RF and Antenna Engineer (m/f/d)

Focus: You will own the phased array antenna on TerraSpark's wireless power beaming payload, from element and subarray design through to a calibrated, steerable tile that does what the simulation promised. This is the RF and antenna seat for our phased array work: you design, simulate, build and measure arrays, and feed what you learn into the in-orbit demo mission planned for 2028 and the full scale SBSP designs behind it.

What you'll do:

• Design and simulate phased array antennas for wireless power transmission: elements, subarrays, feed networks and tile level layouts, optimised for efficiency, scan range and sidelobe levels.
• Own beamforming performance with the RF electronics and embedded software engineers: phase and amplitude control, calibration, beam steering accuracy and pointing.
• Run EM simulation (CST, HFSS or similar) and turn field plots into buildable designs tied to link budgets and power density targets.
• Work the array level trade-offs that bite in practice: element spacing, mutual coupling, scan loss, grating lobes, and thermal and mass limits.
• Define and run antenna measurements (VNA based characterisation, near-field and far-field patterns, gain, efficiency) and use the data to correct your models.
• Work with the WPT, RF and MMIC engineers on the interfaces between array, front-end and power stages.
• Work with Thermal and Structures on array layout, materials and integration, from lab prototype to flight-like hardware.
• Contribute to design reviews and documentation for the demo mission.

What you bring:

• MSc or BSc (PhD welcome) in RF/Microwave Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics or similar, with several years of hands-on antenna and phased array design.
• A track record designing, building and measuring phased arrays (satcom, radar, mmWave or WPT), ideally active arrays with integrated beamformers.
• Strong EM simulation skills (CST, HFSS or similar) plus RF design tools such as ADS or AWR.
• Solid grasp of array theory: scan performance, mutual coupling, grating lobes, tapering and calibration.
• Hands-on antenna measurement experience (VNAs, near-field scanner or anechoic chamber, power meters) and comfort debugging hardware at the bench.
• Microwave PCB based antenna and feed design is a strong plus; space or flight heritage is a bonus.
• Drive to own designs through build and test, work closely with colleagues across RF, thermal and structures, and iterate fast in a hardware-rich environment.