Radio Frequency (RF) Engineer
What Does a Professional in this Career 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.
Job Outlook
There were 96 Radio Frequency (RF) Engineer job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 7186 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Radio Frequency (RF) Engineer industry, which includes the Radio Frequency (RF) Engineer career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:
Salary
Many new Radio Frequency (RF) Engineer jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $137,965.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $131,854.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Radio Frequency (RF) Engineer postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $120,565.
Education and Experience
Posted Radio Frequency (RF) Engineer jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 73.7% |
| Master's Degree | 43% |
| Doctoral Degree | 19.97% |
| Other | 1.96% |
Posted Radio Frequency (RF) Engineer jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 12.56% |
| 3 to 5 years | 42.83% |
| 6 to 8 years | 17.32% |
| 9+ years | 27.29% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Radio Frequency (RF) Engineer positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Communication (43.7%)
- Troubleshooting (Problem Solving) (27.61%)
- Management (21.46%)
- Leadership (18.2%)
- Mathematics (17.9%)
- Planning (17.2%)
- Problem Solving (15.42%)
- Operations (13.83%)
- Innovation (13.54%)
- Presentations (13.3%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Electrical Engineering (51.24%)
- Microwaves (22.27%)
- Antenna (36.43%)
- Radio Frequency Engineering (19.95%)
- Radio Frequency (76.95%)
- Python (Programming Language) (23.84%)
- RF And Microwave Filter (13.9%)
- Atoll (RF Planning Software) (8.89%)
- Spectrum Analyzer (7.15%)
- Test Equipment (23.45%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Ansys Simulation Software (7.64%)
- Oscilloscope (13.17%)
- 5G Technology (13.82%)
- Algorithms (11.04%)
- Data Analysis (7.51%)
- Adjudication (8.24%)
- C (Programming Language) (9%)
- Printed Circuit Board (12.11%)
- Broadband (2.65%)
- Communications Systems (7.75%)
- Circuit Design (12.13%)
- Debugging (11.98%)
- Digital Electronics (3.58%)
- Electronic Circuits (5.3%)
- Digital Signal Processing (8.38%)
- Computer Science (13.23%)
- Signal Generators (14.38%)
- LTE (Telecommunication) (10.78%)
- Systems Engineering (20.83%)
- Automation (7.2%)
- Telecommunications (12.27%)
- MATLAB (25.78%)
- Physics (14.99%)
- Prototyping (7.77%)
- Electronics (11.31%)
- Schematic Capture (7.3%)
- C++ (Programming Language) (13.52%)
- Systems Integration (6.99%)
- Test Planning (12.99%)
- Computer Engineering (9.77%)
- Systems Design (13.93%)
- Test Engineering (8.79%)
- Radar (17.44%)
- Project Management (10.15%)
- Signal Processing (11.54%)
- LabVIEW (4.41%)
- New Product Development (13.09%)
- Test Data (8.37%)
- Advertisement (18.56%)
- System Requirements (3.38%)
- Simulations (26.95%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Millimeter Waves (3.53%)
- 3GPP (Telecommunication) (4.51%)
- FEKO (4.2%)
- MapInfo Professional (5.05%)
- Impedance Matching (3.35%)
- Low-Noise Amplifier (4.56%)
- Noise Figure (5.5%)
- Modulation (5.59%)
- Microwave Engineering (1.75%)
- Return Loss (1.48%)
- RF Switch (1.98%)
- Standing Wave Ratios (1.1%)
- Scattering Parameters (3.73%)
- Filter Design (3.48%)
- Phase Noise (3.57%)
- Link Budget (5.95%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.
- 3GPP (Telecommunication) (9.56%)
- FEKO (8.89%)
- Filter Design (7.37%)
- Impedance Matching (7.1%)
- Radio Frequency Engineering (42.25%)
- Simulations (57.06%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Radio Frequency (RF) Engineer skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Radio Frequency Engineer
- Radio Frequency Engineering Manager
- Radio Frequency Design Engineer
- Systems Engineer
- Radio Frequency/Microwave Engineer
- Test Engineer
- Principal Engineer
- Antenna Design Engineer
- Principal Systems Engineer
- Microwave Engineer
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
- Electronics Engineer (General)
- Signal Processing Engineer
- Electronic Warfare Engineer
- Hardware Test Engineer
- Hardware Design Engineer
- Computer Circuit Design Engineer
- Hardware Engineer (General)
- Integrated Circuit (IC) Design Engineer
- Manufacturing Test Engineer
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Radio Frequency (RF) Engineer jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Raytheon Technologies (625)
- Northrop Grumman (346)
- The Judge Group (254)
- Lockheed Martin (195)
- L3Harris Technologies (156)
- Apple (144)
- Actalent (134)
- Dish (127)
- Skyworks (119)
- SpaceX (115)
North Carolina
- Qorvo (9)
- Skyworks (8)
- Skyworks Solutions (8)
- Randstad (6)
- Dish (5)
- Cubic Corporation (4)
- Indotronix International Corporation (4)
- TE Connectivity (3)
- General Dynamics (2)
- Nextgen (2)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.