Six Figure Work

Senior RF/Communication Systems Engineer

Astranis

Company websiteastranis.com (Astranis, opens in new tab)

Base salary $170K  to $280K

Employer-published annual base salary, USD. Advertised base range in San Francisco, CA

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  • LocationSan Francisco, CA
  • WorkplaceWorkplace not stated
  • Status at last checkSource accepting applications when checked
  • Last checked (1 h ago) · observed since

About this job

Astranis builds advanced satellites for high orbits, expanding humanity’s reach into the solar system. Today Astranis satellites provide dedicated, secure networks to highly-sophisticated customers across the globe – large enterprises, sovereign governments, and the US military. 

With five satellites on orbit and many more set to launch soon, the company is servicing a backlog of more than $1 billion of commercial contracts. Astranis is the preferred satellite communications partner for buyers with stringent requirements for uptime, data security, network visibility, and customization.

Astranis has raised over $1.2 billion from some of the world’s best investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Baillie Gifford, Blackrock, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, and Snowpoint, and employs a team of 500 engineers and entrepreneurs. Astranis designs, builds, and operates its satellites out of its 153,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Northern California, USA.

Senior RF/Communication Systems Engineer

As a RF/Communication Systems Engineer at Astranis you will be responsible for the architecture, design, and modeling of our satellites communication payloads. You will work closely with many other teams including but not limited to the antenna, SDR, RF, DSP, and mechanical teams in order to design the best possible radio systems.

Role

  • Own architectural trade studies, and establish system and unit level requirements analytically or via simulation
  • Lead R&D efforts for new radio features / technologies / custom components
  • Work closely with many design teams, including RF, Antenna, digital hardware, FPGA, mechanical, thermal
  • Communications related signal processing algorithm design and test
  • Assist in recruiting, interviewing, and hiring additional teammates to our rapidly-growing team.

Requirements

  • Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering or equivalent
  • 7+ years of experience
  • Strong technical communication skills (oral and written)
  • Strong fundamentals in "signals and systems" and digital communications
  • Familiar with hardware components and their associated impairments / limitations
  • Comfortable working in the lab, testing radio hardware, using signal generator, signal analyzer, network analyzer, oscilloscope, etc
  • Proven ability to triage and debug issues discovered in testing
  • Comfortable developing software (Python, and some C/C++)
  • Fast to learn new tools and workflows
  • A passion for working in a fast-paced environment and constantly learning
  • RF system design and budgeting 
  • Don't meet them all? Not a problem. Please apply even if you do not meet all these criteria.

Bonus

  • Familiarity with satellite radio systems (ground segment and/or space segment
  • Radio characterization test planning, automation and execution
  • Comfortable with software, especially Python, git, GNU Radio
  • Fixed point implementation of signal processing algorithms
  • Familiarity with multi-rate signal processing techniques (polyphase filters, resamplers, etc)
  • Multi-antenna systems (beamforming, null-steering)
  • Direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) modem design
  • Familiarity with satellite waveforms and modems (DVB-S2/x, DVB-RCS2)

What we offer: 

All our positions offer a compensation package that includes equity and robust benefits.

Base pay is just one component of Astranis’s total rewards package. Your compensation also includes a significant equity package via incentive stock options, high-quality company-subsidized healthcare, disability and life insurance, 401(k) retirement planning, flexible PTO, and free on-site catered meals.

Astranis pay ranges are informed and defined through professional-grade salary surveys and compensation data sources. The actual base salary offered to a successful candidate will additionally be influenced by a variety of factors including experience, credentials & certifications, educational attainment, skill level requirements, and the level and scope of the position.

Base Salary

$170,000—$280,000 USD

U.S. Citizenship, Lawful Permanent Residency, or Refugee/Asylee Status Required

(To comply with U.S. Government space technology export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the United States, or other protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3))

Our mission and products are built for everyone, regardless of gender, race, creed, or background. We believe in a diverse and inclusive workplace, and we invite all people to join our team and bring their unique perspectives to make us stronger.

Astranis SMS Terms of Service

  1. Recruiting Updates: By opting in, you agree to receive SMS updates, interview coordination, and recruiting communications from Astranis Space Technologies Corp.

  2. Opt-Out: You can cancel this service at any time by replying STOP. We will send one final text confirming your unsubscription.

  3. Opt-In Again: To resume receiving messages, reply START or YES.

  4. Support & Rates: For assistance, reply HELP or contact us at +16504498097. Message and data rates may apply. Message frequency varies; carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.

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Source: Astranis on Greenhouse · View original posting (opens in new tab)

Pay in context

This role's base floor ($170,000) is above 72% of the 2,097 Engineering (non-software) roles in California listed on this site; 31 others list the same floor. Their median floor is $146,200; the middle half runs from $124,000 to $174,000.

Only jobs on this site count, and each one publishes a base salary of $100,000 or more, so this compares six-figure jobs with each other, not with the whole market. Computed Nov 7, 2026.

This range next to 6 other live Astranis roles with the nearest advertised base floor
Chart as a table
This range next to 6 other live Astranis roles with the nearest advertised base floor
RolePublished base
Senior RF/Communication Systems Engineer (this listing)$170K - $280K
Sales Director - International Government$170K - $210K
Senior RF Design Engineer$170K - $230K
Senior Antenna Engineer$170K - $250K
Senior Electrical Engineer- SDR Hardware$175K - $240K
Senior FPGA Engineer$175K - $240K
Electrical Engineering Manager - Software Defined Radio Hardware$180K - $250K

Same $100K to $400K scale as every card. All Astranis roles · How to read the bar

Observed changes

  1. Began meeting the published-salary criteria
  2. First observed on the employer's board
Observed since
Employer-stated posting date
2024-04-11
Where this pay comes from

Location as the employer wrote it: San Francisco

USD 170,000 – 280,000 · interval unstated · pay_input_range · Base Salary · base-labelled (R1: Base Salary)

Method
Structured pay field published by the employer
Checked
Rule set
us-base-v2

The employer's job board publishes this pay as a dedicated data field. We read the field directly; no interpretation was needed.

What we verified

  • The pay figures come from the employer's own listing, quoted exactly above.
  • The pay is an annual base salary in US dollars with a minimum of at least $100,000.
  • The role was publicly listed on the employer's job board when last checked.

We do not verify what the employer will actually offer, whether the employer is still recruiting for the role, or anything beyond what the employer published. Full methodology.