RF Engineer

Company Info
Communications & Power Industries
State College, PA, United States

Phone: 704-462-7354
Web Site: www.cpii.com

Company Profile
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Title:

RF Engineer

Location:

State College, PA 

Job ID:

72600
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Job Description:

CPI Satcom & Antenna Technologies, a division of Communication & Power Industries LLC, operates a satellite communication electronics design and manufacturing facility in State College, Pennsylvania – the home of Penn State University. The State College design facility is an energetic and dynamic organization dedicated to building the highest-reliability uplink and downlink SATCOM RF Electronics (RFE) equipment in the satellite industry. With a long history of innovation and a global customer base, the SATCOM RFE facility continues to expand its product offerings and increase its market share around the world. As CPI grows, we continually seek motivated and talented employees to join the team.

We are actively seeking a Senior RF Engineer to join our multi-disciplined design engineering team. Our ideal candidate has a strong engineering design background, proven experience in the design of state-of-the-art RF and microwave communications electronics, and a willingness to participate in the long- term development of our team's capabilities.

Members of our team must have a passion for the technology, a willingness to work with and learn from other highly-skilled engineers to expand their domain knowledge, and a drive to grow the skills of other team members. A successful candidate must be willing to share their expertise with other members of the team with particular emphasis on mentoring less-experienced team members. The applicant must be willing to document and share their knowledge with the rest of the team. Good communication is key in this role.

Basic Qualifications:
· B.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering

· Minimum 8 years relevant industry experience

· Demonstrated ability to design RF and microwave circuitry

Key Responsibilities for the role include:
· Provide significant technical contribution to the design of RF and microwave electronic products including:

· Solid-state power amplifiers

· Low-noise amplifiers

· Upconverters and downconverters

· Contribute to analysis of customer and market RF performance requirements

· Participate in the development of product requirements with internal and external stakeholders

· Partition complex systems into products with our interdisciplinary engineering team

· Develop high-quality Verification and Validation documents in order to bound the design tasks

· Develop performance budgets and block diagrams

· Guard against scope creep

· Take technical ownership of RF and Microwave design projects

· Evaluate and select components and topologies for RF systems

· Author specification for the purchase of custom components or subassemblies

· Perform RF circuit analysis - both by direct calculation and by use of advanced simulation tools

· Document the design process, calculations, design rationale, and simulation results for future reuse

· Review and advise on RF PCB layouts developed by drafting department to engineering specs

· Plan for testing against the Verification and Validation plan

· Analyze, troubleshoot, and correct design issues or non-conformances

· Participate in technical leadership and planning within the development group

· Contribute to the technical planning, scheduling, and successful execution of design projects

· Provide project direction to other engineering functions and less experienced team members

· Take responsibility for tracking to the project plan and schedule

· Communicate with design team about requirements, design rationale, analysis of designs, and any issues clearly and openly

· Participate in the improvement of the organizational processes and documentation

· Communicate openly and clearly about your design process, choices, and rationale

· Document your design process for future reuse

· Provide mentorship for less experienced design team members

· Regularly avail yourself of opportunities for your own professional growth

· Judiciously exercise broad latitude and self-direction in determining technical objectives of assignments

Basic Required Skills:
· Deep understanding of RF and microwave design techniques and electromagnetics

· RF circuit analysis including:

· System cascade analysis

· Linear circuit analysis

· Non-linear effects and metrics

· Noise performance

· Understanding of printed element design and and transmission lines

· Design in microstrip and coplanar waveguide

· Design and simulate printed filters

· Design and simulate printed impedance matching networks

· Experience with waveguide and waveguide components (including circulators, termination, filters, etc) Practical experience in the testing of RF and microwave electronics

· Basic familiarity with ancillary low-frequency analog and analog/digital control circuits

· Basic knowledge of Schematic Capture, PCB Layout processes, and PCB construction sufficient to allow interaction with drafting department

· Familiarity and hands-on experience with RF and microwave test equipment (RF power meter, Vector Network Analyzers, Noise Figure Meters, etc)

· Underlying background knowledge of the practicalities of the electronics manufacturing process

· Good communication skills and a willingness to share knowledge is critical

Additional Skills:
Beyond the basic required skills, additional consideration will be given to applicants who have direct experience in the following specialty areas:

· Advanced usage of Keysight Genesys design software

· Advanced usage of ANSYS Electronic Desktop (HFSS)

· Experience with miniature integrated RF assembly techniques and procedures (e.g. die attach, wire bonding) Proficiency in basic mathematical analysis scripting tools like Matlab, Octave, or Python

· MTBF analysis of microwave and electronics devices

· Familiarity with regulatory compliance for electronic products (e.g. FCC, CE certification, etc.)

· Experience with a community documentation paradigm (i.e. Wiki, etc.)

· Project management tools such as Microsoft Project

· Experience in the preparation of technical documents for potential major program proposal