Senior RF Engineer

About the role

DroneShield is seeking a Senior 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 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, design and development of antenna structures, guiding hardware delivery team with antenna integration, 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. 
• 3D electromagnetic simulation using CST. 
• 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. 
• Drive the antenna development process through to manufacturing. 
• Work closely with Mechanical Engineering with the objective of a developing manufacturable and performing antenna solutions. 
• 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. 
• Drive the development of DroneShield antenna characterisation measurement capabilities and processes. 
• External antenna vendor engagement 
• Employing and developing sound industry practices for documentation and QC. 
• Drive 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, and the objectives 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 10 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. 
• • Expert 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 taking antenna products from concept through development into manufacturing 
  • Experience performing antenna characterisation measurements 
  • Working understanding of RF propagation 
  • Knowledge of design considerations for antennas to support high-power operation 
  • 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 designing directional and omni-directional wideband antenna structures 
  • Knowledge of antenna miniaturisation techniques 
  • Knowledge of antenna isolation techniques in both near and far field 
  • 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.