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Communications and payloads

Space Jobs for RF Engineers

, SpaceJobs.Now lists 405 open roles for RF and communications engineers on , including Muon Space, Array Labs and Anduril; typical pay across them is $150k to $266k a year (median $173k), topped by $377k a year advertised at Blue Origin.

See 405 roles for RF and communications engineers
$150k–$266k/yrtypical paylive median $173k/yrup to $377k/yr at Blue Origin

Measured from 256 distinct posted rates, across 38 employers, each as a year's pay (an hourly rate × 2,080 hours). 149 of the 405 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 30 Oct 2026, 11:02 UTC

Antennas and phased arrays

76 open

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

Show 66 more antenna roles

Communications systems and signal processing

126 open

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

Show 116 more communications roles

Payloads

25 open

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

Show 15 more payload roles

RF engineers

178 open

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

Show 168 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 arrays76$142k–$243k/yr$300k/yr
Communications systems and signal processing126$155k–$280k/yr$377k/yr
Payloads25$163k–$247k/yr$275k/yr
RF engineers178$148k–$266k/yr$317k/yr

What the roles ask for

Drawn from the requirement lines of 168 out of 405 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

14

Ask for a master's

143

Ask for at least a bachelor's

11

Name no degree

  • Name years of experience132
  • Name a security clearance49
  • Name u.S. person status (ITAR or EAR)21
  • Require programming (Python, C++, MATLAB and similar)15
  • Set a residency or work-authorization condition10
  • Ask for a professional license2

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
Array Labs logoArray Labs7$125k–$300k/yr
Anduril logoAnduril3$147k–$222k/yr
Hubble Network logoHubble Network6$105k–$286k/yr
Cowboy Space logoCowboy Space2$219k–$276k/yr
Amazon Leo logoAmazon Leo54$96.6k–$250k/yr
Johns Hopkins APL logoJohns Hopkins APL4$42.7k–$290k/yr
Astrolab logoAstrolab1$169k–$187k/yr
True Anomaly logoTrue Anomaly4$190k–$310k/yr
E-Space logoE-Space17$100k–$210k/yr
LeoLabs logoLeoLabs1$180k–$205k/yr
Inversion Space logoInversion Space4$77k–$221k/yr
Kymeta logoKymeta2$140k–$230k/yr
K2 Space logoK2 Space9$62.4k–$270k/yr
Xona Space Systems logoXona Space Systems4$130k–$210k/yr
Varda Space Industries logoVarda Space Industries3$144k–$317k/yr
Loft Orbital logoLoft Orbital1$111k–$155k/yr
Apex logoApex4$120k–$215k/yr
Viasat logoViasat13$45k–$336k/yr
Impulse Space logoImpulse Space6$100k–$220k/yr
Planet logoPlanet1$206k–$257k/yr
HawkEye 360 logoHawkEye 3603$130k–$200k/yr
KBR logoKBR1Not stated
Vast logoVast2$120k–$210k/yr
CesiumAstro logoCesiumAstro33$78.4k–$279k/yr
Voyager Technologies logoVoyager Technologies1$125k–$195k/yr
Blue Origin logoBlue Origin40$131k–$377k/yr
Relativity Space logoRelativity Space5$148k–$263k/yr
Northwood Space logoNorthwood Space9$100k–$226k/yr
The Aerospace Corporation logoThe Aerospace Corporation31Not stated
Elveo Mobile logoElveo Mobile6Not stated
ICEYE logoICEYE6Not stated
Eutelsat logoEutelsat4Not stated
Leaf Space logoLeaf Space3Not stated
Telesat logoTelesat3Not stated
OHB logoOHB2Not stated
Axiom Space logoAxiom Space1Not stated
Open Cosmos logoOpen Cosmos1Not stated
Rocket Factory Augsburg logoRocket Factory Augsburg1Not stated
Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL) logoSurrey Satellite Technology (SSTL)1Not stated
Star Catcher logoStar Catcher1Not stated
Thales Alenia Space logoThales Alenia Space1Not stated
Intuitive Machines logoIntuitive Machines1Not stated
Sierra Space logoSierra Space5Not stated
SES logoSES3Not stated
L3Harris logoL3Harris1$87.5k–$163k/yr
SpaceX logoSpaceX39$85k–$300k/yr
AST SpaceMobile logoAST SpaceMobile8Not stated
Rendezvous Robotics logoRendezvous Robotics1$95k–$170k/yr
Northrop Grumman logoNorthrop Grumman4$79.3k–$276k/yr
SEAKR Engineering logoSEAKR Engineering3$100k–$230k/yr
Boeing logoBoeing11$98.6k–$239k/yr
Terran Orbital logoTerran Orbital1$135k–$175k/yr
Rocket Lab logoRocket Lab14$58.2k–$253k/yr
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory logoNASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory2$147k–$251k/yr
Lockheed Martin logoLockheed Martin1Not stated
Lunar Outpost logoLunar Outpost2Not stated
Astranis logoAstranis3$110k–$280k/yr

Sorted by the expected value of an application (acceptance odds times posted pay). A referral agreement, if an employer has one, can raise it in this order but never changes the salary it offers.

How each employer checks you

For every employer currently hiring RF and communications engineers: its process as its own hiring guide describes it, each line with its source. The complete steps sit on that employer's page. Sorted by the expected value of an application (acceptance odds times posted pay). A referral agreement, if an employer has one, can raise it in this order but never changes the salary it offers.

Amazon Leo logoAmazon Leo54 open
Assessment
Amazon's interview loop. How to apply
Interview
Interview
Blue Origin logoBlue Origin40 open
Assessment
No general test published. How to apply
Interview
None published
Northrop Grumman logoNorthrop Grumman4 open
Assessment
The recruiter screening and team interviews. How to apply
Interview
Interview
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory logoNASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory2 open
Assessment
No general test published. How to apply
Interview
None published
Lockheed Martin logoLockheed Martin1 open
Assessment
Lockheed Martin's interviews. How to apply
Interview
Interview

Where these roles are posted

The US states with the most open roles for RF and communications engineers, and the roles posted for a single country. A place name leads to its own page, and a country's count lists the matching roles.

In the US, by state

Space industry jobs by US state

The public record, in every industry: 98,200 electronics engineers, except computer work in the US (2025), projected to grow 4% by 2035, at a median $130k/yr (BLS, May 2025). Open space roles for RF and communications engineers post a median $160k/yr, 22.9% above it (pay research). Each state's page gives its own.

What our research measures about rf & payloads work

Read from the open postings on 2026-10-29 by our space industry research, rebuilt every day. Every figure opens the row of the report it comes from.

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Frequently asked questions

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

Going by the 256 distinct salaries currently posted for roles for RF and communications engineers (each put on a full-time year), the typical range is $150k–$266k/yr and the median is $173k/yr. The top posted figure is $377k/yr, at Blue Origin. 149 of the 405 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 168 open roles for RF and communications engineers whose requirements we read, 14 a master's, 143 at least a bachelor's and 11 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. Of the employers hiring RF and communications engineers now, none publishes a recorded interview or an ID check in the guides we hold. The section on how each employer checks you quotes each guide with its source.

Are these jobs real?

Every role here is read from a space employer's own careers page or job board (Muon Space, Array Labs, Anduril and Hubble Network 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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RF, Communications & Payloads

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