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Communications and payloads

Space Jobs for RF Engineers

, SpaceJobs.Now lists 173 open roles for RF and communications engineers on , including Muon Space, Hubble Network and Inversion Space; typical pay across them is $135k to $265k a year (median $160k), topped by $317k a year advertised at Varda Space Industries.

See 27 roles for RF and communications engineers
$135k–$265k/yrtypical paylive median $160k/yrup to $317k/yr at Varda Space Industries

Measured from 100 distinct posted rates, across 18 employers, each as a year's pay (an hourly rate × 2,080 hours). 73 of the 173 listings open here post no pay at all.

Satellite and launch companies hire RF engineers to design the antennas, radios and communication links that connect spacecraft to the ground and to each other. Each listing here is re-verified on the employer's own job board once an hour.

Live roles for RF and communications engineers

Updated 29 Oct 2026, 16:01 UTC

Showing the 27 roles that ask for at least a bachelor's, every country. See every role

A few of our links carry a referral code. When one leads to a hire, the employer may pay us a fee; you pay nothing, and the salary on offer stays the same.

Antennas and phased arrays

5 open

Design and test antennas and phased arrays for satellites, user terminals and ground stations.

Communications systems and signal processing

2 open

Links, modems, waveforms and signal processing, from the link budget to the hardware.

Payloads

3 open

The RF and optical payloads a satellite carries: broadband, direct-to-device, radar and laser links.

RF engineers

17 open

RF design, integration and test across spacecraft, terminals and ground systems.

Show 7 more RF roles

Before you apply

Space hardware is built, tested and flown in person, so many roles name a factory, a test site, a launch site or a control room, and each listing states its location. US roles that touch export-controlled technology (ITAR or EAR) can ask that you be a U.S. person, and some ask for a security clearance. A real employer never charges you to apply, never interviews you only by chat app and never asks you to buy equipment.

Pay by specialty

Every specialty gets its typical band from its own open roles, computed by the same method as the rest of the site (the 25th percentile of what roles pay (the middle of each posted range, as a year's pay: an hourly rate counts at 2,080 hours, 40 a week for 52 weeks) to the 90th-percentile posted top). A specialty is listed once three or more distinct rates have been posted.

SpecialtyOpen rolesTypical payHighest rate
Antennas and phased arrays35$146k–$248k/yr$270k/yr
Communications systems and signal processing50$153k–$265k/yr$280k/yr
Payloads7Too few rates$152k/yr
RF engineers81$132k–$266k/yr$317k/yr

What the roles ask for

Drawn from the requirement lines of 32 out of 173 open roles for RF and communications engineers, the same lines each role's pop-up quotes from its posting. Each role is counted once, at the lowest degree it will accept.

0

Ask for a PhD

1

Ask for a master's

27

Ask for at least a bachelor's

4

Name no degree

  • Name years of experience26
  • Name u.S. person status (ITAR or EAR)5
  • Name a security clearance5
  • Require programming (Python, C++, MATLAB and similar)3

Where a posting states years of experience, the median ask is 5 years.

Who hires RF and communications engineers in the space industry

EmployerOpen rolesPay stated
Muon Space logoMuon Space5$143k–$246k/yr
Hubble Network logoHubble Network6$105k–$286k/yr
Inversion Space logoInversion Space4$77k–$221k/yr
Xona Space Systems logoXona Space Systems4$130k–$210k/yr
Varda Space Industries logoVarda Space Industries3$144k–$317k/yr
K2 Space logoK2 Space10$62.4k–$270k/yr
Apex logoApex4$120k–$215k/yr
Northwood Space logoNorthwood Space9$100k–$226k/yr
True Anomaly logoTrue Anomaly4Not stated
Blue Origin logoBlue Origin38Not stated
ICEYE logoICEYE6Not stated
Axiom Space logoAxiom Space1Not stated
Planet logoPlanet1$206k/yr
SpaceX logoSpaceX39$85k–$300k/yr
AST SpaceMobile logoAST SpaceMobile8Not stated
HawkEye 360 logoHawkEye 3603$130k–$170k/yr
Voyager Technologies logoVoyager Technologies1$125k–$195k/yr
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory logoNASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory2$147k–$251k/yr
Relativity Space logoRelativity Space5$148k–$188k/yr
Terran Orbital logoTerran Orbital1$135k/yr
Vast logoVast2$120k–$121k/yr
Rocket Lab logoRocket Lab14$58.2k–$152k/yr
Astranis logoAstranis3$110k–$170k/yr

Sorted by the expected value of an application (acceptance odds times posted pay). Employers with a referral agreement get a boost in this order, which has no effect on the salary they offer.

Where these roles are posted

Two groupings: roles posted for a single country, and roles with a language in the title. A place name leads to its own page, and a count lists the matching roles.

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Frequently asked questions

How much do RF and communications engineers earn in the space industry?

Across the 100 distinct hourly rates posted for roles for RF and communications engineers right now, typical pay runs from $135000 to $265000 an hour, with a median of $160000. The highest posted rate is $316566 an hour, at Varda Space Industries. 73 of the 173 open roles for RF and communications engineers state no pay, so check each listing.

What do RF roles ask for?

Usually an electrical engineering degree, often a master's, and experience with RF design and test equipment. Each listing states the degree, the experience and the location it asks for. Of the 32 open roles for RF and communications engineers whose requirements we read, 1 a master's, 27 at least a bachelor's and 4 name no degree.

What does a RF or communications engineer do at a space company?

An RF engineer at a space company designs and tests the radio side of a mission: antennas and phased arrays, transmitters and receivers, the link budget and the signal processing, on the satellite, in the user terminal and at the ground station.

How do space companies hire RF and communications engineers?

Each employer runs its own hiring, and each listing says what it asks for: the degree or the hands-on experience, the location, and for export-controlled work in the US, often U.S. person status.

Are these jobs real?

Every role here is read from a space employer's own careers page or job board (Muon Space, Hubble Network, Inversion Space and Xona Space Systems among them), and each employer's page here covers who they are and how they hire. A real employer never charges you to apply, never asks you to buy equipment and never interviews you only by chat app.

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