Senior RF Engineer

<div class="content-intro"><p>At Vast, our mission is to contribute to a future where billions of people are living and thriving in space. Vast is developing next-generation space stations to ensure a continuous human presence in space for America and its allies, enabling advanced microgravity research and manufacturing, and unlocking a new space economy for government, corporate, and private customers. Using an incremental, hardware-rich and low-cost approach, Vast is rapidly developing its multi-module Haven Station. Haven Demo’s 2025 success made Vast the only operational commercial space station company to fly and operate its own spacecraft. Next, Haven-1 is expected to become the world’s first commercial space station when it launches, followed by additional Haven modules to enable permanent human presence by 2030. Our team is all-in, committed to executing our mission safely and on time. If you want to work with the most talented people on Earth furthering space exploration for humanity, come join us.</p></div><p>Vast is looking for a <strong>Senior RF Engineer</strong>, reporting to the<strong> Director of RF Engineering</strong>, to support the development of the systems that will be required for the design and build of human-rated space stations.</p>
<p>This will be a <strong>full-time, exempt </strong>position located in our<strong> Long Beach</strong> location.</p>
<p><strong>Responsibilities: </strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Comprehensive ownership of one or more Vast-designed or COTS radio products from production to mission</li>
<li>Attain technical proficiency with your component(s) and function as the technical authority on its operation</li>
<li>Manage and the product development timeline in the context of the  project schedule</li>
<li>Maintain relationships with vendors and hold them accountable for product requirements, deliveries, and schedule</li>
<li>Define test plans and procedures for acceptance and qualification testing</li>
<li>Define checkout tests to validate proper operation during and after integration onto the space station</li>
<li>Define how the components will be used during the mission</li>
<li>Identify technical issues during development and drive them to resolution</li>
<li>Guide your component through manufacture, acceptance testing, and qualification testing</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Minimum Qualifications:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li> Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering, Physics, or other relevant engineering or science discipline</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Preferred Skills & Experience:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Strong understanding of the theory and usage of standard radio test equipment</li>
<li>Strong background in radio and electronics test and debug</li>
<li>Strong understanding of digital modulation formats such as BPSK, QPSK, QAM</li>
<li>Proficiency writing and maintaining RF link budgets</li>
<li>Understanding of the basic concepts of forward error correction (FEC) codes</li>
<li>Familiarity with key receiver specifications including noise figure, sensitivity, and bit error rate</li>
<li>Experience with aerospace acceptance and qualification test practices</li>
<li>RF system and circuit design software such as Matlab and Keysight ADS</li>
<li>Familiarity with RF block lineup design and cascaded noise/linearity analysis</li>
<li>Familiarity with RF power amplifiers and standard figures of merit such as Psat, P1dB, OIP3, ACLR, and PAE</li>
<li>Strong understanding of S-parameters</li>
<li>Understanding of Smith Charts and impedance matching networks</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Additional Requirements:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Electromagnetic simulation software such as HFSS</li>
<li>Understanding of the OSI networking model</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Pay Range:</strong> </p>
<ul>
<li>RF Engineer Level II: $120,540 - $171,100</li>
<li>Senior RF Engineer: $147,600 - $209,520</li>
</ul><div class="content-pay-transparency"><div class="pay-input"><div class="title">Pay Range: California</div><div class="pay-range"><span>$120,540</span><span class="divider">—</span><span>$209,520 USD</span></div></div></div><div class="content-conclusion"><p style="line-height: 1;"><strong>COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS<br></strong><br>Base salary will vary depending on job-related knowledge, education, skills, experience, business needs, and market demand. Salary is just one component of our comprehensive compensation package. Full-time employees also receive company equity, as well as access to a full suite of compelling benefits and perks, including: medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents, generous paid time off; up to 20+ days of vacation for exempt staff and up to 10+ days of vacation for non-exempt staff with the ability to cash-out unused vacation annually, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, ClassPass credits, personalized mental healthcare through Spring Health, and other discounts and perks. We also take pride in offering exceptional food perks, with snacks, drip coffee & onsite barista, cold drinks, and dinner meals remaining free of charge, and lunch subsidized as part of Vast’s ongoing commitment to providing high-quality meals for employees.</p>
<p style="line-height: 1;"><strong><br>U.S. EXPORT CONTROL COMPLIANCE STATUS<br><br></strong>The person hired will have access to information and items subject to U.S. export controls, and therefore, must either be a “U.S. person” as defined by <a href="https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-22/section-120.62">22 C.F.R. § 120.62</a> or otherwise eligible for deemed export licensing. This status includes U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, lawful permanent residents (green card holders), and asylees and refugees with such status granted, not pending.<br><br></p>
<p style="line-height: 1;"><strong>EQUAL OPPORTUNITY</strong><br><br>Vast is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Vast is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.</p></div>