Communications and payloads
Space Jobs for RF Engineers
, SpaceJobs.Now lists 173 open roles for RF and communications engineers on 23 space industry employers, 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.
RF Engineer - Summer Internship 2027 (opens the job details)
Inversion Space · RF & Payloads · Playa Vista, California, United States· 2w agoDetails
Senior RF Systems Engineer (opens the job details)
Inversion Space · RF & Payloads · Playa Vista, California, United States· 1mo agoDetails
$137,000–$193,000/yrSenior Antenna Engineer (opens the job details)
Inversion Space · RF & Payloads · Playa Vista, California, United States· 3mo agoDetails
$161,000–$221,000/yr
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, 17:01 UTCListed here: Inversion Space roles. See every employer
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
1 openDesign and test antennas and phased arrays for satellites, user terminals and ground stations.
Senior Antenna Engineer (opens the job details)
Inversion Space · RF & Payloads · Playa Vista, California, United States· 3mo agoDetails
$161,000–$221,000/yr
RF engineers
3 openRF design, integration and test across spacecraft, terminals and ground systems.
RF Engineer - Summer Internship 2027 (opens the job details)
Inversion Space · RF & Payloads · Playa Vista, California, United States· 2w agoDetails
Senior RF Systems Engineer (opens the job details)
Inversion Space · RF & Payloads · Playa Vista, California, United States· 1mo agoDetails
$137,000–$193,000/yrRF Test Engineer II (opens the job details)
Inversion Space · RF & Payloads · Playa Vista, California, United States· 3mo agoDetails
$77,000–$116,000/yr
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.
| Specialty | Open roles | Typical pay | Highest rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antennas and phased arrays | 35 | $146k–$248k/yr | $270k/yr |
| Communications systems and signal processing | 50 | $153k–$265k/yr | $280k/yr |
| Payloads | 7 | Too few rates | $152k/yr |
| RF engineers | 81 | $132k–$266k/yr | $317k/yr |
What the roles ask for
Drawn from the requirement lines of 34 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.
- Name years of experience28
- 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
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?
Going by the 100 distinct salaries currently posted for roles for RF and communications engineers (each put on a full-time year), the typical range is $135k–$265k/yr and the median is $160k/yr. The top posted figure is $317k/yr, 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 34 open roles for RF and communications engineers whose requirements we read, 1 a master's, 29 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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RF, Communications & Payloads
Every open rf & payloads role across space employers, with live pay.