Senior RF Engineer
Axon is hiring a Senior RF Engineer in Kassel, Germany. Level rates it ; you can apply on Axon.
Level's read on this job
- Level rates this role Little AI ●○○○: aI is not part of the work.
- The posting allows some remote work.
- Tools and skills the posting cites include rf engineering, hardware design and pcb layout.
- Level lists 462 other open roles at Axon.
- The role was posted within the past week.
AI in this role
Lead RF hardware engineering and antenna design for airspace security and drone detection products.
Join Axon and be a Force for Good.
At Axon, we’re on a mission to Protect Life. We’re explorers, pursuing society’s most critical safety and justice issues with our ecosystem of devices and cloud software. Like our products, we work better together. We connect with candor and care, seeking out diverse perspectives from our customers, communities and each other.
Life at Axon is fast-paced, challenging and meaningful. Here, you’ll take ownership and drive real change. Constantly grow as you work hard for a mission that matters at a company where you matter.
Your Impact
You will be the technical authority for RF hardware behind Dedrone's airspace security products — the RF detection sensors that find and classify drones, and the countermeasure systems that defeat them. You own the hard RF problems end to end: wideband receive chains, high-power transmit chains, and their physical realization on board. You do not carry direct reports, but you technically lead a group of RF hardware engineers and antenna designers — you set the standards they design to, review their work, and grow their capability. This is a hands-on role. You will spend real time in simulation, on the bench, and in the chamber.
What You'll Do
Location: This role is based out of our Kassel office and follows a hybrid schedule. We rely on in-person collaboration and ask that team members work onsite Tuesdays through Fridays, with the flexibility to work remotely on Mondays, unless there is an approved workplace accommodation. We believe that connection fuels innovation, and our in-office culture is designed to foster meaningful teamwork, mentorship, and shared success.
Reports to: Director RF Engineering
- Own RF front-end architecture from VHF through SHF: link budgets, frequency planning, spurious and intermodulation analysis, sensitivity and dynamic-range trade-offs.
- Design and characterize mixers, high-power amplifiers, filters, and switching networks against demanding linearity, efficiency, and thermal targets.
- Drive board-level simulation (EM, circuit, and co-simulation) and take designs through multi-layer RF PCB layout, stack-up definition, and fabrication release.
- Lead bring-up, characterization, and design-for-test; close the loop between simulated and measured performance.
- Set and enforce RF design standards, review checklists, and documentation practice across the group.
- Mentor RF HW engineers and antenna designers; raise the technical bar through design reviews rather than rework.
- Partner with DSP, software, mechanical, and systems engineering, and with regulatory/compliance on CE, FCC, and MIL-STD qualification.
- Advise leadership on technology direction, build-vs-buy, and technical risk.
What You Bring
- 10+ years in RF hardware design, with a track record of products shipped to volume.
- Deep expertise across VHF, UHF, and SHF — not just one band.
- Demonstrated design ownership of mixers and high-power amplifiers above 10 W.
- Strong command of RF simulation tooling — EM and circuit solvers (e.g. ADS, AWR, HFSS, CST) — and the judgment to know when simulation is telling you the truth.
- Multi-layer RF PCB design: controlled impedance, material selection, grounding, isolation, thermal management.
- Fluent with VNAs, spectrum analyzers, signal generators, and power measurement; comfortable debugging from first principles.
- Proven technical leadership of a design group — setting direction and standards, mentoring, running rigorous design reviews.
- Degree in Electrical Engineering, Communications Engineering, or equivalent.
Nice to have
- Antenna design and integration — element and array design, platform effects, radiation-pattern measurement.
- Direction-finding techniques (amplitude/phase comparison, interferometry, TDOA, AoA estimation).
- Beamforming across approaches: analog, digital, and hybrid; phased arrays and adaptive/null-steering methods.
- Hands-on experience with SDR platforms.
- Experience developing and qualifying products for regulated markets — CE, FCC, and/or MIL-STD.
- Working knowledge of DSP concepts sufficient to trade functionality between analog and digital domains.
Don’t meet every single requirement? That's ok. At Axon, we Aim Far. We think big with a long-term view because we want to reinvent the world to be a safer, better place. We are also committed to building diverse teams that reflect the communities we serve.
Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they check every box in the job description. If you’re excited about this role and our mission to Protect Life but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification listed here, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.
Important Notes
The above job description is not intended as, nor should it be construed as, exhaustive of all duties, responsibilities, skills, efforts, or working conditions associated with this job. The job description may change or be supplemented at any time in accordance with business needs and conditions.
Some roles may also require legal eligibility to work in a firearms environment.
We collect personal information from applicants to evaluate candidates for employment. You may request access, deletion, or exercise other CCPA rights at axongreenhousesupport@axon.com or via our Axon Privacy Web Form. For more information, please see the Your California Privacy Rights section of our Applicant and Candidate Privacy Notice.
Axon’s mission is to Protect Life and is committed to the well-being and safety of its employees as well as Axon’s impact on the environment. All Axon employees must be aware of and committed to the appropriate environmental, health, and safety regulations, policies, and procedures. Axon employees are empowered to report safety concerns as they arise and activities potentially impacting the environment.
We are an equal opportunity employer that promotes justice, advances equity, values diversity and fosters inclusion. We’re committed to hiring the best talent — regardless of race, creed, color, ancestry, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship status, marital status, disability, gender identity, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances — and empowering all of our employees so they can do their best work. If you have a disability or special need that requires assistance or accommodation during the application or the recruiting process, please email recruitingops@axon.com. Please note that this email address is for accommodation purposes only. Axon will not respond to inquiries for other purposes.
Phishing alert: Axon will never ask you to pay for any part of the hiring process, including training, equipment, or background checks. We do not make job offers via text message, WhatsApp, or instant messaging platforms without a formal interview process. All legitimate job openings are listed on our official careers page at https://www.axon.com/careers. If you receive a suspicious offer or outreach from an email address that is not @axon.com, or if you are asked for sensitive personal information (bank details, Social Security Number) prematurely, please ignore the message and report it to recruitingops@axon.com.
How we rate this
Senior RF Engineer at Axon rates 0 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Little AI (AI Level 1 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.
Little AI. AI is not part of the work.
- ●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
- ●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
- ●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
- ●○○○ Little AI0 to 39
Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.
Prepare for this job
Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.
Skills and AI tools this role asks for
Questions you could be asked
- Tell me about a project where rf engineering was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where hardware design was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where pcb layout was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where simulation was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where antenna design was part of your work. What did you do?
Adapt your resume
- List these exact terms on your resume: Rf Engineering, Hardware Design, Pcb Layout, Simulation, and Antenna Design. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
- Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.
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