Antenna / RF Front-End Engineer (Contract) About the Role You’ll design the antenna and RF front-end at the heart of a counter-UAV radar sensor — radiating elements, arrays, and feed networks — taking them from concept through EM simulation to measured validation. This is a contract engagement, so you’ll need to work independently and contribute quickly.
We care most about breadth across antenna design methods on a master’s-level foundation; senior experience is a strong plus. You’ll have access to high-end measurement facilities — including anechoic-chamber time in Kyiv (paid travel) — to characterize and iterate on real hardware, not just simulate.
You should be comfortable working with unfamiliar materials and techniques as the problem demands, and stay current with the literature rather than defaulting to a familiar design.
What You’ll Do * Design and optimize antenna elements and arrays — single-element and phased-array — for mmWave operations * Evaluate tradeoffs across frequency bands and packaging: select the band and topology that best balance range, resolution, aperture size, and environmental performance for a given sensing requirement. * Design corporate-fed and series-fed feed networks for phased-array and MIMO systems, controlling amplitude/phase distribution to hit beamforming, sidelobe, and radiation-pattern targets. * Prototype and compare integration approaches — substrate-integrated waveguide (SIW), launch-in-package, and alternatives — to find the best fit for compact integration. * Model and optimize performance — gain, beamwidth, sidelobe level, VSWR/S11, mutual coupling, scan range, grating-lobe behavior — against sensing requirements. * Design MIMO arrays for multi-channel sensing: element spacing, channel isolation, and virtual-aperture formation for angular resolution. * Validate designs on the bench (VNA, anechoic/OTA range), correlating measured results against simulation and documenting deviations. * Work directly with the DSP and radar-systems engineers we’re hiring in parallel — antenna, signal processing, and architecture designed together, not in isolation. You’ll have real influence over the system design, not just your own slice. * Design to the RF front-end architecture — channel count, transceiver interface, phase coherence — and feed antenna feasibility back as the system evolves. * Prepare finished antenna and feed-network designs for handoff: specify antenna-critical constraints and review layout through bring-up.
Required Qualifications * Master’s in Electrical Engineering, Microwave/RF Engineering, or a closely related field — or equivalent hands-on antenna design experience with the skills below. PhD a plus. * Prior work on radar or RF sensing systems, not communications-only antenna work. * Hands-on experience across multiple antenna design methodologies: SIW, launch-in-package, phased arrays, MIMO systems, series-fed and corporate-fed networks. Breadth here matters more to us than years. * Strong feed-network fundamentals: power dividers, phase shifters, impedance matching, loss/isolation and beam-squint tradeoffs.\ * MATLAB/Simulink for array-factor synthesis, pattern analysis, and beamforming/system-level modeling (e.g. Antenna and Phased Array System Toolboxes). * A track record of carrying designs from concept through simulation, prototyping, and measurement validation — not simulation alone. * Proficiency with EM simulation software (HFSS, CST Microwave Studio, or equivalent). * Must pass company security protocol processes * Must communicate effectively in English
Preferred / Bonus * Working knowledge of multilayer PCB constraints (stackup, manufacturability) — enough to hand off cleanly to a PCB engineer.
Engagement Details * Type: Contract / consulting * Rate: [TBD] * Duration: Strong performance could lead to an ongoing or permanent role. * Location: Remote/ Hybrid * Hybrid: Must be able to temporary travel to Kyiv for on-site testing, heavily preferred (expenses paid) — primarily anechoic-chamber characterization of candidate designs, with possible field testing.
