About Radio Frequency (RF) Engineering

The short answer is that RF engineers are research and development (R&D) electrical engineers who specialize in designing, developing, testing, and deploying innovative new wireless networks and radio frequency (RF) payloads, subsystems, wireless networks, and component technologies for use in aircraft systems, spacecraft and satellites, missile systems, maritime crafts, and land-based defense platforms. This often includes the RF and/or microwave systems architecture, components, advanced circuits, and other products, from transmitters, receivers, and antenna arrays to frequency synthesizers, amplifier modules, switch matrices, and more. While traditional RF Engineering typically focuses expressly in the megahertz (Mhz) range, our advanced RF professionals exploit that range and up into optical systems to deliver the most powerful and effective solutions for national security, space exploration, secure communications, global navigation, commercial systems, civil infrastructures, electronic warfare (EW) technologies, and more.

Beyond the scope of the R&D world, there are also RF engineers whose primary responsibility is planning, setting up, monitoring, and suggesting improvements to wireless networks for cellular providers to assure that customers receive the speed and coverage they were promised. There are many of those RF engineers working today due to the worldwide popularity of cell phones and smart TVs, but those engineers typically use existing technologies to achieve particular functions and are not involved in the design or development of advanced new RF equipment.

As part of the research & design teams at BAE Systems, our RF teams support all phases of electronic product and system development, from early-stage architecture reviews through production. They are often also involved in field implementation and training for our clients to assure proper installation and usage. This requires in-depth RF knowledge and experience designing wideband microwave modules, including receiver front ends, tuners, up/down converters, switch matrices, and other wireless communication systems fundamentals. Executing this on a day-to-day basis means each engineer will be ready to enact the following duties:

• Design, develop, build, and test systems capable of detecting extremely low amplitude “into the noise floor” as well as detecting high-frequency signals and translating them down to baseband. These systems also convert baseband signals to a higher frequency carrier.
• Analyze, design, test, and build any electronic equipment that operates from high-frequency (HF) through millimeter waves, including existing wireless networks, making certain of its continuous functionality and precision in a range of environments that extend well beyond the laboratory.
• Actively participate in technical teams involved with the design, verification, testing, and production of RF modules at BAE Systems.
• Grow their knowledge of electronic warfare while working with subject-matter experts.

Successfully attaining our RF engineer jobs also requires a person to have good communication skills and be adept at anticipating client issues and problems before they occur so that solutions can be developed and preventive measures can be put in place. This means having a mentality that goes beyond mere problem-solving to also see “the big picture” from the point of view of clients and other decision-makers, well beyond the immediate assignment. This valued capability can mean not only the difference between a one-time project and a long-term relationship with the client, but in the field can also mean mission success instead of less attractive alternatives.

Basic skills and requirements:

• RF engineers must use computer software tools such as ADS, HFSS, Microwave Office, Genesys, and Sonnet to design the components, systems, and antennas that make up a typical receive and transmit system. They use test equipment to measure the performance of the RF system: gain, noise figure, VSWR, linearity, and phase noise.
• Bachelor's Degree in electrical engineering (Master's or Ph.D. preferred)
• A radio frequency engineer designs components such as amplifiers (high power, low noise), filters, mixers, couplers, splitters/combiners, antennae, and phase lock loops. Candidates must tune and optimize the performance of these systems.
• Modeling, simulation, electromagnetics, lumped elements, transmission line theory, spectrum, and network analyzer measurements
• Design leading-edge hardware modules with a focus on small size, low noise, wide bandwidth, and/or high linearity

Advanced skills preferred:

• Experience with RF environments and wireless communications in electronic warfare domains
• Digital signal processing techniques
• Experience in digital communications protocols and signal conversion techniques
• MATLAB (MATrix LABoratory)/Simulink toolsets and/or verification using test vectors from reference models
• Experience leading small- to mid-size teams, with active listening skills, project planning acumen, and accountability for managing and reporting project cost, schedule, and quality
• Experience driving processes and process improvements, including continuous improvement methodologies
• Several certifications and key soft skills preferred

To be clear, radio frequency engineering is a significant and still quickly growing industry. Over the past several years, this profession has gone from being centered around commercial TV, radio, and a few minor military communication technologies to a central determinant of success in wi-fi, GPS, 4G and 5G cellular networks, unmanned vehicles, satellite systems, geospatial exploitation, and more – all possible only through RF technology.

Especially in the development and design of new wireless and related RF devices, systems, and subsystems, career opportunities in this field have continuously expanded worldwide over at least the past two decades, making it an excellent career specialization for Electrical Engineers who are looking for a singular discipline to focus on. Furthermore, in the research & development world, demand for radio frequency engineers continues to grow exponentially due to the need for them in the revolutionary development of new RF products and systems in recent years, as well as the drive for major companies and competing countries to escalate their wishes to top each other in power and capabilities. This is particularly true in the defense and intelligence community, as well as the telecommunications and smart electronics industries.

