Sr. Principal, RF Engineer

If you are unable to complete this application due to a disability, contact this employer to ask for an accommodation or an alternative application process.

Full Time, Sparks, MD, US

Salary Range: $ to $ Annually

iRF - Intelligent RF Solutions is a leader in providing tailored solutions for SIGINT and Electronic Warfare (EW) missions. We understand our customers’ challenges and use our expertise to create solutions. We are not just a supplier, but a problem‑solving partner with a strong foundation in supporting global defense and intelligence missions.

We are dedicated to attracting high‑achieving individuals. Our team members are bound by a common purpose – commitment to our customers’ missions.

The following statements describe the general nature of the work performed and are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all essential functions, duties, and skills required of personnel in this classification. Management retains the discretion to add or change duties at any time.

The Sr. Principal RF Engineer will serve as the technical authority and RF subject‑matter expert (SME) for the organization, providing strategy and hands‑on leadership across Engineering, Business Development, and Executive Management. This role is responsible for the architecture design and development of advanced RF/microwave receivers, frequency converters, and related technologies supporting SIGINT, Electronic Warfare, and radar applications.

The successful candidate will drive innovation through design leadership, customer engagement, and execution of long‑term technology roadmaps, while mentoring engineering teams and supporting strategic business objectives.

• Serve as the RF SME for the business, providing overall technical leadership to the Engineering Team, technical support to the iRF Management Team, and Sales and Business Development support for customer engagements.
• Lead the design and development of state‑of‑the‑art RF/microwave receivers, frequency‑converters, and related products for SIGINT, EW, and radar applications.
• Develop and execute the multi‑year technology roadmap, including associated IRAD & CRAD projects, as an input to the iRF strategic plan.
• Perform top‑level requirements analysis and design of system architecture, including frequency planning and cascade analysis.
• Serve as the lead RF design engineer and individual technical contributor on critical development programs.
• Interface directly with customers to define concepts, requirements, and technical solutions for new IRAD and product development.
• Chair internal and customer design reviews, including planning, execution, technical presentations, and documentation.
• Provide technical support for Business Development activities, including white papers, presentations, technical proposals, meetings, and events.

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering (or related discipline) with a minimum of 15 years of RF/microwave circuit design experience, or a graduate degree with at least 13 years of related experience.
• Extensive circuit design experience in RF/microwave products, with a history of designing products with challenging performance specifications such as low noise figure, low phase noise, and excellent 2nd and 3rd order intercepts.
• Hands‑on design experience for PCB‑based RF/microwave circuitry supporting receivers and frequency converters to 18 GHz and beyond.
• Well‑versed in receiver/frequency‑converter system design, including frequency planning, spur analysis, RF/microwave filter technologies, cascade GNIP analysis, microwave mixers, PLL‑based frequency generation, and design trade‑offs.
• Leadership qualities, with the ability to work well with and lead a diverse group of engineering disciplines.
• Familiarity with computer‑aided design tools such as Keysight Genesys, OrCAD, MATLAB, PSpice, or equivalent.
• Active Secret clearance and eligibility for TS/SCI clearance.
• Must pass a pre‑employment drug screening and background check.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to engineers and technical leads, advancing engineering excellence, scalable system design,…