Senior Software Defined Radio; SDR Engineer

Description

Today, Electronic Warfare (EW) is a growing enterprise — protecting the warfighter and our national security against ever-adapting threats. Our division currently has an exciting opportunity for a Software Defined Radio (SDR) Engineer to perform design, development, and hardware/software integration in Arlington, VA for the Electronic Warfare Division.

Our division primarily focuses on research & development and advanced prototyping, transforming state-of-the-art signal processing algorithms into real-time software systems deployed on advanced RF platforms.

The successful candidate will be an individual contributor responsible for designing, developing, and integrating high-performance SDR solutions using Ettus Research USRP platforms
. This role requires expertise in real-time RF signal processing, low-latency streaming architectures, and software development close to the hardware layer. The ideal candidate is comfortable building production-grade SDR systems from the ground up and optimizing them for demanding operational environments.

Primary Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and deploy advanced SDR systems using Ettus Research USRP hardware

• Develop high-performance SDR applications using:

  • C++

  • UHD (USRP Hardware Driver)

• Implement and optimize:

  • Real-time DSP pipelines

  • Custom waveform generation

  • Modulation/demodulation chains

  • RF streaming architectures

  • High-throughput signal processing systems

• Interface directly with:

  • FPGA-based SDR architectures

  • High-speed Ethernet transport layers

  • RF front ends and synchronization systems

• Develop software for low-latency and real-time RF applications

• Perform RF system integration, testing, calibration, and troubleshooting

• Analyze and optimize:

  • Spectral performance

  • Timing synchronization

  • Throughput bottlenecks

  • RF impairments

• Integrate SDR platforms into larger communications, sensing, or EW architectures

• Produce technical documentation, interface definitions, and software architecture artifacts

• Support lab and field testing activities, travel up to 15%

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in:

  • Electrical Engineering

  • Computer Engineering

  • Computer Science

  • Related technical discipline

• Must have 8+ years of expereince including strong hands-on experience with:

  • Ettus Research USRP platforms (X310/X410, N320/N321, X440, B-Series platforms)

• Strong proficiency in:

  • Modern C++

  • Python

  • Linux systems programming, including Linux performance optimization

  • Multithreaded and concurrent software architectures

• Experience deploying systems with Red Hat Linux

• Experience developing with:

  • UHD API

  • Real-time streaming systems

  • High-rate packet processing

  • Socket programming

  • Low-latency software architectures

  • Ettus RF Network On Chip (RFNoC) architecture

• Strong understanding of:

  • RF fundamentals

  • Wireless communications systems

  • IQ signal processing

  • Digital modulation techniques

  • Wideband RF architectures

  • Spectrum analysis

• Experience implementing:

  • OFDM

  • QPSK/QAM

  • Channel estimation

  • Synchronization algorithms

  • FFT/channelization pipelines

  • Adaptive filtering

  • Signal detection and classification

  • Time/frequency synchronization

• Position requires an active Secret security clearance or the ability to obtain and maintain one

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with:

  • Electronic Warfare (EW)

  • SIGINT/ELINT systems

  • Tactical communications

  • Spectrum operations

  • Radar or RF sensing systems

• Familiarity with:

  • Xilinx FPGA architectures

  • Vivado

  • Verilog/VHDL

  • Hardware acceleration pipelines

• Experience with:

  • 10/40/100 GigE transport

  • GPSDO/PPS synchronization

  • Distributed SDR architectures

  • Real-time operating systems

• Familiarity with:

  • MIMO systems

  • Beamforming

  • SATCOM architectures

• Active Top Secret clearance preferred

Desired Traits

• Strong systems engineering mindset

• Ability to troubleshoot complex RF/software interactions

• Comfortable working directly with hardware in lab and field environments

• Capable of building production-grade SDR software from the ground up

• Strong debugging, optimization, and performance tuning skills

• Self-starter capable of operating in fast-paced R&D environments

NKE

Electronic Warfare

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