Principal RF Engineer

About the role

DroneShield is seeking a Principal RF Engineer with the relevant experience reporting to the Hardware Architecture Manager within the Sensors and Effectors Team.

The Sensors and Effectors team at Droneshield is focused on providing fully operational and qualified modular devices to enable new product development of high-end RF based sensors and effectors. Modules are re-used across various product configurations including man-portable, vehicle mounted and fixed site. Key technical challenges for DroneShield hardware design include wide-band high-performance RF paths between Antenna and ADC/DAC inclusive, high power amplification stages, and the high-speed digital circuitry providing operation of the sensor and effector capability.

This role will be focussed on the antenna architecture and design, working with other teams to ensure the next generation products remain class leading. This will include providing inputs to the next generation hardware architecture, research and design of unique antenna structures, general resonant structure design, guiding hardware delivery team with antenna integration, coordination of radiated test & measurement, support root-cause analysis and resolution of complex radiated design issues.

Responsibilities, Duties and Expectations 

• Self-management of workload, methods and workflow to meet key business objectives. 
• Subject matter expert in 3D electromagnetic simulation using CST. 
• Subject matter expert in test site, equipment and methodologies required for antenna characterisation and general radiated measurements. 
• Work closely within the Hardware Architecture team to provide feasible antenna design inputs to product concepts. 
• Work closely with Mechanical Engineering with the objective of a developing manufacturable and performing antenna solutions. 
• Support the antenna development process and introduction into manufacturing. 
• Define requirements for integration of antennas and communicate them directly into the system and development teams. 
• Supporting the Hardware Development team with 3DEM simulation services. 
• Continuous research into state-of-art antenna technologies and industry trends to ensure that designs are innovative and competitive. 
• Support the development of DroneShield antenna characterisation measurement capabilities and processes. 
• External antenna vendor engagement 
• Employing and developing sound industry practices for documentation and QC. 
• Mentoring and training of inexperienced engineers in 3DEM simulation and radiated measurements. 
• Support radiated experimentation to develop and evaluate near and far-field isolation solutions 
• Provide guidelines for the application of devices in various field deployment scenarios related to antenna performance, coverage and isolation. 
• Optimize the radiated performance of the products with consideration to wide-band antenna pattern and efficiency with the objective of minimising interference issues, improving signal quality, and increasing range and reliability. 
• Stay current with the evolving landscape of drone technology and counter-drone measures to ensure that jamming systems remain effective against new threats. 
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including hardware engineers, mechanical engineers, and project managers, to ensure that antenna design considerations are integrated into the overall system design from the outset. 

Qualifications, Experience and Skills 

• A degree in Electronics Engineering or similar technical field of study, preferably with a PhD or Masters in an electro-magnetic field.  
• A minimum of 15 years experience in antenna design working within an engineering design team, preferably for systems used in anti-drone or electronic warfare systems. 
• The following are experiences and skills that are considered mandatory for this role. 
• • Experience using 3DEM simulation software such as CST and HFSS for antenna design (strong preference for CST) 
  • Experience designing antenna structures, integrated and coaxially terminated 
  • Experience designing directional and omni-directional wideband antenna structures 
  • Experience taking antenna products from concept through development into manufacturing 
  • Experience performing antenna characterisation measurements 
  • Experience with the implementation of antenna miniaturisation techniques 
  • Experience with the implementation of antenna isolation techniques in both near and far field 
  • Deep understanding of RF propagation 
  • Experience in high-power antenna design to ensure operating life expectancy and mitigate PIM 
  • Proficient with RF benchtop test equipment: VNAs, spectrum analysers, power amplifiers, signal generators 
  • Design for Manufacture (DFM) considerations for antennas 
  • Experience using, maintaining, or procuring radiated chambers 
• The following are experiences and skills that are considered desirable for this role. 
• • Experience assembling antenna prototypes physically 
  • Experience with cavity filter or multiplexer design 
  • Experience with design documentation, drawings, and configuration management 
  • Experience in hardware design with integrated antennas 
  • Experience in SCH and PCB design using Altium 
  • Theoretical and practical understanding of PCB layout techniques and mechanical shielding for high-speed digital and RF circuitry 
  • Experience using RF circuit simulation tools such as Microwave Office, ADS, or similar 
  • RF systems design including: RF link budget, cascaded analysis for noise and non-linearities, DSP blocks used in digital transceivers 
  • Experience defining RF module specifications from higher-level architectural requirements 
  • Experience in RF circuit design including RF transceivers, high-power amplifiers, low-noise amplifiers, filters and diplexers, high-speed ADCs and DACs 
  • RF module design including mechanical and environmental aspects (SWAP-C, EMC) 
  • Knowledge of mainstream RF modulation techniques 
  • Familiarity with designing test plans and procedures 
  • Experience in technical team leadership 
  • Experience mentoring less experienced engineers 

Note for recruitment agencies: We do not accept unsolicited candidates from external recruiters unless specifically instructed.