Senior Software Defined Radio; SDR) Engineer

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.

• 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%

• Bachelor’s degree in:
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Computer Engineering
  • Computer Science
  • Related technical discipline
• Must have 8+ years of experience 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

• 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

• Strong systems engineering mindset
• Ability to troubleshoot complex RF/software interactions
• Comfortable working directly with hardware in lab and field environments
• Cap…