This is an exciting opportunity to work for one of the world’s leading mobile satellite communications company.

With offices based in London, our client is looking for an Systems Engineer who will join a team responsible for the design, development and delivery of aviation projects for their customers.

Job Description

The position of User Terminal RF Systems Engineer is part of the User Terminal (UT) Engineering group within the company’s CTO division. The successful candidate will be a Radio Frequency Engineering Subject Matter Expert supporting activities in Satellite User Terminals projects where we oversee the design evaluation and in-life management of new maritime, aviation and land mobile satellite communications equipment. The successful candidate will be engaged in the requirements and analysis of user terminal Radio Frequency technology which include various antenna types and Ka and/or L Band Radio Frequency electronics. The candidate will be supporting the User Terminal Engineering Department in the definition and evaluation of user terminal radio frequency electronics. They will perform prediction, evaluation and analysis of current and future radio frequency hardware and performance.  He or she will also support the definition of Type Approval requirements and test facilities for future capabilities.

The role will require co-ordination with a wide range of other project teams both within and external to the client. The successful candidate will be required to represent our client as the technical expert in meetings with vendors and standardisation bodies and must be capable of dealing confidently with experts in similar and different disciplines. The role may require regular travel.

Key Responsibilities:

• Providing expert advice and analysis on RF engineering
• Support the identification, down-selection and specification of new UT technology (focusing on antennas and Radio Frequency electronics) proposed for use in the company’s networks.
• Support Radio Frequency Requirements Definition for terminals including the specification of key RF performance targets, i.e. G/T, EIRP, and radio regulatory compliance
• Support the review and analysis of results from Value Added Manufacturer data against specifications and evaluate regulatory compliance to regional and international radio regulations
• Provide expert advice and analysis to refine User Terminal Radio Frequency requirements in view of emerging antenna and radio frequency technologies coming into the market as well as addressing the changing radio regulation environment

Qualifications

Essential Knowledge and Skills:

• Strong and relevant experience ideally in RF design in telecommunications or radar development at a value added manufacturer or design house
  Degree or MSc or PhD in Electrical or Electronic Engineering or equivalent with a strong emphasis on
• Radio Frequency electronics
• Strong knowledge of mobile User Terminal antenna types and their practical applications, expected performance, and general architecture from L-band to mm Wave)
  Intimate understanding of the performance drivers, cost, reliability, strengths, limitations and
• challenges of various antenna types:
  • Parabolic reflectors – symmetrical and asymmetrical
  • Steering arrays – mechanically steered
  • Active Electronically scanned phased arrays and digital beamforming
  • Phase Shifting and True Time Delay Techniques

Strong knowledge and analytical skill in evaluating the impact and optimisation of RF performance on modulation schemes including the support of wideband multicarrier OFDM waveforms as well as traditional narrowband waveforms
Strong knowledge of hardware development and specifically transceiver architecture and RF design at the PCB and component level:

• LNAs – Noise Figure, Bandwidth
• LNBs – Noise figure, Bandwidth, Phase Noise, spurious control
• Power amplifiers/BUCs – Power linearity, pre-distortion, efficiency, thermal considerations, power transistor technologies
• Frequency conversion – Phase noise, spurious control
• RF Filter design, performance and implementation
• RF Integrated Circuit transceivers
• Strong  knowledge of mobile satellite signal propagation models in mobile environments
• Good knowledge and experience of software programming and use of simulation tools (e.g. MatLab, Python) for system development and analysis
• Strong and experience in RF test and measurement, testing methods including bench and antenna range
  Strong knowledge of antenna pointing algorithms, pointing performance and requirements in a
• mobile environment, including pointing error analysis and review and test of pointing error

Desirable Knowledge and Skills:

• Negotiation and program management skills
• Working knowledge of link budget and fading simulations
• Satellite communications systems
• Knowledge of network engineering
• Knowledge in Avionics certification process
• Knowledge of Aviation Standards, environmental and regulatory requirements (ARINC 429/741/781/791, DO-178, DO-262, DO-160)
• Knowledge of aviation safety performance requirements
• Knowledge of Digital Signal Processing implementation and architecture

Tagged as: Matlab, python, lnas, lnbs