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National Security Agency · 1 day ago

Radio Frequency (RF) Design Engineer

Fort Meade, MD

Full-time

Onsite

Mid, Senior Level

$105K/yr - $153K/yr

3+ years exp

The National Security Agency (NSA) is seeking a Radio Frequency (RF) Design Engineer to enhance the operation of intelligence through the design and development of advanced RF systems. The role involves creating systems for data collection and processing, ensuring adherence to engineering standards, and leading projects that focus on RF technologies and communications.

National Security

Growth Opportunities

No H1B

U.S. Citizen Only

Responsibilities

Design, build, test and deploy end-to-end RF systems, from the antenna through follow-on processors

Design, build, test and deploy communications systems using commercial off the shelf (COTS)/government off the shelf (GOTS) radios, software-defined radios (SDR) and SDR frameworks, as well as field programmable gate array (FPGA) technologies

Design, develop, construct, test and maintain hardware and software processing components; typically subsystems of communication, collection, processing or analysis systems

Conduct RF site surveys and include results in the design and performance assessments of RF systems

Work with and/or lead project teams to satisfy operational requirements for RF systems

Analyze results of RF collection in support of national mission requirements

Lead new advances in RF engineering and push the leading edge of RF communications technologies:

Antenna theory, design, and fabrication techniques with particular focus on beam-forming technologies

Modulation (BPSK, QPSK, spread spectrum, etc.), demodulation and signal separation techniques

Low power, space and cooling environments (including embedded systems)

Commercial telecommunication standards, protocols and topologies

Compression and other bandwidth optimization techniques

RF interference detection and mitigation approaches

Active RF techniques

Low probability intercept (LPI) and low probability of detection (LPD) techniques

Service-oriented architectures

Qualification

RF systems designAntenna designDigital signal processingCommunication systemsSoftware-defined radioFPGA technologiesSignal processingLab equipment usageProgrammingProblem-solvingCommunication skillsInterpersonal skills

Required

Relevant experience in the design and engineering of communication systems and/or radio frequency (RF) systems, and/or experience with test equipment

With a degree in Engineering, entry is with a Bachelor's degree plus 3 years of relevant experience, or a Master's degree plus 1 year of relevant experience, or a Doctoral degree and no experience. The program must be ABET accredited or include specified coursework

With a degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, or a relevant professional technical field, entry is with a Bachelor's degree plus 3 years of relevant experience, or a Master's or Doctoral degree plus 1 year of relevant experience. These degrees must include specified coursework

Specified coursework includes courses in differential and integral calculus and 5 of the following 18 areas: (a) statics or dynamics, (b) strength of materials/stress-strain relationships, (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics, (d) thermodynamics, (e) electromagnetic fields, (f) nature and properties of materials/relating particle and aggregate structure to properties, (g) solid state electronics, (h) microprocessor applications, (i), computer systems, (j) signal processing, (k) digital design, (l) systems and control theory, (m) circuits or generalized circuits, (n) communication systems, (o) power systems, (p) computer networks, (q) software development, (r) Any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, or soil mechanics

Preferred

Knowledge and experience in one or more of the following: Applying principles, methods, analysis, and applications of radio frequency theory such as radio wave propagation, antenna theory, antenna usage

Applying principles, methods, and applications of communication theory such as signal processing, decision theory, estimation theory and modulation-demodulation

Applying concepts, theories, and methods for designing, analyzing, testing, and integrating electrical and communications systems; includes aspects of energy conversion, electrical power generation, and energy transmission, control, distribution, or use

Applying principles of math, physics, electronics theory, electrical network theory, and control systems to the design, fabrication, and testing of devices that are designed to operate in the radio frequency spectrum

Hardware design; includes analog (A/D, amplifiers, power supplies, switches), board-level (board layout, circuit analysis, firmware), chip technologies (ASIC, CMOS, VHDL, VLSI), and digital (control logic, control systems, DSP, serial communications)

Programming (e.g. Assembly Language; high level languages such as JAVA, Matlab, Python, Ruby, Shell Script; and hardware description languages VHDL, and SystemVerilog)

Computer networking (e.g., communication protocols, distributed systems, Internet of Things, real-time systems, routing and switching)

Lab equipment (e.g. spectrum analyzers, oscilloscopes, network analyzers, etc.)

Amateur or HAM Radio clubs

Open-source Wi-Fi tools