Senior RF Engineer

We are looking for a Senior RF Engineer to take ownership of the radio communication subsystem across the full development cycle — from RF architecture and PCB design to embedded firmware, system integration, laboratory characterization, and field validation.

The role requires strong hands-on experience with RF hardware, antennas, embedded systems, digital communications, and communication links operating in complex and interference-heavy environments.

Scope of Expertise

RF Front End and Antennas

• RF circuit and PCB design, controlled impedance, and impedance matching.
• Receiver and transmitter chains: LNA, power amplifiers, filtering, and noise figure optimization.
• Frequency synthesis, phase noise, shielding, and power supply design for RF subsystems.
• Antenna integration on compact mobile platforms, including placement, radiation patterns, VSWR, and isolation between co-located radio systems.

Electromagnetic Compatibility

• Mitigation of interference generated by compute modules, motor controllers, switching regulators, and power electronics.
• Protection of GNSS receivers from onboard electromagnetic interference.
• EMI/EMC analysis and practical mitigation at board and system level.

Signals, Protocols, and Networking

• Modulation schemes, forward error correction, and trade-offs between range, data rate, and robustness.
• Frequency hopping and spread-spectrum techniques.
• Synchronization between radio nodes.
• Mesh networking: multiple access, airtime scheduling, relaying, routing, and network degradation/recovery after node loss.
• Understanding of LoRa / LPWAN technologies, including their capabilities and practical limitations.
• MAVLink protocol structure, telemetry streams, and integration with flight controllers.

Embedded Firmware

• STM32 development in C using HAL/LL.
• MCU peripherals, DMA, interrupts, and timers.
• Low-level communication with radio transceivers via SPI, UART, and I2C.
• Embedded firmware debugging using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and other laboratory tools.

Operation in Contested RF Environments

• Anti-jamming techniques and frequency agility.
• Detection of interference or jamming and adaptive channel response.
• Approaches to reducing the probability of detection and interception.
• Communication-link robustness against spoofing and intentional interference.

RF Measurement and Validation

• Link-budget calculation and analysis.
• Spectrum analyzer and vector network analyzer operation.
• Development of laboratory and field test methodologies.
• Quantitative characterization of communication-link performance under interference.
• Support for regulatory testing and certification.

Responsibilities:

• Audit the existing RF subsystem, including schematics, PCB layout, RF front end, and antenna architecture.
• Identify technical risks and prepare a clear improvement and revision plan.
• Design and release the next revision of the RF PCB, from schematic capture through laboratory characterization.
• Develop firmware for STM32-based radio modules, including transceiver drivers, protocol-layer functionality, and node synchronization.
• Build and maintain a link-budget model for the target system, including degraded and worst-case scenarios.
• Develop antenna solutions and ensure compatibility between multiple co-located radio systems.
• Contribute to mesh-network architecture, including channel parameters, node-loss behavior, network recovery, and fallback routing.
• Integrate the telemetry link with the flight controller via MAVLink.
• Define and execute laboratory and field validation campaigns.
• Quantitatively evaluate communication-link performance under interference and jamming.
• Produce technical documentation suitable for external technical review.
• Support preparation for regulatory certification.
• Perform technical evaluation of RF-related suppliers and components.

Out of Scope:

This role does not cover:

• autonomous navigation and flight-control software;
• computer vision;
• airframe mechanical design;
• ground control station software.

Required Qualifications:

• 7+ years of professional experience in RF and wireless communication systems, with hardware that has been successfully brought to production or real-world deployment.
• Proven experience across the full development cycle:
  schematic → PCB layout → firmware → bring-up → field validation.
• Strong STM32 programming skills in C.
• Hands-on experience with antenna integration on compact or mobile platforms.
• Strong practical experience with RF measurement equipment.
• Solid understanding of digital communications sufficient to make engineering decisions regarding channel parameters and system architecture.
• Ability to produce clear technical documentation in English.
• Comfortable working in a small engineering team with tight deadlines and an evolving technical scope.

Nice to Have

• Practical experience with mesh networks beyond simple point-to-point communication.
• Experience with electronic warfare environments, anti-jamming techniques, or operation in congested RF spectrum.
• Experience with unmanned systems, avionics, or platforms with strict size, weight, power, and energy constraints.
• Production experience with LoRa and MAVLink.
• Experience taking a radio product through regulatory certification.