One clear result of this elevated demand for talent in this category is that, among many engineering specialties, RF engineering can provide an above-average salary for qualified electrical engineer professionals. An RF engineer's time is definitely worth ample compensation. Naturally, academic qualifications, length of experience, and proven technical knowledge as an electrical engineer make a significant difference in salaries offered, but that is true of a career in any field and, whenever it fits the RF engineer job description, it can be optimized by developing and maintaining an aggressive knowledge of emerging RF technologies.

At their core, RF technologies are all electronic products and systems that use and are used by RF waves, often in combination with infrared (IR), microwave (MW), optical, and/or other communications, navigation, and identification (CNI) technologies, to operate and/or provide an advantageous function, service, or benefit.

In the United States, RF wireless devices that receive radio waves and are integrated into electronic-electrical products which can emit RF energy via radiation, conduction, or other means are regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). These products can potentially cause interference to radio services that operate in the 9 kHz to 3000 GHz RF range. Before an RF device or system can be used, marketed, or imported for use in the U.S., it must meet tough regulatory standards and be approved through a standardized and approved FCC equipment authorization process to ensure complete compliance.

The list of consumer, commercial, government, and military products and systems that employ RT technologies today continues to grow quickly, but includes (alphabetically):

• Air traffic tracking / monitoring systems (civil and military)
• Antennas and antenna arrays
• Bandpass Filters (BPF), Mixers, Modulators, and De-Modulators
• Cellular telephones & networks
• RF controllers (commercial, consumer, and military)
• Cyber tools and networks
• Direct-Sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) signal jammers
• Electronic Warfare (EW) defense and Attack Systems
• Heterogenous Network (HetNet) microcell Systems
• Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) Systems
• Industrial Dielectric Heating Tools and Systems
• Long Range (LoRa) Navigation Guidance Systems
• MAN, WAN, and LPWAN Extended Range Networks
• Medical Devices: Surgical Tools, Patient “Wearables,” Wi-fi Biosensors, etc.
• Military targeting and tracking systems
• Mixed-Signal Integrated Circuits (RF CMOS)
• Mobile broadband services
• Navigation sensors & controls
• Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Tags and Inventory / Monitoring Systems
• Remote Facility and Property Access, Monitoring, and Security Systems
• RF Oscillators
• RADAR systems
• Radio Communications Transmitters, Receivers, and Tuners
• Satellite Transceivers, Transmitters, Transponders
• Signal Amplifiers and MOSFET Power Amplifiers
• Signal Detectors, Filters, and Analyzers
• Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) Data Collection Sensors
• Signal Processors (CMOS)
• Software-Defined Radio (SDR) Multi-Frequency, Multi-Waveform Communications
• Space-qualified CubeSat Constellations
• Spectrum Monitoring & Recording Systems
• Smart Home Devices, Systems, and Services
• Unmanned Air, Sea, Space, and Land Vehicles
• Wireless internet
• Wireless routers / Wi-Fi systems

This is only a partial list, of course, and some items are partially duplicated in different contexts to reflect real-world RF usage. Also, between the preponderance of new and updated RF products introduced virtually every day and the secrecy behind many of them, it is impossible to offer a truly comprehensive and accurate list of RF products and systems now in play around the world. What this list shows most, however, is the breadth and depth of need and opportunities for RF engineers today.

RF technology has been a known quantity for decades, but it has gained importance exponentially over the past 25 years or so as advances in the uses of RF technology have dramatically changed the ways that individuals live their lives, the ways companies do business, the ways militaries fight wars, the ways governments operate and explore, and more. Those advances were created by RF Engineers, which makes RF engineering very important in ways that often differ significantly depending on what category the user falls into.

Consumer Electronics

In the consumer category, RF technologies have gone from being a fun oddity to a rare convenience to a requirement of daily living. From unlocking doors, adjusting thermostats with a smartphone, and reporting basement flood damage to setting up new wireless networks, recording package deliveries, and doing secure banking from anywhere, RF engineering today makes integrating “smart” electronics into a personal lifestyle both easy to do and more beneficial than any personal electronics devices previously offered.

Commercial Business

The commercial world has also been revolutionized by RF advances. Today, RF technologies control heavy construction, forestry, and mining equipment, they guide and track air, land, water, and rail transportation, they provide up-close visual security monitoring in hard-to-reach places, they perform and report on unmanned farming, manufacturing, and maintenance processes, and much more.

