Antenna Design Engineer

Role Overview and Responsibilities:

Dhruva Space is seeking an experienced Antenna Design Engineer to design, analyze, and validate high-performance antenna systems for satellite and ground-segment applications. As part of our advanced RF and space systems team, the engineer will work on spaceborne, user-terminal, and ground-station antennas operating across L, S, C, X, Ku, Ka, and mmWave bands. This role supports mission-critical communication, navigation, and payload systems and requires strong expertise in electromagnetics, antenna theory, and space-qualified design practices.

Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Design and develop antennas for satellite payloads, user terminals, and ground stations.
• Work on diverse antenna types including patch, horn, reflector, array, helical, waveguide, and phased-array antennas.
• Perform full-wave electromagnetic simulations using tools such as HFSS, CST, FEKO.
• Optimize antenna performance parameters including gain, efficiency, axial ratio, polarization purity, sidelobe levels, and beam coverage.
• Support phased-array and beam-steering antenna architectures for satellite communication systems.
• Conduct antenna prototyping, testing, and validation in anechoic chambers and near-field/far-field test ranges.
• Analyze antenna performance under space environment constraints including thermal, vacuum, vibration, and radiation.
• Collaborate closely with mechanical, thermal, RF, payload, and systems engineering teams for antenna integration.
• Support link budget analysis and system-level RF performance evaluations.
• Ensure antenna designs comply with space and satellite standards such as ECSS, MIL-STD, NASA, or equivalent.
• Participate in and support technical design reviews including PDR and CDR.
• Mentor junior engineers and contribute to technical knowledge sharing.
• Prepare detailed technical documentation, simulation reports, and test results.

Candidate Requirements:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field.
• Strong foundation in electromagnetics, antenna theory, and microwave engineering.
• Hands-on experience in antenna design for satellite, aerospace, or high-reliability systems.
• Proficiency in feed network design.
• Proficiency with electromagnetic simulation tools such as HFSS, CST, FEKO, and GRASP.
• Experience using RF measurement equipment including VNA, spectrum analyzers, and power meters.
• Knowledge of waveguide components, radomes, and space-grade materials.
• Ability to independently take antenna designs from concept through testing and validation.
• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills.
• Familiarity with antenna deployment mechanisms and spacecraft accommodation constraints.
• Understanding of regulatory and frequency coordination requirements (ITU, FCC).
• Experience using MATLAB or Python for antenna analysis, optimization, and post-processing.