Job opportunity
Senior RF Systems Engineer
Urban Sky
About Role:
Urban Sky is seeking a Senior RF Systems Engineer to own the RF domain across the company – every emitter, receiver, antenna, and link, from the boards on our vehicles to the ground stations that talk to them.
Our flight vehicles are dense RF environments: SATCOM, stratospheric command links, GNSS, software-defined radios, and emitters operating within feet of each other on a single platform. You’ll own how all of that RF coexists, closes its links, and survives crowded & contested environments.
Key Responsibilities:
Review and optimize every emitting and receiving system across our avionics and devices (SATCOM, stratospheric command links, GNSS, SDRs), including board-level RF review with our electrical engineers: layout, filtering, shielding, desense, and co-site interference
Review and optimize antenna selection, design, and placement across the fleet – LOS CSS radios, SDRs, SATCOM terminals, and GNSS
Own RF link budgets across all mission phases and geometries, and validate them with hardware-in-the-loop and field testing
Architect Urban Sky’s ground station systems and multi-node relay/bent-pipe topologies (balloon-to-balloon, balloon-to-ground, payload-to-ground)
Develop solutions for MIMO architectures, mesh data backhaul, and efficient routing topology
Harden RF systems for contested environments: jamming resilience, GPS protection, and graceful degradation
Develop secure, encrypted networking standards for RF-borne data across vehicle, ground, and customer interfaces
Lead RF integration and interference deconfliction for third-party payloads hosted on our platforms
Evaluate RF-sensing partners and payloads
Support spectrum planning, frequency coordination, and regulatory compliance (FCC, ITU)
Qualifications:
B.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Communications Engineering, or a related field
7+ years of hands-on RF systems engineering across hardware and system levels, preferably in aerospace, satellite, tactical comms, or high-altitude platforms
Deep understanding of RF propagation, link budgets, modulation and coding, and antenna design principles
Board-level RF experience: able to find and fix desense and interference problems with a spectrum analyzer and a schematic
Hands-on test experience with spectrum analyzers, VNAs, signal generators, and antenna measurement
Experience with software-defined radios and mesh or relay network architectures
Working knowledge of secure communications (encryption, key management) as applied to RF links
Strong scripting/analysis skills for link modeling and test automation
Nice-to-Haves / Preferred Skills:
Experience with HABS, smallsat comms, or airborne relay architectures
Contested-environment or electronic warfare experience (jamming, GPS denial, LPI/LPD)
ISM, L-, or S-band systems and adaptive modulation/coding
RF payload experience: direction finding, TDOA/geolocation, SIGINT, or SAR
Antenna simulation tools
An active US security clearance
Requirements:
Must be US Citizen or Permanent Resident
Ability to obtain and maintain a US security clearance may be required for certain programs
Must be located near Denver, CO or willing to relocate; role is on-site at our Denver headquarters (4800 Race St)
Travel expected to support field campaigns, test flights, and customer integration
Benefits:
Stock Options
Medical, Vision and Dental
Unlimited / Felxable Leave Policy
Cell Phone Bill Stipend
Urban Sky is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected Veteran Status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.
#J-18808-Ljbffr
Apply on source site Urban Sky is seeking a Senior RF Systems Engineer to own the RF domain across the company – every emitter, receiver, antenna, and link, from the boards on our vehicles to the ground stations that talk to them.
Our flight vehicles are dense RF environments: SATCOM, stratospheric command links, GNSS, software-defined radios, and emitters operating within feet of each other on a single platform. You’ll own how all of that RF coexists, closes its links, and survives crowded & contested environments.
Key Responsibilities:
Review and optimize every emitting and receiving system across our avionics and devices (SATCOM, stratospheric command links, GNSS, SDRs), including board-level RF review with our electrical engineers: layout, filtering, shielding, desense, and co-site interference
Review and optimize antenna selection, design, and placement across the fleet – LOS CSS radios, SDRs, SATCOM terminals, and GNSS
Own RF link budgets across all mission phases and geometries, and validate them with hardware-in-the-loop and field testing
Architect Urban Sky’s ground station systems and multi-node relay/bent-pipe topologies (balloon-to-balloon, balloon-to-ground, payload-to-ground)
Develop solutions for MIMO architectures, mesh data backhaul, and efficient routing topology
Harden RF systems for contested environments: jamming resilience, GPS protection, and graceful degradation
Develop secure, encrypted networking standards for RF-borne data across vehicle, ground, and customer interfaces
Lead RF integration and interference deconfliction for third-party payloads hosted on our platforms
Evaluate RF-sensing partners and payloads
Support spectrum planning, frequency coordination, and regulatory compliance (FCC, ITU)
Qualifications:
B.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Communications Engineering, or a related field
7+ years of hands-on RF systems engineering across hardware and system levels, preferably in aerospace, satellite, tactical comms, or high-altitude platforms
Deep understanding of RF propagation, link budgets, modulation and coding, and antenna design principles
Board-level RF experience: able to find and fix desense and interference problems with a spectrum analyzer and a schematic
Hands-on test experience with spectrum analyzers, VNAs, signal generators, and antenna measurement
Experience with software-defined radios and mesh or relay network architectures
Working knowledge of secure communications (encryption, key management) as applied to RF links
Strong scripting/analysis skills for link modeling and test automation
Nice-to-Haves / Preferred Skills:
Experience with HABS, smallsat comms, or airborne relay architectures
Contested-environment or electronic warfare experience (jamming, GPS denial, LPI/LPD)
ISM, L-, or S-band systems and adaptive modulation/coding
RF payload experience: direction finding, TDOA/geolocation, SIGINT, or SAR
Antenna simulation tools
An active US security clearance
Requirements:
Must be US Citizen or Permanent Resident
Ability to obtain and maintain a US security clearance may be required for certain programs
Must be located near Denver, CO or willing to relocate; role is on-site at our Denver headquarters (4800 Race St)
Travel expected to support field campaigns, test flights, and customer integration
Benefits:
Stock Options
Medical, Vision and Dental
Unlimited / Felxable Leave Policy
Cell Phone Bill Stipend
Urban Sky is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected Veteran Status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.
#J-18808-Ljbffr