.
• Working knowledge of thermal design, RF packaging, connector and cable interfaces, tolerance analysis, and design for manufacturability and test.
• Experience with EMI and EMC design and qualification for military or aerospace hardware.
• Experience developing automated characterization or data-analysis tools in Python, MATLAB, or a similar environment.
• Experience transitioning RF hardware from prototype through qualification and low-rate production.
• Ability to obtain an S//SAR level security clearance, if required by the program.