Find Jobs
Find Jobs Near You – Available Work in Your Location
Principal RF Engineer
Career Insights for Radio Frequency (RF) Engineer
See where this job fits in the broader career landscape. Knowing your career path helps you see what's possible from here.
Scorecard
Based on Illinois data
Review key factors to help you decide if this role fits your goals. How is this calculated?
What they do
A Radio Frequency (RF) Engineer works with technology and electronic equipment that uses radio waves, from cell phones to radio stations. Designs, installs, and repairs systems and equipment that transmit radio signals. May specialize in design or maintenance; may focus on the design of transmission equipment, such as radio antennae, or manage larger systems such as networks of cell phone towers.
$115,522 / year median in Illinois
-10% projected decline
Job Description
Principal RF Engineer
DP Professionals
•
Rolling Meadows, Illinois
•
PERMANENT
Updated 09/07/2026
Job Description
Job Summary
DPP is seeking a Principal RF Engineer for an opportunity with our client in the Aerospace and Defense Manufacturing industry.
Work location: Onsite in Rolling Meadows, IL
Duration:
4 months
Terms:
W2 Contract
Work authorization: US Citizen; must be able to obtain/maintain a Secret security clearance
Position Summary:
The Principal RF Engineer role involves full life-cycle product development from system concept and requirements through design, production, verification, and field support while working in integrated product teams spanning Engineering, Manufacturing, and Program Management.
RF/Analog subsystem and circuit card designs utilize the latest MMIC and discrete device technologies from all major vendors including internal designed devices, Electro-Optical (EO) circuitry, controls, detectors and data converters.
As an RF/Analog Electrical Engineer, you will join our diverse team and be responsible for research, design, development of signal conversion and analog/mixed signal products.
Your expertise in RF, mixed signal, and/or Electro-Optical component design and analysis, modeling and simulation, and circuit level design and test are desired for this position.
This position can be filled at either the Principal or Sr. Principal level.
Required Qualifications for
Principal RF Engineer:
Bachelor's degree in STEM field with a minimum of 5+ years of electronics design experience or Master's degree in STEM field with 3+ years of electronics design experience.
RF/Analog circuit design experience, including schematic capture through test and integration.
Hands-on prototyping and debug experience testing complex RF subsystems, such as complex circuit card development involving amplifiers, mixers, control systems, ADCs, DACs, and/or phase lock loops.
Demonstrated ability to translate system performance and operational specifications into hardware requirements, design, and test specifications.
Familiarity with documentation, revision control and review systems like DOORS, ClearCase, and ClearQuest.
US Citizenship required.
Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a Secret security clearance.
Required Qualifications for Sr.
Principal RF Engineer:
Bachelor's degree in STEM field with a minimum of 8 years of electronics design experience or Master's degree in STEM field with 6 years of electronics design experience.
RF/Analog circuit design experience, including schematic capture through test and integration.
Hands-on prototyping and debug experience testing complex RF subsystems, such as complex circuit card development involving amplifiers, mixers, control systems, ADCs, DACs, and/or phase lock loops.
Demonstrated ability to translate system performance and operational specifications into hardware requirements, design, and test specifications.
Familiarity with documentation, revision control and review systems like DOORS, ClearCase, and ClearQuest.
US Citizenship required.
Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a Secret security clearance.
Preferred Qualifications:
An advanced degree in Electrical or Computer Engineering.
Minimum 7 years of RF and/or mixed signal electronics design experience.
Working knowledge of Electronic Warfare systems.
Recent circuit card design experience utilizing circuit-related tools including Cadence Concept, Allegro, and/or Mentor DxDesigner, Expedition.
Experience with Advanced Design System (ADS) and MATLAB modeling tools.
Experience with SPICE modeling tools.
Proven skills to include communicating with all levels of an organization internally and externally, adaptable, creative, collaborative and comfortable working independently and enjoy solving difficult problems.
Current Secret or Top-Secret security clearance.
Interested?
Learn more:
Click the apply button to learn more about this position (26-01089).
DP Professionals (DPP) offers a range of compensation and benefits packages to our employees and their eligible dependents. DPP is a certified Woman-owned Small Business Enterprise (WBE and WOSB) with more than 25 years in the staffing industry.
EOE/AA/V/D
Job and company information not to be copied, shared, scraped, or otherwise disseminated without explicit consent of JSfirm, LLC.
Benefits
- Dental Insurance