National Defense and Space Exploration

These categories have driven some of the world’s most significant RF engineering developments, including missile, spacecraft, and aircraft guidance systems, electronic warfare devices and systems, C4ISR devices and systems, unmanned air, land, and sea vehicles, unjammable communications, navigation, and weapons systems, geospatial systems, and more. To call RF engineering “important” to national and global security would be an understatement.

In a word, yes...being an RF engineer can be difficult. As with other types of engineering, though, the amount of difficulty in an RF Engineering career generally aligns with how much someone puts into that career, as well as what they want out of it. And right now, for those with the advanced skills employers desire, the job market is very positive toward this profession. That is, there are often many positions available today in the U.S. market bearing the job title of “RF Engineer,” but that title means different things at different companies and in different business sectors. Also, of course, RF engineer skills, with the advanced degrees and appropriate experience to back them up, are likely to reflect a preference for some difficulty and challenge in an RF engineering position, knowing the rewards can also be significant.

In the consumer telecommunications sector, for example, a Radio Frequency engineer can spend virtually every minute of their day checking, adjusting, and re-checking retail (aka consumer) cellular networks to make sure that cell signals are all getting where they need to be at the strength level that the cell service provider has guaranteed to subscribers. Depending on the size of the service area, that can be a full-time job for many years, depending on the RF Engineer job description. But although the RF Engineer needs to know electrical engineering, radio waves, and other RF-specific aspects of the field, the degree of difficulty in performing that job can depend heavily on the complexity, size, and age of the network, as well as the size and proficiency of that service provider’s RF team.

RF engineering is a significant challenge in the area of research and development, where the newest RF technologies are invented, adapted, updated, and/or integrated with other existing or emerging systems. This is especially true when that development is for the aerospace, defense, and intelligence sectors, because those RF engineers are acutely aware that their work can impact the success or failure of national security or space exploration missions or could play a role in the mission survivability of warfighters, astronauts, intelligence assets, and billion-dollar jets, spacecraft, navy ships, and more. While multiple business sectors consider RF technologies essential to their business model today, RF engineers outside this sector are seldom under such pressure or scrutiny.

Simply put, if you are an RF Engineer, the job outlook is very good. RF Engineers work at a range of companies, organizations, public/private utilities, and governments that configure, design, manufacture, use, integrate, install, or provide maintenance on RF devices and systems for military, civil, industrial, intelligence, agricultural, and other purposes. These are most often large companies or government agencies, but may also be independent RF entrepreneurs or consultants.

Aerospace and Defense

In the aerospace and defense sector, RF Engineer candidates are often hired by private sector companies that specialize in defense, aviation, communications, robotics, navigation, and space technologies. Many top RF Engineers are hired for research & development, as well as deployment of RF payloads, because of the type, breadth, and number of projects they handle. They are also often hired by various government departments and agencies. This sector is known for very high standards, which attracts many of the industry’s most talented RF professionals because the projects often support or enable national security and global stability initiatives, as well as provide opportunities to develop new technologies and see them through production and implementation. In fact, many RF technologies that were initially created for the U.S. government were later adapted for commercial and/or consumer markets, so an RF engineer working in this sector is reinventing the ways we fly, fight, learn, see, build, assist, communicate, cooperate, and more.

High Tech Consumer & Commercial

Companies in the high tech sector that primarily focus on commercial and consumer markets will often hire an RF Engineer to adapt technologies first developed by governments into devices and systems that can be used safely, productively, affordably, and within FCC regulations by consumers and commercial entities. This includes smartphones, satellite transceivers, RFID systems, remotely-controlled unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), wi-fi, global positioning system (GPS) navigation and mapping, proximity and motion sensors, high-definition (4K) cameras, and a lot more. These are technologies that were once used exclusively for national defense, space exploration, climate management, transportation, energy development, and so on, later adapted by private sector companies by innovating beyond the device’s original purpose and scope to create new options and capabilities for individuals, homes, offices, farms, factories, retailers, and others.

Telecomm & Broadcast Markets

Other employers that keep an RF Engineer on staff include telecommunications – cellular service providers – and radio or television broadcasting companies (AKA radio telecommunications companies) who may need an RF Engineer to set up, optimize, maintain, and expand their transmitters, antennas, microwave relays, transmission lines, communication towers, satellite links, and more as needed to assure continuous service at designated performance levels. This requires extensive knowledge of RF devices and cell site design, as well as an understanding of radio waves, potential signal interference threats, and performing regular maintenance, but does not require the research and development or production capabilities noted earlier. Likewise, many private companies, utilities, universities, civil authorities, and transportation agencies that use RF devices or systems in the operation or protection of their facilities employ an RF Engineer or contract with outside service providers to assure the always-on performance that their business requires.