Open Cosmos is revolutionising the way space technology is used.

Driven by the vision of making space accessible to anyone, we provide simple and affordable space missions using nanosatellite technology. We went from design to delivery of our first nanosatellite qb01 in only four months, followed by its launch and deployment in LEO early April 2017.

The company is currently developing the next generation of satellites and end-to-end services for private and institutional customers to be launched in 2018. Based in the Harwell-Oxford Campus in the UK, we are a young and ambitious team with experience in the aerospace, electronics and software industries. To support our growth and make our vision a reality we are looking for the brightest minds and the best talents in every domain.

The following job opportunity is available:

Description of the position

The successful candidate will be joining Open Cosmos’ core team in Harwell-Oxford (UK) and will be in charge of designing, simulating, validating and testing RF microwave antennas as part of Open Cosmos’ electronics team.

She/he will be involved in a fast design-test-iterate cycle that characterises Open Cosmos’ work.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Design and development of RF and microwave antennas primarily in the 0.3 – 26 GHz frequency range from concept through to production
• Provide technical support to the team and customers
• Provide design feedback according to testing results
• Provide regular progress updates and adequate warnings of likely delays
• Building and testing of antenna prototypes and pre-production units
• Propose and develop innovative and patentable antenna designs
• Perform antenna measurements using the near field spherical test chamber

Skills, attitude, competencies and experience

• Proven experience in the analysis and design of RF and Microwave antennas
• Proven understanding of fundamental EM antenna theory,  analysis methods and ability to apply first principles in practical applications
• Experience with in simulation tools such as Advanced Design System, computational modelling and mathematical optimization techniques
• Microwave Office (Momentum, Harmonic Balance)
• Experience and good command of antenna design tools i.e. MATLAB Antenna Toolbox, GRASP Ticra, HFSS, CST Microwave Studio
• Experience of RF printed circuits boards layout design i.e. planar waveguide structures and impedance matching networks
• Experience in passive antenna design such as patch antenna, microstrip antenna
• Microwave design experience with Phased Arrays and other active antenna systems
• Experience with MATLAB analysis and programming
• Knowledge of digital beamforming in baseband domain for antenna array systems
• Experience managing communication with suppliers
• Quick to learn and teach
• Attention to detail
• Honesty, openness and self awareness
• lean / bootstrap mentality
• Pro-active

Nice to have

• Understanding of end-to-end satellite link budget calculation and electromagnetic wave propagation phenomena in a real atmospheric environment (Rayleigh scattering, ionospheric scintillation etc.)
• Knowledge of Digital Signal Processing techniques
• Knowledge and understanding the principles of various wideband receivers architectures and bandpass sampling techniques
• Experience on 3d CAD design tools such as Inventor, Solidworks…
• Familiarity with RF test equipment and hands-on experience including calibration of instruments such as Vector Network Analyzer, Vector Signal Transceiver
• Knowledge of languages other than English