Senior or Principal RF Engineer

Job Description:

Salary: Senior: £45, 200 to £61,950 / Principal: £53,300 to £71,400

Leonardo UK operates a grade-based salary framework with broad bands. The salary range shown reflects the approved grade band for this role, or a narrower hiring range published within that band, and is benchmarked against the external market. Exceptions above the standard range are managed through governance controls to protect internal equity.

Your Impact

Join us at Leonardo and become part of a team shaping the next generation of radar technology. We’re looking for talented, driven, and experienced RF/Microwave Engineers to join our expanding hardware engineering community within our world‑class radar division, based at our Edinburgh site.

As an RF Engineer, you’ll play a pivotal role in developing and delivering cutting‑edge radio‑frequency systems that sit at the heart of our advanced defence solutions. Your expertise will help ensure these systems perform with precision, reliability, and excellence in some of the most demanding environments in the world.

What you’ll bring

To excel in this role, you’ll bring a strong command of RF circuit design, microwave engineering, and electromagnetic theory, paired with the problem‑solving mindset and attention to detail needed to tackle complex technical challenges. A curiosity for emerging technologies, enthusiasm for the defence and space sectors, and adaptability to new methods and tools will also help you thrive as part of our team. You will:

• Lead a series of applied research work-packages and feasibility studies, document and report on their findings, and provide RF architectural recommendations to support the creation of a digital antenna concept for our next generation surveillance radar system

• Create high quality and robust designs; fully document and record your work products, keep them under configuration management and provide plans and progress reports; and conduct design reviews within the design review framework

• Supervise junior responsible engineers from within your system or functional block of RF assemblies

• Ensure design reviews are planned, executed and completed successfully

• Prepare robust manufacturing data packs and provide technical support to sub-contracts and engineering interface with manufacturing

• Qualifications: first or second degree (BSc, BEng, MEng, MSc, PhD, EngD) in Electrical & Electronic Engineering (preferable) or related science (e.g. Physics)

• Proven experience (5 years +) in RF circuit design and analysis and a strong understanding of microwave techniques and electromagnetic theory

• Proficiency in using commercial software tools for RF analysis /simulation and schematic capture such as ADS, AWR, CST

Security Clearance

This role is subject to pre-employment screening in line with the UK Government’s Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS). An additional range of Personnel Security Controls referred to as National Security Vetting (NSV) may apply, this could include meeting the eligibility requirements for The Security Check (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV). For more information and guidance please visit: https://careers.uk.leonardo.com/gb/en/security-and-vetting

Why join us

At Leonardo, our people are at the heart of everything we do. We offer a comprehensive, company-funded benefits package that supports your wellbeing, career development, and work–life balance. Whether you're looking to grow professionally, care for your health, or plan for the future, we’re here to help you thrive.

• Time to Recharge: Enjoy generous leave with the opportunity to accrue up to 12 additional flexi-days each year.

• Secure your Future: Benefit from our award-winning pension scheme with up to 15% employer contribution.

• Your Wellbeing Matters: Free access to mental health support, financial advice, and employee-led networks championing inclusion and diversity (Enable, Pride, Equalise, Armed Forces, Carers, Wellbeing and Ethnicity).

• Rewarding Performance: All employees at management level and below are eligible for our bonus scheme.

• Never Stop Learning: Free access to 4,000+ online courses via Coursera and LinkedIn Learning.

• Refer a friend: Receive a financial reward through our referral programme.

• Tailored Perks: Spend up to £500 annually on flexible benefits including private healthcare, dental, family cover, tech & lifestyle discounts, gym memberships and more.

• Flexible working: Flexible hours with hybrid working options. For part time opportunities, please talk to us about what might be possible for this role.

For a full list of our company benefits please visit our website.

Leonardo is a global leader in Aerospace, Defence, and Security. Headquartered in Italy, we employ over 53,000 people worldwide including 8,500 across 9 sites in the UK. Our employees are not just part of a team—they are key contributors to shaping innovation, advancing technology, and enhancing global safety.

At Leonardo we are committed to building an inclusive, accessible, and welcoming workplace. We believe that a diverse workforce sparks creativity, drives innovation, and leads to better outcomes for our people and our customers. If you have any accessibility requirements to support you during the recruitment process, just let us know.

Be part of something bigger - apply now!

Primary Location:

GB - Edinburgh

Contract Type:

Permanent

Hybrid Working:

Hybrid