Associate Direction Finding (DF)/Antenna RF Engineer

Thales Defense & Security, Inc. • GERMANTOWN, MD

61d • $95,000 - $120,000 • Onsite

About The Position

Thales Defense & Security, Inc. (TDSI) is seeking an Associate Direction Finding (DF)/ Antenna RF Engineer to work in their Germantown, MD office. This position reports to the Engineering Director. TDSI, headquartered in Clarksburg, MD, is a U.S. company with over 60 years of experience serving domestic and international defense domains. With over 1,000 employees and four subsidiaries, TDSI provides communication, visualization, signal intelligence/electronic warfare, and sensor/sonar capabilities to U.S. Joint Services, special operations forces, and multinational partners. Their key technologies include tactical handheld radios, expeditionary satellite terminals, helmet-mounted displays, optics and target recognition capability, advanced radars, undersea sensing, and missile systems. The company emphasizes that lives depend on their work.

Requirements

• U.S. Citizenship required.
• Applicants selected may be subject to a government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information.
• BSEE or equivalent experience in Electrical Engineering with specialization in Electromagnetics, Antenna Theory, or Microwave Engineering.
• Interest in antenna theory, antenna design, and electromagnetics, supported by relevant graduate coursework, laboratory experience, or research projects.
• In-depth theoretical knowledge of antenna theory and direction finding techniques, and RF propagation.
• Basic knowledge and understanding of DF algorithms – correlation and Eigen Vector methods
• Must be accustomed to working with various antenna performance parameters including gain, beamwidth, patterns/sidelobes/nulls, and efficiency.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills in English.
• Ability to think "out-of-the-box", develop, and implement innovation design solutions.
• Ability to comply with all Company guidelines, policies, procedures and embrace Company Core Values.

Nice To Haves

• MSEE Preferred.
• Experience is desired utilizing engineering development software tools including RF propagation simulation, HFSS, Microwave Office, ADS, Genesys, Matlab, and Microsoft Office tools.
• Experience using Software Defined Radios (SDRs).
• Hands-on experience is highly desired using RF test equipment and facilities, including spectrum analyzers, network analyzers, power meters, and RF anechoic chambers.

Responsibilities

• Work within multidisciplined engineering project teams as an RF design engineer to design and develop circular array antennas to provide 360-degree spatial azimuth coverage and precise direction finding by evaluating phase and amplitude across symmetrically spaced elements.
• Participate in the development of advanced direction finding algorithms.
• Participate in small RF engineering teams and/or work under the supervision of a senior member of the RF design staff to define requirements, conceive, document, analyze/simulate, build prototypes, perform verification testing, debug, and optimize antenna and algorithm designs to meet requirements at the product level.
• Design/source, analyze/simulate, test and optimize antennas, external RF amplifiers, and ancillaries for use with products to achieve overall product performance requirements.
• Perform system level analysis to study RF propagation, range estimates, link budgets, cascade analysis, and sensitivity calculations.
• Support prototype development of advanced antennas and supporting RF subsystems, including fabrication and assembly of early prototypes.
• Contribute to technical trade studies and analyses to select RF architecture and key components.
• Assist other RF team members to develop and implement detailed design specifications, test plans and test procedures.
• Verify product performance vs. predictions for prototype products and production hardware products.
• Participate in continuous improvement and team building activities.
• Maintain productive working relationships with all team members.
• Complete assigned tasks in a quality and timely manner.
• Effectively support and communicate to management status, issues, needs and ideas.

Benefits

• Competitive Salary
• Yearly Incentive Compensation Plan
• Medical insurance for self and eligible family members
• Generous 401(k) program- up to 7% company contribution and 100% immediate vesting
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Paid wellness, vacation, and holiday leave
• Paid maternity, paternity, and parental leave
• 9/80 Work Schedule (every other Friday off)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Associate degree