Hardware Development Engineer (RF Systems)

Role

As a Hardware Development Engineer, you will lead the development of Northwood’s antenna systems from early architecture through design, integration, manufacturing, and deployment. You will own the execution of multidisciplinary antenna products that combine mechanical structures, RF hardware, electronics, embedded systems, thermal management, manufacturing, and test.

This role is for a deeply technical engineer who can operate as both a senior individual contributor and a cross-functional product lead. You will apply strong expertise in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, RF hardware, embedded systems, or a related discipline while developing the system-level understanding needed to drive the complete antenna product.

You will translate product and mission objectives into clear requirements, technical plans, schedules, interfaces, and verification strategies. You will organize teams around the most important engineering problems, identify risks and dependencies early, and drive products through design reviews, prototype builds, testing, production, and field deployment.

Responsibilities

• Own the technical development and execution of a Northwood antenna system or major subsystem from concept through production and deployment.
• Translate product, customer, and mission needs into system requirements, architectures, interfaces, performance budgets, and verification plans.
• Coordinate development across mechanical, electrical, RF, antenna, embedded software, thermal, manufacturing, test, supply chain, and field operations.
• Build and manage development schedules, technical milestones, critical-path dependencies, and risk-mitigation plans.
• Lead system-level trade studies across antenna performance, structural design, power, thermal behavior, reliability, manufacturability, cost, and deployment speed.
• Drive prototype builds, system integration, test campaigns, root-cause investigations, and production-readiness reviews.
• Contribute directly to design, analysis, prototyping, testing, and troubleshooting within your primary engineering discipline.
• Provide clear updates to engineering leadership on progress, risks, decisions, and resource needs.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, RF Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• 5+ years of experience developing complex hardware, antenna systems, RF products, aerospace systems, or similarly multidisciplinary technology.
• Deep individual-contributor expertise in at least one relevant engineering discipline, such as mechanical design, electrical hardware, RF hardware, antenna engineering, embedded systems, or systems integration.
• Demonstrated experience owning a complex hardware product or subsystem through design, prototyping, integration, testing, and delivery.
• Strong systems-thinking ability and experience managing technical interfaces and tradeoffs across multiple engineering disciplines.
• Experience turning ambiguous product objectives into requirements, development plans, schedules, and test strategies.
• Hands-on experience building, integrating, testing, and troubleshooting physical hardware systems.
• Strong organization, communication, and cross-functional leadership skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience developing phased-array antennas, ground station antennas, satellite communications systems, radar systems, or other complex RF hardware.
• Experience with antenna structures, RF enclosures, electronics packaging, thermal management, environmental sealing, cable routing, or electromechanical integration.
• Familiarity with antenna elements, amplifiers, filters, frequency converters, beamforming electronics, calibration systems, and RF distribution networks.
• Experience taking a hardware product from early architecture through qualification, production, installation, and field operation.
• Experience with environmental testing, design for manufacturing, supplier management, and production-readiness processes.
• Track record of resolving complex integration issues across mechanical, electrical, RF, embedded, and software boundaries.

Additional Information

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., 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.