RF and EMC Integration Engineer

RF and EMC Integration Engineer is anunprecedented role between hardware integration of a telecom payload and the EMC aspects of the satellite. Working alongside the EMC Design Authority, the engineer is in charge of the analyses and expertise that keep the satellite’s RF entities compatible with each other and with the platform, so that mission performance is met.The engineer covers the full life of the spacecraft including its payload, from design and development through production, and defines the test equipment needed to verify RF and EMC performances along the way.

Design

The engineer contributes to the design of the EMC performances at satellite level, covering both the platform and the payload. The engineer also thinks hardware integration through, working with mechanical integration, RF performance and manufacturing teams so that their constraints are considered in the design.The engineer brings RF and payload integration expertise to the satellite EMC architecture. Together with the EMC Design Authority, the engineer reviews the EMC requirements coming from all entities (payload, TT&C, GNSS, platform subsystems, launcher), and provides the inputs needed to keep the architecture coherent, such as RF emission and susceptibility limits, notch-band protections and antenna-related constraints. The engineer oversees the RF intercompatibility analyses of the satellite, covering the payload, TT&C, GNSS receivers and any other transmitter or receiver on board. This includes analysing interference scenarios (spurious and harmonic emissions, intermodulation products, antenna-to-antenna coupling), establishing the interference budgets and margins, and recommending mitigations to the relevant teams.

Development

The engineer manages the development activities of the telecom payload on RF performances aspects, including antenna prototyping, the definition of test set-ups, and the qualification campaign and RF performances characterization. The engineer contributes to the development strategy to qualify EMC performances at satellite level, for the platform and the telecom payload together, including the verification of RF autocompatibility at satellite level.

Production

The engineer elaborates the manufacturing process of the telecom payload for flight model manufacturing, after the development phase, in collaboration with manufacturing department. The engineer also elaborates how EMC performances are addressed in the satellite assembly process.The engineer guarantees the RF performances of the assembly line output. This includes defining the validation strategy of the telecom payload and EMC aspects, which covers acceptance, performance, workmanship and calibration.

Equipment

The engineer defines the test set-ups. This includes designing the validation equipment needed to execute the validation strategy, for both RF and EMC performances. It also includes designing an anechoic chamber for telecom purpose satellites and choosing the testing equipment.

• Autonomy and motivation to move forward
• Problem solving skills
• Ability to define one's own way to achieve results
• Hands-on skills in prototyping, measurement and testing equipment, for both EMC and antenna
• System-level mindset, with the ability to consolidate and arbitrate requirements coming from multiple stakeholders
• Knowledge of RF compatibility analysis (interference budgets, intermodulation, coupling) and of EMC standards