Radio Frequency (Antenna) Engineer - Columbia, SC

SHAKESPEARE COMPANY LLC, a Jadex Inc. company, is a US-based manufacturer of both industrial and consumer products for a wide variety of industries and applications. 

Shakespeare® industrial products are tailored to the customer’s unique needs and include custom engineered nylon resins, performance monofilaments, and conductive fibers used as raw materials in finished goods ranging from automotive components to medical applications.  The company operates under the Shakespeare®, Rino-Tuff®, and Weed Warrior® brands in the lawn & garden category and is a major player in the mass merchant channel as the primary universal fit solution for trimmer line, heads, and accessories.  The brand is known worldwide within the marine electronics industry for marine radio antennas with a portfolio of connectivity solutions and accessories to help keep boaters connected and safe.  Maintaining communications is of utmost importance to military forces across the world and Shakespeare®’s line of military antenna products plays a critical role in achieving mission success.

Radio Frequency (Antenna) Engineer - Columbia, SC

Position Summary:

Reporting to the Business Director, Marine & Military, the Radio Frequency (Antenna) Engineer, will be responsible for specifying, prototyping, implementing, and testing antennas and RF circuits for our Marine / Military product lines. You will work cross-functionally with other members of the engineering team to deliver Marine/Military antenna products to markets. In addition, you will hone your technical knowledge in advanced antenna structures, identify risks and opportunities, and help set the technology road map. Work with our Product Management team to develop our customer go-to-market strategies and execution for the Marine/Military Antenna innovation. 

Primary Functions:

• Design, implement, and verify antenna products throughout a product design cycle.
• Conduct laboratory benchtop antenna prototyping, testing, & make iterative design modifications.
• Optimize RF (radio frequency) front-end matching, antenna passive and active components expected performance by computer simulation and lab validation.
• Collaborate with PM / Mechanical / RF / Hardware Engineering teams to define antenna requirements and performance goals.
• Perform board level and product level EM simulations for best-in-class antenna system performance, spatial co-existence and emissions as maybe encountered in advanced military vehicle/airframe applications
• Support EMI and RF trouble shooting and testing from production floor fallout.
• Debug and resolve system level Antenna-RF issues to achieve regulatory and performance goals.
• Support product certification as maybe needed for MIL-STD-810 and first article documentation.
• Research new approaches and techniques for future product versions.

Education and Experience:

Education

• BS or MS in Electrical Engineering/Applied Physics or related field, or equivalent experience.
• 4+ years' experience in antenna design in an R&D environment.
• Active IEEE membership specific to Antenna and Propagation, and Microwave Measurement techniques.

Experience/Knowledge

• Core understanding of different antenna architectures as applied to VLF, MF, HF, VHF, UHF, and Microwave bands and propagation characteristics of these bands.
• Strong intuition of electromagnetics behavior from practical related experience.
• Hands-on experience with RF lab equipment for RF device and antenna characterization and system performance validation, such as VNA, Spectrum Analyzer, Signal Generator, and hand test equipment.
• Experience with Full Wave EM simulation software, such as HFSS, CST, and circuit simulation tools, such as Keysight ADS and Method of Moments wire antenna designs.
• Hands-on experience fabricating, testing, and tuning PCB (Printed Circuit Boards) antenna artwork.
• Ability to take Solid Work/Auto CAD files and convert them into GERBER PCB (Printed Circuit Boards) files.
• Help CAD/Document control staff to prepare and record antenna product information.
• Sound knowledge of fundamental RF/wireless concepts and components such as coaxial attenuators, and the preparation of N, SMA, BMA, TNC, and other various coaxial connector preparation.
• Capable of learning on the fly and rapidly acquiring new skills.
• Strong technical communication and organizational skills to work collaboratively within a close team setting.
• US Citizenship is required, Active TS (Top Secret) / SCI (Sensitive Compartmented Information) or ability to obtain one as some projects may require. 

Technical Role Competencies:

• CST Microwave Studio, Ansoft HFSS, full wave antenna simulators
• Agilent Genesis Linear Simulator, antenna feed line matching
• Method of Moments NEC2/NEC4/EZNEC
• MatLAB, MathCAD, Excel spreadsheets.
• CAD: Solid Works, AutoCAD, creating models for CST/HFSS and using results to create prototypes.
• Antenna Laboratory: RF/Microwave Network Analyzer (VNA), Signal Generators, Spectrum Analyzers, SMT soldering and working with RF/Microwave antenna feed systems based on u-wave and strip line artwork.
• Antenna Range: Prepare and Specify prototypes for third party antenna range measurements.
• Post Range Processing of collected data of antenna prototypes.

Preferred Experience/Qualifications:

• 7+ years of progressive RF/Antenna position advancement. 
• Experience with Military / Marine antenna applications.
• Military Communications Experience with Harris HF / VHF / UHF and microwave equipment. 
• Licensed Commercial and/or Amateur Radio Licenses a practical plus.

Physical Requirements & Work Environment:

• Sitting at workstation approximately 85% of work time. Standing and walking approximately 15% of work time walking the production floor and available to observe and help production coworkers. 
• Must be able to travel up to 20% of work time.
• Support Marine/Military Sales Managers with technical support and product literature.
• Ability to work flexible hours or occasionally on weekends with short notice depending on customer deliverables
• Typical office environment with shelves overhead and above work surfaces and RF/Antenna Laboratory environment.

Specifics:

• Competitive salary
• Full benefits package
• 401K with match
• Strong vacation and corporate holiday policy