Satellite RF Engineer

ABOUT XPLORE

The new technology frontier is rapidly expanding – and Xplore is pushing the boundaries and accelerating growth with new capabilities to transform industries with insights from space. Xplore is building a first-of-its-kind multi-sensor low Earth orbit satellite constellation designed to deliver a new class of innovative and affordable data products for Earth observation, space domain awareness, and astronomy.

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Xplore is currently recruiting innovative space hardware, software, sensors, processing, and data technology professionals to be part of an exciting and rapidly growing company. Xplore offers market-competitive compensation and benefits for our employees who enjoy working in a fast-paced, intellectually challenging, fun, value-based collaborative environment.

Xplore is a venture-backed space technology startup based in Redmond, WA. We provide proprietary sensor-captured data from space that enables our customer’s insights, intelligence, inspiration, and discovery of our planet and the solar system for commercial, government, defense, NGO, and research applications. We’re doing something that few other companies are even thinking about – creating the next model of space data infrastructure.

Xplore is an equal-opportunity employer; employment with Xplore is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Xplore participates in E-Verify. In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire. All persons hired must be a current U.S. citizen or current lawful permanent resident of the U.S.

POSITION DETAILS

This role reports to the Spaceflight Software Director. All work for this role will be performed onsite at Xplore's offices in Redmond, Washington.

Xplore’s RF engineer will be responsible for the design and development of the radio communications systems that operate between our satellites, ground stations and other satelites (inter-satellite links).

This position requires strong knowledge of S-, X-, and L-band communication hardware, satellite telemetry protocols, software-defined radio systems, and C/C++ coding for a Linux-based environment. Familiarity with data encryption and data compression is desired. The successful candidate will be able to adapt to changing mission requirements and work independently.

Requirements

Must be a current U.S. citizen or current lawful permanent resident of the U.S.

Bachelor of Science (or greater) degree in Engineering, Math, or Physics.

5+ years of experience with RF communication systems in the S-, X-, L-, or C-bands.

Demonstrated familiarity with existing communications technology in aerospace and space industries.

Demonstrated experience developing and validating RF link budget system models.

Demonstrated familiarity with using RF and Electrical Test Equipment.

Strong programming experience in C/C++.

Demonstrated experience with software-defined radio systems.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Knowledge of CCSDS communications standards and data encryption.

Experience with DVB-S2/S2X (or similar standard).

Experience with test automation and data processing (Python, MATLAB, etc.).

Understanding of radiation effects on electronics.

Responsibilities for this role include:

Perform communications system design and analysis, testing, debugging, data analysis, and flight hardware and software development.

Create and maintain system digital communication link budgets, data throughput, and availability analyses.

Develop and maintain communications subsystem and component specifications and verifications plans.

Work with digital design, flight software, and ground systems team to transmit data across analog and digital platforms.

Create dedicated test setups and procedures and support the development and execution of test plans.

Interface with supplier/vendors as needed.

Provide technical input to regulatory teams for spectrum usage.

Top Priorities to be Accomplished During the First Six Months:

Perform functional testing of S- and X-band radios.

Work with operations to create a spacecraft command structure.

Write flight code to get data to/from the ground and into the data and command pipelines.

Work with ground station vendors to perform validation testing.

Research new concepts in satellite communications

COMPENSATION

The base salary range for this role is $110K-$150K

Company Stock Options included in this role

The Recruitment Process

Xplore has retained Bert Sadtler, President of Boxwood Strategies to manage all hiring and conduct a different kind of recruitment. We have selected Boxwood because we are believers in Boxwood’s unique approach to candidate selection and qualification. While this process is different, we feel that it genuinely offers both candidates and the company the best opportunity to get to know each other at a deeper level than is typical with the conventional interview approach.
Please click for a short video on the Boxwood Process.

Benefits

Health Care Plan
Employees (and their families) can be covered by medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance. The HSA qualified plan is for full-time employees working 30 hours or more per week.

Paid Time Off (Vacation, Sick & Public Holidays)
Full time employees earn PTO at a rate of 1.33 days per month. There are a minimum of 13 paid holidays each year for full-time employees.

Stock Option Plan

The company offers an equity incentive plan for qualified full-time employees.

EEO/ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

Xplore is an equal opportunity employer; employment with Xplore is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

This employer participates in E-Verify. In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire. All persons hired will be required to be a U.S. citizen, a lawful permanent resident of the U.S., or protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

More About Xplore

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