Senior RF Systems Engineer
Job ID: 2613965
Location: El Segundo, CA, United States
Date Posted: Jun 24, 2026
Category: Engineering and Sciences
Subcategory: Systems Engineer
Schedule: Full-Time
Shift: Day Job
Travel: Yes - 10% of the time
Minimum Clearance Required: TS/SCI
Clearance Level Must Be Able to Obtain: TS/SCI with Poly
Potential for Remote Work: On-Site
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Job Description
Description
SAIC has an opening for a Space RF Payload subject matter expert (SME) with in-depth knowledge of digital signal processing, signals, remote sensing, mission analyses, and system engineering. You will provide subject matter expertise to support customer decisions with respect to contractors' development of spaceborne RF signal processing payloads, ground processing systems, and overall mission capabilities. You will work in customer facilities in El Segundo, CA, directly sitting with our customers to provide our support.
You will perform the following duties and "fun stuff":
Responsible for acting as primary technical oversight for the development, build, verification and deployment of Space RF payloads, providing Government leadership, as needed, recommend course corrections to the payload design and build through delivery
Requirements generation
Evaluation and compliance assessments to generated requirements and requirements flow down.
Concept design evaluation and analysis of alternatives
Assessments of Critical Technology Elements (CTE), Technology Readiness Assessments (TRAs) and Manufacturing Readiness Assessments (MRAs)
Concept of Operations (CONOPS) development
Provide technical oversight of payload integration process onto candidate spacecraft
Provide technical oversight of transition to operations to include the development, operator training, payload initialization and checkout, and on-orbit operations
Responsible for assessing proposed payload design updates and understanding all performance and spacecraft impacts due to these updates
Responsible for performing assessments of risk reduction plans associated with improving the maturity of payload design and hardware
Responsible for working with contacts at prime and subcontractors to ensure work is on schedule and progressing
Qualifications
This is you:
Bachelor''s degree in electrical engineering or a technical field such as Physics, Math, or Aerospace Engineering with 14 years or more of experience in relevant field or Master''s degree in electrical engineering or a technical field such as Physics, Math, or Aerospace Engineering with 12 years or more of experience
Experience with spaceborne RF payloads, signal processing, signals, mission data processing
Ability to analyze, discover and find solutions for technical issues in relevant technology
Working knowledge of orbital mechanics and environmental effects on spaceborne RF payloads
Experience applying Systems Engineering principals to the execution of payload development, build and I&T onto spacecraft
Good communication skills to peers and customer leadership
Must have an in-scope security background investigation (T5 or SSBI), adjudicated for SCI eligibility and enrolled in the Continuous Evaluation program (if applicable)
Must be willing to be nominated for access to Sensitive Compartment Information and Special Access Programs and willing to consent to a Polygraph examination
Great additional background and skills:
16 years or more of experience with RF payloads
Experience with integration & test of spaceborne RF payloads onto spacecraft
Familiarity with DoW acquisition processes
Experience as a project manager on space payload program or IPT
Ability to generate link budgets for end-to-end space to ground Comm systems and / or RF Payloads.
Target salary range: $200,001 - $240,000. The estimate displayed represents the typical salary range for this position based on experience and other factors.
Overview
SAIC accepts applications on an ongoing basis and there is no deadline.
SAIC is a premier mission integrator focused on advancing the power of technology and innovation to serve and protect our world. Our robust portfolio of offerings across the defense, space, intelligence, and civilian markets includes secure high-end solutions in mission IT, enterprise IT, engineering services, and professional services. We integrate emerging technology, rapidly and securely, into mission critical operations that modernize and enable critical national imperatives.
We are approximately 23,000 strong; driven by mission, united by purpose, and inspired by opportunities. SAIC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, SAIC has annual revenues of approximately $7.3 billion. For more information, visit saic.com. For ongoing news, please visit our newsroom.
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