Advanced Lead Engineer - RF Microsystems - GE Aerospace Research

Job Description SummaryThe Microsystems team at GE Aerospace Research is looking for candidates who are interested in the research and development of RF Microsystems and their integration into aerospace products. As an Advanced Lead Engineer - RF Microsystems you will be working closely with a multidisciplinary team to develop world leading technology for our customers. The primary focus of this position will be the design and testing of RF Microsystem solutions to support harsh environment RF sensing. Other areas include mmWave communications and THz spectroscopy.
Job Description
Roles and Responsibilities
As an Advanced Lead Engineer - RF Microsystems you will:
Work with a multidisciplinary team of Scientists, Engineers, and Technicians pushing the state of the art in Microsystems enabling low Size Weight and Power (SWaP) solutions
Communicate status updates with key stakeholders within and outside GE Aerospace Research
Design and Test RF Microsystems using state of the art simulation software along with wafer level and module level test capability
Collaborate with industrial, DoD, and academic partners on system level solutions
Work directly with customers to understand their needs and identify future opportunities
Build RF Microsystem solutions specific to our customer needs
Required Qualifications
PhD degree in a relevant Engineering discipline with a minimum of 3 years of related experience or MS degree in a relevant Engineering discipline with a minimum of 5 years of related experience
Demonstrated experience designing and testing active and passive RF electronic structures and devices
Demonstrated ability to design, simulate, fabricate, and test RF circuits
Demonstrated experience with RF simulation tools like Ansys HFSS, CST Studio Suite, ADS, Sonnet, and Momentum
Must be willing to work out of an office located in Niskayuna, NY.
Due to the nature of the duties of this position, this role requires the individual to have the ability to obtain and maintain US Government Security Clearance; prerequisite for a security clearance is U.S. citizenship.
Desired Characteristics
Expertise in the design and characterization of RF systems utilizing both connectorized and free space interfaces
Demonstrated experience evaluating RF sensors for performance versus simulation
Exposure to precision analog circuits such as amplifiers, ADC/DAC interfaces, or sensor front ends.
Exposure to precision analog circuits such as amplifiers, ADC/DAC interfaces, or sensor front ends.
Exposure to embedded system design including FGPA, DSP and microcontrollers will be a plus.
Demonstrated ability to work as part of an interdisciplinary team
Proficiency with statistical tools and statistical analysis
Experience using AI tools for productivity enhancement
Excellent presentation, speaking, organizational, and problem-solving skills, with attention to detail
Familiarization with RF circuit fabrication and integration techniques
Ability to adapt to change and willingness to be flexible in a global team environment
Ensure the safety of all people engaged in the technical scope of their work - including safety of humans working alongside robotic and autonomous systems - as fundamental to how we operate, above all else.
Continuously scan and interpret the external landscape - academia, national labs, startups, competitors, and adjacent industries - and translate that view into a clear point of view on the long-range robotics and autonomy threats and opportunities most consequential to GE Aerospace, including areas well beyond today's product technology roadmap and in adjacent or emerging markets.
Discover, curate, and drive revolutionary technological advancements in robotics, autonomy, and human-machine teaming that translate into high-impact business outcomes for GE Aerospace on a long (typically 10-15+ year, in some cases further) horizon.
Shape and own program outcomes: define the technical thesis in terms of the business advantage it creates, retire key technical and adoption risks early, set aggressive but meaningful milestones, and drive operation, quality, and delivery to impact.
Drive multi-disciplinary efforts that reach beyond the individual's own technical area of expertise - actively convening and integrating capabilities from other disciplines across GE Aerospace Research and beyond (for example, materials, manufacturing, aero-thermal, controls, systems, digital and AI, human factors, and others as needed) - recognizing that the highest-impact opportunities are usually cross-cutting rather than contained within a single discipline.
Actively identify new opportunity areas where robotics and autonomy can create advantage for GE Aerospace - across manufacturing, maintenance and services, product, and emerging domains - rather than working within a fixed technical scope.
Leverage technology strategy - roadmaps, technology scouting, and portfolio choices - as a means to secure competitive advantage and business outcomes, not as an end in itself.
Make transparent go / no-go / pivot decisions at stage gates with clear logic and lessons learned; retire work that no longer meets the business-value hypothesis.
Shape and steer strategic partnerships with robot platform companies, academia, and national labs so GE Aerospace influences the capabilities being built rather than only consuming what the market offers.
Shape and win externally funded programs (DARPA, DoD, NSF, ARM Institute, DoE, industry consortia) that materially advance GE Aerospace business priorities; coach principal investigators on technical framing, program capture, and review defense.
Use IRAD as strategic seed capital: place concentrated bets on high-upside concepts, generate early proof points, retire risk, and position GE Aerospace to win larger external programs and business commitments.
Build trusted engagement with GE Aerospace product, engineering, manufacturing, MRO, and services leaders to develop a deep understanding of the business - its priorities, constraints, and future needs - and where advanced research could create meaningful advantage. Advanced research is exploratory by nature; much of the value comes from insight, options, and early evidence that shape business strategy - not only from technologies that ultimately reach a product or service.
Recruit, mentor, and grow technical talent across the robotics and autonomy community at GE Aerospace Research; nurture Technical Fellows, senior scientists, and early-career researchers into increasingly consequential roles.
Represent GE Aerospace externally through keynotes, university engagements, workshops, and strategic partnerships; project the ambition and energy that attracts top talent to the center.
Help shape and drive the ARO operating model and lead continuous improvement of how the ARO selects, executes, and transitions advanced research..
Required Qualifications
Ph.D. in Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a closely related discipline.
Minimum 15 years of progressive research and technical leadership experience across autonomous systems, robotics, machine learning, and / or human-machine teaming, with applied work translating research into demonstrated business or operational impact.
Demonstrated record of shaping and owning outcomes on a portfolio of R&D efforts - including framing the business thesis, technical execution, team formation, capital / lab investment planning, and stage-gated decision making.
Track record of moving robotics or autonomy technology from research into demonstration or deployment in a real operational setting (manufacturing, MRO, defense operations, or comparable) where it created measurable value.
Demonstrated success securing external research funding from public or private sources (NSF, DARPA, DoD, ARM Institute, industry consortia, EU framework programs, or equivalent).
Strong technical depth in two or more of: collaborative autonomy and human-robot collaboration, machine learning (including modern deep learning, RL, and LLM-based agents), cognitive and intelligent systems, computer vision and multimodal perception, task and motion planning, or assurance / safety for autonomous systems.
Legal authorization to work in the U.S. is required. We will not sponsor individ