Principal Radio Frequency Engineer
$215,924–$323,886 year
On-siteHerndon, Virginia, United States
Job Summary
Lead technical planning, architectural design, and software execution for advanced DSP/SDR systems supporting critical embedded security research programs. Provide subject matter expertise and mentorship to cross-functional staff while reverse engineering complex COTS devices, isolating PRN codes, and synthesizing custom RF waveforms. Guide lab build-outs, define software toolchains, and select SDR platforms, then validate generated signals using laboratory RF test equipment. Contribute to project scheduling, budget preparation, and business development by leading technical sections for proposals and white papers. Requires active DoD Top Secret clearance with SCI eligibility, a bachelor's degree in engineering or math, and 9+ years of experience in DSP, SDR development, and RF reverse engineering.
Required Qualifications
- Active DoD Top Secret clearance with SCI eligibility
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, Mathematics (or equivalent military/IC experience)
- 9+ years of experience in DSP, SDR development, and RF reverse engineering
- Proven capability to serve as a technical lead, including experience mentoring engineering staff, guiding project deliverables, and contributing to technical sections of proposal efforts
- Demonstrated experience reverse engineering complex RF protocols and COTS devices, deriving transmission parameters, generating custom waveforms, and decoding Pseudo-Random Noise (PRN) codes
- Extensive hands-on experience implementing custom SDR solutions on COTS platforms in Linux environments, executing baseline modulation schemes (FSK, PSK, QAM), and performing RF test equipment validation
- Active DoD Top Secret clearance with SCI eligibility
Desired Qualifications
- Familiarity with space-based system signal structures (e.g., GPS L1/L2, GNSS, SATCOM), space-dominant modulations (QBPSK, BOC), and satellite simulation software (e.g., AGI STK) for Doppler shift mitigation
- Practical experience using reverse engineering tools such as Ghidra for firmware reverse engineering
- Deep understanding of digital communication concepts, including Forward Error Correction (FEC), Viterbi and Reed-Solomon decoding, interleaving, and framing analysis
- Prior experience authoring technical white papers, presenting at technical panels, or supporting proposal capture efforts within SIGINT or Electronic Warfare domains
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