Senior Antenna Engineer

SpaceX

Confirmed live today High trust

Quick summary

Work type: On-site
Location: Hawthorne, CA
Salary: $160,000–$225,000 / yr
Posted: 179 days ago
Freshness: Confirmed live today
Nearby: 99+ roles within 25 mi

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Salary context

Above market

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $166k

This role $192k

$124k $236k

below market most similar roles pay here above market

This role pays more than 70% of similar roles. Most pay $135,000–$197,500 — the blue band above. At the midpoint, this role pays about $192k versus about $166k for comparable roles.

Based on 240 similar postings.

Employer

About SpaceX

SpaceX designs, manufactures, and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft with the mission of enabling humans to become a multi-planetary species. It operates the Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, and Starship launch vehicles, as well as the Starlink satellite internet constellation.

SpaceX currently has 851 open roles on FindRole.

Listed pay typically runs $130,000–$165,000 across 590 roles with salary data.

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At a glance

TL;DR · Senior Antenna Engineer

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The Sr. Antenna Engineer (Starship) joins the team responsible for RF engineering for Starship vehicles, including hardware product development and communication system architecture. This role involves designing, building, and characterizing antennas and front-end prototypes for communications and sensors across VHF through Ka-band. Key responsibilities include developing measurement systems, performing wireless system analysis for propagation effects and antenna isolation, and providing radiation expertise regarding plasma attenuation and shielding. Candidates must utilize tools such as HFSS, CST, AWR, ADS, and Genesys for electromagnetic and circuit simulations, alongside Altium or Orcad for schematic capture. Proficiency in Python, MATLAB, or C/C++ is required for data analysis. The work supports orbital Starship vehicles and HLS lunar missions, addressing complex problems in baseband to passband communication systems.

Skills

RF Engineering Antenna Design Electromagnetic Simulation Python MATLAB C/C++ HFSS CST AWR ADS Genesys Altium Orcad FPGA Spectrum Analyzer Signal Generator Network Analyzer VHF UHF Ka-band CAD

What you'll do

Design antennas for communications and sensors across the VHF through Ka-band frequencies.
Build and characterize antenna, feed, and front-end prototypes for hardware development.
Develop measurement systems to support antenna and RF design requirements.
Analyze wireless systems including antenna isolation, propagation effects, and patterns with large structures.
Provide RF radiation expertise regarding plasma attenuation and shielding for spacecraft components.
Manage product development from initial design concept through prototyping and qualification testing.
Perform on-console support or analysis for flight missions.

What we're looking for

Bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline.
5+ years of relevant professional or project experience in antenna design, build, test, and electromagnetic simulations.
Master’s degree or PhD in electrical engineering with research or thesis work on RF or antennas (preferred).
Experience with test equipment such as spectrum analyzers, signal generators, network analyzers, and power meters (preferred).
Proficiency with RF concepts including impedance matching, microwave network analysis, and RF filter design (preferred).
Experience with electromagnetics simulation tools such as HFSS, CST, Savant, or similar (preferred).
Experience with Python, MATLAB, or C/C++ programming for data analysis or test equipment interfacing (preferred).
Must be a U.S. citizen, national, lawful permanent resident, refugee, asylee, or eligible for Department of State authorization.

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