Senior Antenna Design Engineer for Satellite User Terminal

E-Space is seeking a Senior Antenna Design Engineer to develop compact, high-performance antennas for satellite communication user terminals. This is a hands-on role focused on electrically small, low-profile, embedded, multiband, and wideband antenna solutions that must operate within demanding mechanical and RF constraints. 

The engineer will own antenna development from requirements and architecture through electromagnetic simulation, prototype fabrication, measurement, integration, environmental verification, and production release. Strong compact antenna design experience is the primary qualification, while phased-array antenna experience is considered beneficial. 

• Develop compact, low-profile, embedded, multiband, dual-band, or wideband antennas for satellite communication terminals. 

• Translate link-budget and system requirements into antenna specifications, including frequency coverage, realized gain, efficiency, polarization, axial ratio, radiation pattern, return loss, bandwidth, and coverage. 

• Perform antenna trade studies involving size, bandwidth, efficiency, gain, polarization, ground-plane dependence, terminal orientation, and installation constraints. 

• Design antenna radiators, feeds, matching networks, baluns, hybrids, polarization networks, and other passive RF structures. 

• Develop circularly polarized or linearly polarized antenna solutions based on system requirements. 

• Conduct full-wave electromagnetic simulations using Ansys HFSS, CST Studio Suite, Altair FEKO, or equivalent tools. 

• Integrate antennas with the terminal enclosure, PCB, ground structure, radome, cables, batteries, displays, processors, and other nearby electronics. 

• Evaluate detuning, blockage, user interaction, cable coupling, enclosure effects, manufacturing tolerances, and material-property variation. 

• Plan and perform antenna measurements using VNAs, anechoic chambers, near-field or far-field ranges, and over-the-air test systems. 

• Correlate simulation with measured performance and resolve discrepancies through structured, data-driven troubleshooting. 

• Support antenna tuning, design-for-manufacturing reviews, tolerance analysis, supplier interaction, and production validation. 

• Develop environmental verification plans addressing temperature, humidity, vibration, shock, outdoor exposure, and other applicable user-terminal conditions. 

• Document requirements, analyses, design decisions, test procedures, results, and technical risks. 

• Collaborate with RF front-end, modem, baseband, firmware, mechanical, thermal, test, manufacturing, regulatory, and systems teams. 

• Mentor engineers and help establish repeatable antenna design and verification practices. 

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, electromagnetics, applied physics, or a related field. 

• Typically 7 or more years of hands-on antenna design and development experience. 

• Demonstrated experience designing compact or electrically small antennas for size-constrained products. 

• Strong understanding of antenna theory, impedance matching, radiation patterns, polarization, efficiency, bandwidth, and near-field coupling. 

• Hands-on experience with at least one full-wave electromagnetic simulation tool, such as HFSS, CST, or FEKO. 

• Experience taking an antenna design from simulation through prototype fabrication and measured validation. 

• Experience operating VNAs and performing antenna-pattern, gain, efficiency, polarization, and return-loss measurements. 

• Ability to diagnose differences between predicted and measured antenna performance. 

• Experience integrating antennas into mechanically and electrically complex products. 

• Strong technical communication and cross-functional collaboration skills. 

• Strong knowledge and understanding of satellite communication systems, with the ability to derive detailed technical requirements from high-level objectives and system direction.