What's the salary range?

K2 Space lists $120,000–$200,000 for this role.

How much experience is required?

At least 5 years of relevant experience for this Senior RF Hardware Engineer role.

What's the tech stack?

Joblaze extracted these technologies from the posting: Altair FEKO, Altium, Ansys Electronics Desktop HFSS, Cadence AWR Microwave Office, DSP, FPGA.

What seniority level is this role?

K2 Space targets senior candidates for this position.

Is this full-time or contract?

Full-time for this Senior RF Hardware Engineer role at K2 Space.

Senior RF Hardware Engineer at K2 Space

Joblaze summary

In this role, the Senior RF Hardware Engineer designs and develops advanced radiofrequency and microwave electronics for high-power satellites, focusing on systems for satellite communications. Key skills include expertise in RF circuit design, PCB assembly, and environmental testing, with proficiency in tools like Cadence AWR and Altium. This position is ideal for experienced engineers with a background in microwave engineering and a passion for working in a fast-paced startup environment. The team is engaged in pioneering satellite technology, aiming to redefine capabilities in space.

Joblaze insights

Listed today — first seen on Joblaze September 19, 2026. Last confirmed on K2 Space's careers page September 19, 2026.
Salary band is in line with the typical range for comparable tech roles (median ~$126,887).
Starts above 9% of 23 comparable senior other roles in United States that list RF we track (median $165,000 across 9 companies).
RF appears in 2.1% of 2161 comparable senior other roles in United States; Keysight ADS appears in 0.1% of 2161 comparable senior other roles in United States.

Quick facts

What's the salary range?: K2 Space lists $120,000–$200,000 for this role.
How much experience is required?: At least 5 years of relevant experience for this Senior RF Hardware Engineer role.
What's the tech stack?: Joblaze extracted these technologies from the posting: Altair FEKO, Altium, Ansys Electronics Desktop HFSS, Cadence AWR Microwave Office, DSP, FPGA.
What seniority level is this role?: K2 Space targets senior candidates for this position.
Is this full-time or contract?: Full-time for this Senior RF Hardware Engineer role at K2 Space.

From the original posting

K2 is building the largest and highest-power satellites ever flown, unlocking performance levels previously out of reach across every orbit. Backed by over $1 billion in total funding from leading investors including Altimeter Capital, ICONIQ, Kleiner Perkins, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Redpoint Ventures, and T. Rowe Price — and with over $1 billion in signed contracts across commercial and US government customers, we're mass-producing the highest-power satellite platforms ever built for missions from LEO to deep space.

The Role

You will be responsible for the design and development of radiofrequency (RF) and microwave electronics to be hosted on some of the largest, most powerful, rapidly designed and rapidly manufactured satellites ever deployed in space. In your first 6 months you will architect, develop, own, test, and integrate new RF electronics for use in software defined radio (SDR) systems for satellite communications and beyond. You will work with a multidisciplinary team of antenna, field programmable gate array (FPGA), digital signal processing (DSP), software, mechanical, and electrical engineers in order to prototype your systems and refine your designs. In your first two years you will have flown your system in space and developed cutting-edge radiofrequency systems.

Responsibilities

Design and development of radiofrequency and microwave hardware from UHF 200 MHz through Ka band 30 GHz, including phased array antennas, low noise amplifiers, power amplifiers, filters, RF mixers, up and downconverters, high speed data converters, and other RF electronics components
Design printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs) for spacecraft including architecture, schematic capture, component selection, layout, bring up and debugging
Qualify your designs through environmental testing including vibration, shock, thermal, and thermal vacuum (TVAC) testing
Collaborate closely with internal and external stakeholders to integrate your designs into the spacecraft system
Act as technical leader and subject-matter expert helping to teach, grow, and mentor others in the team

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering or related science, technology, engineering, or mathematics field
5+ years of experience in microwave and RF engineering
Experience designing multilayer PCBAs and integrating commercial off-the-shelf integrated circuits for RF applications in Altium or similar PCB design tools
Experience with RF circuit modeling and analysis software tools such as Cadence AWR Microwave Office and Keysight ADS
Experience with RF test equipment such as vector network analyzers (VNA), spectrum analyzer, etc.
Ability to work in a fast-paced and high velocity start-up atmosphere

Nice to Have

Experience with component selection for use in space radiation environments and flying hardware in space
Experience with antenna and electromagnetic modeling and analysis software tools such as Ansys Electronics Desktop HFSS and Altair FEKO
Experience with FPGA design, implementation, verification, and validation for RF applications
Experience with software defined radio hardware development including high speed RF data converters (digital to analog and analog to digital converters), clock trees, and data converter interfaces
Experience with phased arrays and digital beamforming
Experience with signal intelligence (SIGINT), electronic warfare (EW), and/or satellite telecommunications
Knowledge of RF digital communications and digital signal processing (DSP) concepts such as spread spectrum, forward error correction, and modulation types such as BPSK, QAM, etc

Compensation and Benefits:

Base salary range for this role is $120,000 - $200,000 + equity in the company
Salary will be based on several factors including, but not limited to: knowledge and skills, education, and experience level
Comprehensive benefits package including paid time off, medical/dental/vision coverage, life insurance, paid parental leave, and many other perks

If you don’t meet 100% of the preferred skills and experience, we encourage you to still apply! Building a spacecraft unlike any other requires a team unlike any other and non-traditional career twists and turns are encouraged!

Standard company text repeated across K2 Space's postings is omitted here.

Senior RF Hardware Engineer

Similar positions