Lead Antenna Engineer

Antenna / RF Front-End Engineer (Contract)

About the Role

You'll design the antenna and RF front-end at the heart of a counter-UAV radar sensor — radiating elements, arrays, and feed networks — taking them from concept through EM simulation to measured validation. This is a contract engagement, so you'll need to work independently and contribute quickly. We care most about breadth across antenna design methods on a master's-level foundation; senior experience is a strong plus. You'll have access to high-end measurement facilities — including anechoic-chamber time in Kyiv (paid travel) — to characterize and iterate on real hardware, not just simulate. This is a key role to ensure our first launch cements our reputation in the industry  - make your mark with Valkyrie!

What You'll Do

• Design and optimize antenna elements and arrays — single-element and phased-array — for mmWave operation
• Evaluate tradeoffs across frequency bands and packaging: select the band and topology that best balance range, resolution, aperture size, and environmental performance for a given sensing requirement
• Design corporate-fed and series-fed feed networks for phased-array and MIMO systems, controlling amplitude/phase distribution to hit beamforming, sidelobe, and radiation-pattern targets
• Prototype and compare integration approaches — substrate-integrated waveguide (SIW), launch-in-package, and alternatives — to find the best fit for compact integration
• Model and optimize performance — gain, beamwidth, sidelobe level, VSWR/S11, mutual coupling, scan range, grating-lobe behavior — against sensing requirements
• Design MIMO arrays for multi-channel sensing: element spacing, channel isolation, and virtual-aperture formation for angular resolution
• Validate designs on the bench (VNA, anechoic/OTA range), correlating measured results against simulation and documenting deviations
• Work directly with the DSP and radar-systems engineers we're hiring in parallel — antenna, signal processing, and architecture designed together, not in isolation. You'll have real influence over the system design, not just your own slice
• Design to the RF front-end architecture — channel count, transceiver interface, phase coherence — and feed antenna feasibility back as the system evolves
• Prepare finished antenna and feed-network designs for handoff: specify antenna-critical constraints and review layout through bring-up

Required Qualifications 

• Master's in Electrical Engineering, Microwave/RF Engineering, or a closely related field — or equivalent hands-on antenna design experience with the skills below. PhD a plus
• Prior work on radar or RF sensing systems, not communications-only antenna work
• Hands-on experience across multiple antenna design methodologies: SIW, launch-in-package, phased arrays, MIMO systems, series-fed and corporate-fed networks. Breadth here matters more to us than years
• Strong feed-network fundamentals: power dividers, phase shifters, impedance matching, loss/isolation and beam-squint tradeoffs
• MATLAB/Simulink for array-factor synthesis, pattern analysis, and beamforming/system-level modeling (e.g. Antenna and Phased Array System Toolboxes)
• A track record of carrying designs from concept through simulation, prototyping, and measurement validation — not simulation alone.
• Proficiency with EM simulation software (HFSS, CST Microwave Studio, or equivalent)

Preferred / Bonus

• Working knowledge of multilayer PCB constraints (stackup, manufacturability) — enough to hand off cleanly to a PCB engineer

Engagement Details

• Type: Contract / consulting
• Rate: [TBD]
• Duration: [TBD]
• Location: Remote/Hybrid
  • Hybrid: Temporary travel to Kyiv for on-site testing, heavily preferred (expenses paid) — primarily anechoic-chamber characterization of candidate designs, with possible field testing.
• Long-term: Strong performance could lead to an ongoing or permanent role.
• Start: ASAP