Senior RF Systems Engineer
Your Role
As a Senior RF Systems Engineer, you will be responsible for the design and development of the RF sensing payloads that underpin our space-based SIGINT capabilities. You will own key technical decisions spanning antenna systems, RF front-ends, receiver architectures, payload performance, and mission-level RF sensing concepts.
You will work at the intersection of RF engineering, satellite payload development, and mission engineering:
Design and develop RF payload architectures for space-based sensing and SIGINT missions.
Define and allocate payload-level requirements across antennas, RF front-ends, receivers, digitizers, and onboard processing systems.
Design and evaluate antenna systems, receiver chains, frequency conversion stages, filtering concepts, and RF subsystem architectures.
Perform RF system analysis including link budgets, sensitivity analysis, dynamic range assessment, interference analysis, and payload performance modeling.
Develop high-fidelity simulation environments for RF propagation, signal environments, payload performance, and mission-level sensing capabilities.
Drive technical trade studies and architecture decisions balancing performance, complexity, power consumption, mass, and cost.
Work closely with spacecraft, software, and mission teams to ensure payload designs meet operational requirements.
Validate models and designs using laboratory measurements, field data, and mission data.
About You
We do not expect a perfect match to every bullet point, but you should recognize yourself in most of the profile below.
Core Technical Profile
Master's or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Communications Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Physics, or a related technical field.
Strong understanding of RF systems, wireless communications, antennas, microwave engineering, receiver architectures, radar systems, or electronic warfare systems.
Proven experience designing RF, microwave, antenna, radar, communications, EW, or sensing systems from concept through implementation and test.
Experience with RF front-end design, receiver architectures, antenna systems, RF measurements, or payload development.
Experience with RF design, electromagnetic simulation, and PCB development tools such as CST Studio Suite, HFSS, ADS, AWR, Altium Designer, or equivalent.
Ability to interpret and translate electromagnetic simulation results into practical antenna, RF front-end, and payload design decisions.
Familiarity with RF propagation, link budgets, interference analysis, receiver performance metrics, and electromagnetic effects.
Experience with RF simulation, modeling, laboratory measurements, or system-level performance evaluation.
Programming experience in Python, MATLAB, C++, or similar technical computing environments.
Comfortable working with simulation tools and engineering software to evaluate complex RF systems.
Comfortable with software engineering best practices including Git, testing, documentation, code review, and collaborative development workflows.
Desired Backgrounds
Antenna and phased-array design using electromagnetic simulation tools such as CST Studio Suite or HFSS.
RF and microwave circuit design including schematic capture, PCB layout, and design verification using Altium Designer or equivalent EDA tools.
Satellite communications and payload engineering.
Radar, passive sensing, or RF sensing systems.
Electronic warfare (EW), SIGINT, COMINT, or ELINT systems.
RF testing, characterization, and validation.
Space systems engineering and satellite payload development.
SIGINT / Defence Domain (Strong Plus)
Experience with COMINT, ELINT, SIGINT, EW, or RF sensing systems.
Understanding of emitter detection, characterization, localization, or geolocation concepts.
Experience with distributed sensing, multi-platform RF systems, or satellite-based sensing architectures.
Understanding of defence and security user needs and operational environments.
General
Structured, analytical working style with strong problem-solving skills and a high bar for technical quality.
Ability to translate complex RF and system-level phenomena into engineering solutions and actionable insights.
Ability to take ownership from concept through implementation, testing, and operational validation.
Strong communication skills and the ability to explain technical trade-offs to engineers, management, and customers.
Very good command of English (spoken and written); German is an asset.
Eligibility for security clearance.
Why Orbint
At Orbint, you will be joining an ambitious team where your work directly shapes a new space-based SIGINT capability for European defence and security. From defining RF payload architectures and antenna systems to developing next-generation sensing capabilities, you will play a key role in building the future of space-based RF intelligence.
How to Apply
Please send the following to info@orbint.de:
CV
A brief motivation letter explaining how you became aware of Orbint, why working on space-based SIGINT for defence and security users is motivating for you, and how your previous experience would strengthen the Orbint team.
References to prior technical work (e.g. thesis, papers, talks, hardware projects, RF designs, antenna developments, technical reports, patents, or engineering tools), if permissible.
Your earliest possible starting date and your salary expectations.
