RF Hardware Design Engineer

About PowerusPowerus is building a next-generation American autonomous systems platform designed to move, protect, and sustain critical assets in high-consequence environments. The company combines advanced autonomy, manufacturing capability, operational expertise, and strategic acquisitions to support defense, national security, critical infrastructure, and commercial operations globally.MissionOur mission is to deliver resilient autonomous technologies that strengthen national security, improve operational safety, and expand the capabilities of organizations operating in complex environments.Why Join PowerusPowerus designs and manufactures its own aircraft, and the radios that fly on them are designed in house rather than bought off the shelf. RF hardware decisions made now set the performance envelope for the whole fleet.This role sits close to the hardware. You will design a board, bring it up on the bench, and see it fly on the aircraft it was built for.Position OverviewPowerus is seeking an RF Hardware Design Engineer to design the radio frequency hardware carried on our unmanned platforms. You will design transmit and receive chains, power amplifiers, and filtering, take boards from schematic through layout and bench bring-up, and work alongside antenna, mechanical, and test engineering through qualification and into production.Key ResponsibilitiesDesign RF and microwave circuits from 100 MHz to 6 GHz, including transmit chains, receive paths, filtering, switching, and frequency conversionPerform schematic capture and RF printed circuit board layout, including controlled-impedance routing, grounding, shielding, and thermal managementSelect and characterize amplifiers, mixers, synthesizers, and passive components against link budget, linearity, noise figure, and DC power requirementsSimulate circuits before fabrication and compare simulation results against measured resultsPerform board bring-up using vector network analyzers, spectrum analyzers, and signal generators, and isolate faults to the component levelCoordinate with mechanical, power, and integration engineers on enclosure, connector, and cabling designSupport design reviews, qualification testing, and transition to productionQualificationsMust be located in the United States, within commuting distance of Charlotte, NCBachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or a related fieldTwo or more years of board-level RF or microwave hardware design experience, from schematic through bring-upWorking knowledge of link budgets, noise figure, impedance matching, filter design, and intermodulationExperience with vector network analyzers, spectrum analyzers, and signal generatorsExperience with an EDA tool for schematic capture and RF layoutU.S. Person status required (U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual under 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)); this role involves access to ITAR- and EAR-controlled technical dataPreferred QualificationsRF design experience for airborne, unmanned, or space systems with size, weight, and power constraintsGaN or GaAs power amplifier design experienceExperience with RF circuit simulation tools and electromagnetic solversExperience with vibration, thermal cycling, and altitude qualification testingActive or prior U.S. security clearanceWhat We Look ForWe are looking for an engineer who is comfortable owning a design end to end and validating it on the bench rather than on paper. You should be able to read a datasheet critically, defend a component choice against a link budget, and say plainly what has and has not been measured.Equal Opportunity StatementPowerus is an equal opportunity employer committed to building a diverse and mission-driven workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.