RF Communications Systems Engineer
About the role
Apple is seeking an RF Communications Systems Engineer in San Diego to build and improve space-based communications systems for the Satellite Connectivity Group. This team develops the satellite network enabling off-grid connectivity features such as Emergency SOS, Roadside Assistance, and Messages via satellite for iPhone and Watch Ultra.
What you'll do
- Assess and trade performance of complex RF communications systems by evaluating contributions and interactions from subsystems and component units.
- Develop RF system budgets, including link budgets, gain and noise figure cascades, and interference analyses.
- Oversee and review RF system testing with internal engineering teams and external suppliers.
- Lead anomaly root-cause investigations across development phases, test campaigns, and operational systems.
- Drive technical alignment across cross-functional engineering teams covering diverse technical domains.
- Travel regularly to collaborate with internal teams and external suppliers.
What you'll need
- 5+ years of experience in RF or communications systems engineering.
- BS in Engineering, Physics, Computer Science, or a related discipline.
- Experience designing and deploying large scale RF communications infrastructure.
- Strong knowledge of satellite RF communications systems.
- Proficiency in analyzing cascaded systems performance.
- Proficiency with link budgets and link quality assessments.
- Eligibility to access U.S. export-controlled technology and technical data under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).
Nice to have
- 7+ years of experience in space-based RF communications systems.
- MS or PhD in Engineering, Physics, Computer Science, or a related discipline.
- Fluency in satellite, ground-station, and end-to-end RF systems design.
- Familiarity with phased array antenna and digital signal processing systems.
- Experience deploying and testing space-based RF communications systems, including in-orbit operations.
Skills: link budgets, noise figure, satellite, RF communications, cascaded systems
More semiconductor jobs: Apple San Diego jobs · RF design jobs
First seen in our index 1 day ago, well below the 52-day median for RF/Wireless Engineering roles.
RF/Wireless Engineering · RF Frontend
|
Open roles in category
274
|
Median days since first seen
52 d
|
Category median salary (all employers)
$167k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Apple | All employers we track in this specialty (274 roles · 36 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 39 | 274 |
| Open roles in the wider Analog & Mixed-Signal family | 73 | 1561 · 118 employers |
| Median days since first seen | 24 d | 52 d (+28 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | n/a | $167k |
Skills observed across this category: link budgets, noise figure, satellite, RF communications, cascaded systems
Who's hiring in this category
- Skyworks · 55 open roles · median 51 d
- Apple (this employer) · 39 open roles · median 24 d
- Keysight Technologies · 34 open roles · median 59 d
- Qualcomm · 30 open roles · median 96 d
- MACOM · 17 open roles · median 17 d
- Analog Devices · 11 open roles · median 91 d
How we counted: 274 open RF/Wireless Engineering (RF Frontend) roles from 36 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 14 Nov 2026. Specialty figures count only roles carrying this exact specialty label, so an employer's related work in neighbouring specialties is not included there, and is counted in the wider Analog & Mixed-Signal family row. Days are counted from when our index first saw each posting, not from the employer's original posting date.