Senior RF Engineer, Spacecraft Systems

Job Title: Senior RF Engineer, Spacecraft

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Employment Type: Full-time/Direct

Industry: Aerospace

Compensation: $150-$200k base salary

Schedule: daytime

About the Opportunity:

We are seeking an RF Engineer to join our flight program team. This is a full-time, in office role for an experienced professional with a proven track record of hands-on work across multiple areas of spacecraft electrical and communications engineering. In this role, you will lead the system-level design, evaluation, PCB layout, testing, and integration of spacecraft radio frequency (RF) systems, while managing EMI/EMC, magnetics compliance, and magnetic cleanliness for magnetically sensitive payload missions.

Why You'll Love Working Here:

• Supportive, team-driven culture that values collaboration, transparency, and accountability
• Opportunity to grow your career with a global workforce solutions leader serving multiple industries
• People-first environment that encourages employees to bring their authentic selves to work
• Strong focus on partnership, innovation, and delivering meaningful results for clients and candidates

Why This Opportunity is Exciting:

This role offers the chance to join a company that prioritizes both people and performance—where your contributions directly impact client success while giving you room to grow and develop professionally.

About Acara Solutions

Acara is a premier recruiting and workforce solutions provider-we help companies compete for talent. With a legacy of experience in various industries worldwide, we partner with clients, listen to their needs, and customize visionary talent solutions that drive desired business outcomes. We leverage decades of experience to deliver contingent staffing, direct placement, executive search, and workforce services worldwide.

Sound like a good fit?

What You'll Do:

• Lead RF system architecture design, link budget analyses, and the integration of spacecraft communications subsystem.
• Design and route custom printed circuit boards (PCBs) interfacing with various spacecraft subsystems.
• Perform comprehensive Electromagnetic Interference and Compatibility (EMI/EMC) analysis and testing across the entire spacecraft.
• Lead magnetic cleanliness efforts, including dipole modeling, stray field budgeting, and hands-on magnetic survey testing on flight hardware.
• Ensure regulatory compliance (FCC/NTIA), document design processes, and provide technical guidance on test configurations and grounding to fellow engineers.

What You'll Bring:

Bachelor Degree: in Electrical Engineering

Minimum 5 years: of aerospace hardware experience to include link budgets and spacecraft communications subsystems

Must possess: or be willing and able to obtain a DoD Top Secret Security Clearance

What Sets You Apart:

• Proficiency in PCB design software (e.g. Altium, Kicad, etc.).
• Expertise working with test equipment such as oscilloscopes, manual soldering/rework, and RF test equipment.
• Proven experience evaluating, testing, and integrating RF hardware, working in clean room environments, and adhering to ESD protocols.
• Experience with spacecraft magnetic cleanliness programs, magnetic modeling, or stray field characterization.
• Deep practical experience with EMI/EMC testing standards (MIL-STD-461) and spacecraft-level grounding schemes.
• Experience with the NASA GEVS standard, IPC Class board assembly standards, and designing electronics specifically for space applications.

Additional Information:

After you apply, you may receive a call or message from our AI Talent Scout about this role or other opportunities that match your skills and preferences. AI agent role is to help speed up your hiring process by answering questions, confirming basic information, and identifying whether there's a mutual fit.

The call or chat may be recorded so that our recruiting team can review it - they make all final hiring decisions, while AI agent simply helps move you forward faster. The best part? They are available 24/7, so you can connect whenever it's convenient for you.

By applying for this job, you agree to receive calls, AI-generated calls, text messages, or emails from Acara Solutions and its affiliates, and contracted partners. Frequency varies for text messages. Message and data rates may apply. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages. You can reply STOP to cancel and HELP for help. You can access our privacy policy at Website Privacy Policy | Acara

Aleron companies (Acara Solutions, Aleron Shared Resources, Broadleaf Results, Lume Strategies, TalentRise, Viaduct) are an Equal Opportunity Employer:

Race/Color/Gender/Religion/National Origin/Disability/Veteran.

Applicants for this position must be legally authorized to work in the United States. This position does not meet the employment requirements for individuals with F-1 OPT STEM work authorization status.