RF Engineer II (R6053)

Job Description:

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.

We are seeking an RF and Microwave Hardware Design Engineer to design and deliver compact, high-performance RF modules for airborne and ground systems. You will design and mature active and passive RF circuits, PCB assemblies, packaging interfaces, laboratory verification, and transition to production. The center of gravity of this position is hands-on module design rather than top-level communications architecture, waveform development, or link-budget ownership.

This position may be filled at the Engineer II (L2) or Senior Engineer (L3) level. The selected level will reflect the candidate's demonstrated technical depth, independence, scope, and impact.

What you'll do:

• Design RF and microwave modules from requirements and architecture through schematic capture, component selection, layout, bring-up, verification, qualification, and production release, with scope and independence appropriate to level.
• 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 at a level appropriate to the position.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Required qualifications:

• 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, or 2 or more years for L3. Applicable graduate study and research may count toward experience. Demonstrated capability and scope are more important than years alone.
• 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, with the ability to distinguish hardware behavior from measurement artifacts.
• Ability to use simulation and measured data to make sound design decisions, document tradeoffs, and close requirements with objective evidence.
• 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.