Principal RF Hardware Engineer

Description

We’re building the UK's next generation engineering powerhouse, providing critical technology that strengthens national security and resilience. We specialise in turning advances in sensing, AI, and communications into operational capability for the edge, where connectivity may be degraded or denied. Our work focuses on accelerating the deployment of technology, improving decision-making for frontline teams, and protecting people and critical assets in demanding environments.

Headquartered in Bristol, Rowden employs around 200 people and operates over 20,000 square feet of engineering and manufacturing facilities. We have a growing international footprint and are one of Europe’s fastest-growing engineering businesses.

Department: Engineering

Location: Bristol, UK

About the role

As part of this journey, we are expanding our RF hardware capability to design and deliver advanced wireless sensing and communication systems across Research and Product.

This function designs and delivers RF and mixed-signal hardware platforms that enable sensing, communications, and signal processing in demanding environments. These systems combine analogue RF front-end design, high-speed data conversion, and software-defined radio architectures to create adaptable and high-performance sensing platforms.

As a Principal RF Hardware Engineer, you will design and deliver the analogue and mixed-signal hardware that underpins these systems. You will work across the full RF signal chain, from antenna interfaces and RF front-end design through to ADC/DAC integration and SDR platform bring-up.

This is a hands-on engineering role working closely with RF, FPGA, embedded software, and machine-learning engineers to translate system requirements into robust hardware implementations. You will play a key role in developing RF systems that are reliable, efficient and deployable in complex operational environments.

While this role offers hybrid working options, it requires a minimum of 3 days per week on-site at our Bristol HQ, with occasional travel to customer sites.

Candidates must be eligible for SC clearance.

More information about security clearance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-security-vetting-clearance-levels

Salary

For senior roles, compensation is tailored to the scope of the role and the specific experience a candidate brings. Because that can vary significantly, we do not always publish a fixed salary band. We will, however, discuss compensation openly at the first stage of the process and can share an indicative range before either side invests significant time.

Key areas of responsibility

• Designing RF front-end architectures including amplification stages, filtering, frequency conversion, and signal conditioning.
• Designing and owning RF and mixed-signal hardware from concept and schematic capture through to PCB implementation and hardware bring-up.
• Developing mixed-signal hardware integrating high-speed ADCs, DACs and associated clocking architectures.
• Designing multi-layer RF PCBs, ensuring strong RF performance, signal integrity, grounding strategies, shielding and manufacturability.
• Selecting and integrating RF components including amplifiers, mixers, filters, oscillators, clocking systems and converters.
• Bringing up new RF hardware platforms and validating RF performance using appropriate laboratory measurement equipment.
• Debugging and optimising RF signal chains across analogue and mixed-signal domains.
• Supporting integration of RF hardware with FPGA-based SDR platforms and embedded processing systems.
• Working closely with signal processing and FPGA engineers to ensure RF hardware supports system-level performance requirements.
• Producing high-quality design documentation, schematics and design reviews.

Key skills, experience and behaviours

• Strong experience designing RF and analogue hardware for wireless or radio systems.
• Experience designing RF signal chains including amplification, filtering, mixing and gain control.
• Strong understanding of the full RF signal chain, from antenna interface and RF front-end through to ADC/DAC integration and digital processing pipelines.
• Experience integrating high-speed ADC and DAC devices into RF systems.
• Experience designing multi-layer mixed-signal PCBs including schematic capture and layout.
• Experience with PCB design tools such as KiCad, Altium Designer or similar, with a preference for candidates comfortable developing complete board designs.
• Strong understanding of RF PCB layout principles including impedance control, grounding strategies, isolation, return paths and signal integrity.
• Experience bringing up new RF hardware platforms and diagnosing real-world performance issues across analogue, mixed-signal and digital domains.
• Practical experience using RF laboratory equipment such as spectrum analyzers, vector network analyzers, signal generators and oscilloscopes.
• Ability to analyse RF system performance including noise figure, gain, dynamic range and bandwidth.
• Experience working collaboratively with RF, FPGA, embedded software and systems engineers.

Desirable (not essential)

• Experience developing hardware for Software Defined Radio systems.
• Familiarity with RF simulation tools and signal chain modelling.
• Experience integrating RF hardware with FPGA-based platforms such as Zynq or similar architectures.
• Understanding of digital signal processing concepts relevant to RF systems.
• Experience designing hardware for low-SWaP or edge-deployed systems.
• Experience developing hardware used in sensing, electronic warfare, or communications systems.

About you

• Problem-solver: Able to troubleshoot and resolve complex issues pragmatically and efficiently.
• Systems thinker: Comfortable reasoning about interconnected RF, mixed-signal and digital systems.
• Detail-oriented: Maintains high standards and adherence to engineering best practices.
• Adaptable and self-motivated: Learns quickly and continuously develops technical capability.
• Collaborative: Works effectively across disciplines, sharing knowledge openly.
• Continuous improvement mindset: Proactively identifies opportunities to improve systems, processes, and ways of working.
• Agile mindset: Applies Agile principles pragmatically, facilitating alignment, prioritisation, and collaboration.

Working at Rowden

We are committed to building a flexible, inclusive, and enabling company. Our aim is to create a diverse team of talented people with unique skills, experience, and backgrounds.

We also recognise the importance of flexible working and support this wherever we can. We typically operate a flexible, hybrid-working model, with an average 3 days in the office each week (dependent on the role). We welcome the opportunity to discuss flexibility, part-time working requirements and/or workplace adjustments with all our applicants.

Rowden is a Disability Confident Committed company, and we actively encourage people with disabilities and health conditions to apply for our roles. Please let us know your requirements early on so that we can make sure you have everything you need up front to help make the recruitment process and experience as easy as possible.

Finally, if you feel that you don’t meet all the criteria included above but have transferable skills and relevant experience, we’d still love to hear from you!