Job Description Summary

As an RF Hardware Engineer for Critical Infrastructure Communications (CIC) at GE Grid Solutions, you will be responsible for designing industry-leading solutions for industrial grade wired and wireless communications products. CIC is seeking an Electrical Engineer who is team-oriented, can thrive in the critical path, and has a demonstrated track record of bringing products from concept to production.

A successful candidate will be an RF design subject matter expert with practical circuit-level design and troubleshooting experience in a laboratory environment. The ideal candidate should have working knowledge at the system level, as the candidate will be required to own various aspects of the design throughout the product lifecycle. The successful candidate must also be capable of working collaboratively with peers in the engineering organization to ensure that design goals are met and critical trade-offs are identified. This role requires strong written and verbal communication skills to accurately convey complex solutions to audiences of varying technical expertise on a cross-functional team spanning multiple international sites.

Job Description

About us:

Grid Solutions, a GE Renewable Energy business, serves customers globally with over 12,000 employees. We provide power utilities and industries worldwide with equipment, systems, and services to bring power reliably and efficiently from the point of generation to end power consumers. We are focused on addressing the challenges of the energy transition by enabling the safe and reliable connection of renewable and distributed energy resources to the grid. For more about GE’s Grid Solutions, visit https://www.gegridsolutions.com.

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Lead the RF design and develop of industrial-grade wireless communications equipment to meet product and sub-system requirements.
• Complete RF design simulations, Hardware Design Specifications, schematics, and oversee PCB layouts containing analog, digital, RF, and power supply subsystems.
• Mitigate component shortages through qualifying alternatives or redesigning circuits and sub-assemblies while performing sustaining engineer activities for legacy RF products. 
• Apply principles and techniques of electrical engineering, circuit design, and analysis in the development of industrial grade communications products.
• Work with a team of Electrical, Mechanical, and Embedded Firmware Engineers in an office/lab environment.
• Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of hardware design and leverage technical experience to overcome design challenges.
• Distill product requirements into technical requirements, estimate scope of work, develop hardware concept designs, and generate formal product specifications.
• Collaborate effectively with the design validation teams to ensure overall success of the project.
• Ensure compliance to product safety, emissions, and performance standards supporting 3rd party certification labs as needed.
• Support and troubleshoot existing product design deficiencies reported by customers.
• Provide product support to Systems and Applications Engineering teams.
• Provide support and specifications to Manufacturing and Test Engineering teams.
   

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering with a minimum of 12 years (or Graduate Degree with a minimum of 10 years) of prior relevant experience with RF hardware design tools and development process spanning requirements to production.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience with analog hardware and power supply development.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience with emissions standards including FCC, IC, ETSI, Anatel, and ACMA.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience with DFT and DFM techniques.

Desired Characteristics:

• RF and Microwave design from system topology to circuit level implementation knowledge.
• Understanding of nonlinear circuits, measurements, and simulation techniques.
• Experience with analysis and simulation for wireless communications systems in the 100MHz to 6GHz frequency bands.
• Experience with RF and Microwave simulation tools; Pathwave (Genesys) and HFSS preferred.
• Experience designing, integrating, testing, and troubleshooting VHF / UHF / microwave filters, amplifiers, oscillators, and mixers.
• Experience using signal generators, network analyzers, and spectrum analyzers.
• Ability to perform SCH and PCB layouts using ECAD software (ex. Altium Designer).
• Knowledge of RF theory and practice, as well as 4G LTE, 5G, and WiFi technologies.
• Create test strategies and specifications for new and revised assemblies coordinating the hand-off to production engineering.
• Ability to multi-task, prioritize tasks, and quickly adapt in a fast-paced engineering environment.
• Strong interpersonal and leadership skills.
• Ability to troubleshoot Analog, Digital, and Mixed Signal circuitry at the Hardware Level.
• Experience with RF Transmitter designs composed of LDMOS and GaN semiconductor technologies up to 50W.
• Experience with direct conversion and super heterodyne radio architectures.
• Experience with wideband and narrowband receivers, amplifiers, and other RF systems.
• Analysis and design of RF (100MHz - 6GHz) and mixed-signal communications hardware components including digital receiver subsystems, front ends, IF sections, VCOs, phase-lock loops, AGC loops, synthesizers, A/D and D/A conversion.
• Familiarity with MCU, SoC, and modem Integration.
• Ability to troubleshoot Analog, Digital, and Mixed Signals at the Hardware Level.
• Experience with safety standards including EN62368-1.
• Experience in Root Cause Corrective Action process and techniques.
• Familiarity with Agile product development.
• Familiarity with test automation software (ex. TestStand, LabVIEW, etc.).
• Demonstrated ability to work autonomously and collaborate with a team to resolve technical issues.
• Ability to solder/desolder surface mount and through hole components using a soldering station and heat gun.
• Demonstrated ability to produce Hardware Design Specifications and other relevant design documentation.
• Prior Manufacturing environment experience.
• Team player, customer advocate, and innovative problem solver