RF & Optics Team Lead in Rickmansworth

In the role of RF & Optics Team Leader, you will lead and develop a mixed team of experienced and junior engineers to ensure work is effectively planned, resourced, and delivered on time, on specification, and within budget. You will own and govern the RF design and test processes, ensuring adherence to best practices and continuous improvements across the team. Working closely with cross-functional stakeholders, you will support the design and development of new and existing products across ETL's full product portfolio.

Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day leadership of the RF and Optics Team, including mentoring, developing, and motivating team members to ensure high performance, strong technical capability, and consistent on-time delivery.
• Ownership of RF design and test processes, ensuring the team follows best practices, maintains compliance, and drives continual improvements in methods, tools, and ways of working.
• Lead planning and successful execution of RF design activities, ensuring delivery to agreed time, cost, and quality targets, and providing accurate estimates for new work.
• Foster strong cross-functional collaboration, working closely with Mechanical, PCB, Electronics, Software, Test, and other teams to ensure coherent integrated product development.
• Engage proactively with stakeholders across the business, including Production, Operations, Sales, and project teams, to ensure alignment and timely delivery of customer commitments.
• Oversee creation and quality of design documentation, ensuring the team consistently produces clear, complete, and professional materials such as requirements, design documents, technical briefs, datasheets, and test reports.
• Identify and manage technical risks, ensuring mitigation plans are in place and communicated effectively to keep programmes on track.
• Provide regular and effective progress updates to engineering management on project progress, risks, resource needs, and opportunities for improvement.
• Enable the development of RF/Microwave capability within the organisation, championing knowledge sharing, training, tool improvements, and adoption of modern technologies and techniques.
• Represent the business externally by supporting conferences, exhibitions, and networking activities when required.
• Apply hands-on RF design expertise as needed, contributing to the development of RF products across IF to V-band, particularly in complex areas where leadership level guidance is required.

Qualifications

• The ideal candidate will be degree qualified with a background in RF hardware design, bringing both technical experience and strong leadership credibility.
• Proven experience leading and mentoring a team of engineers working across multiple concurrent RF design projects, ensuring effective resource allocation and consistent delivery to performance, budget, and schedule requirements.
• Demonstrated ownership of RF design and test processes, with a track record of enforcing best practices while driving continuous improvement to enhance team efficiency, capability, and design quality.
• A solid understanding of RF circuit design and measurement techniques from IF through to V-band, using technical insight to guide and support the team in achieving internal and external customer requirements.
• Practical, pragmatic, and collaborative approach with strong leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills; ability to build productive working relationships across engineering disciplines and the wider business.

Company overview and benefits

ETL Systems is a company shaping the future of satellite communications. We power critical satellite communications infrastructure used by the top 20 satellite operators and teleports worldwide, and 75% of NATO governments rely on our equipment. We have a track record of recognition and growth, including multiple Queen's Awards for Enterprise in International Trade and acquisitions that expanded capabilities across the RF chain.

Benefits

• 33 days of holiday per year (including UK bank holidays), rising to 38 days over the first five years of service.
• Company-funded Health Cash Plan.
• Annual Bonus & Salary Review.
• Company Pension.
• Career development and training for all roles.
• ETL Employee Wellbeing Support, including free eye tests and an Employee Assistance Programme.
• ETL People Perks: discounts on shopping, holidays, gym membership, days out, cinema and dining.
• Buy and Sell Holiday Scheme.
• Free on-site Employee Gym and subsidised gym memberships via People Perks.
• Subsidised on-site employee cafe with free refreshments for all employees.
• Free on-site parking, car share scheme and EV charging.
• Casual business dress.
• Flexible hours with core hours Monday–Friday 8am–4pm (no weekends/evening).
• Annual company events.