Communications systems engineer
About The Position
We are looking for a strong communications systems engineer to help design, build, and test next-generation free-space optical (FSO) communication terminals for terrestrial, airborne, and space-based platforms. You do not need a background in laser communications to apply. Much of what makes an FSO link work is the same engineering practiced across the communications field: link budgets and margin allocation, modulation and coding, acquisition and synchronization, fade and outage statistics, closed-loop pointing and tracking, and end-to-end system validation against SWaP-C constraints. If you have done this work in RF, microwave, SATCOM, fiber-optic transport, wireless, radar, or EO/IR sensing, you have most of what we can build on to teach you the optical layer. Prior experience in optical communications, free space optical comm, directed energy, and laser systems is a plus.
Requirements
- B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Optical Engineering, or a related technical field.
- 5+ years designing, analyzing, or testing communication systems in any medium — RF/microwave, satellite, fiber-optic, wireless, or optical. (Senior/Principal consideration typically starts around 8+ years.)
- Demonstrated ownership of link budgets and system performance analysis: margin allocation, SNR/BER modeling, availability and outage estimation.
- Working fluency in MATLAB and/or Python for modeling, simulation, and data reduction.
- Hands-on laboratory experience bringing up and characterizing hardware — test equipment, instrumentation, measurement campaigns, and debugging a system that isn't behaving as modeled.
- Comfort operating across disciplines and with the ambiguity of early-stage development work.
- Clear technical communication, in writing and in front of customers.
Nice To Haves
- Free-space optical or laser communication systems; directed energy systems.
- Laser sources, optical alignment, and fiber-coupled optical systems.
- Optical design and simulation tools (Zemax, Code V, FRED) or comparable RF/system modeling tools (STK, Ansys HFSS, GNU Radio, Simulink).
- Closed-loop pointing, acquisition, and tracking — from any domain, including antenna pointing, gimbal control, radar tracking, or EO/IR sensor stabilization.
- Communication protocols, waveform design, DSP, forward error correction, or coherent detection.
- Standards such as CCSDS or optical inter-satellite link (OISL) protocols.
- Turbulence and propagation modeling in any medium.
- Space-qualified systems or flight hardware; environmental and qualification testing.
- SWIR/MWIR optics, MEMS beam steering, or Risley prisms.
- Secure communications and encryption.
- Ability to obtain a security clearance.
Responsibilities
- Contribute to (and, with experience, lead) the architecture and design of laser communication components and their subsystems — transceiver, modem, interfaces, data conditioning.
- Build and defend link budgets, model end-to-end communication performance, and trade the design against size, weight, power, and cost constraints.
- Analyze link impairments — atmospheric turbulence, scintillation, fading, pointing jitter, platform dynamics — and shape acquisition, tracking, and mitigation strategies around them.
- Drive component selection, integration, and system-level validation across lasers, modulators, detectors, beam expanders, and fiber-optic assemblies.
- Work alongside optical, mechanical, and software specialists to integrate optical communication systems into airborne and space-qualified platforms.
- Support alignment, calibration, and test campaigns — including pointing, acquisition, and tracking — in the lab and in the field.
- Participate in customer briefings, requirements definition, and roadmap planning.
- Author technical documentation, system specifications, and support proposal and IP development.
Benefits
- Competitive compensation and equity packages
- Technical leadership in a rapidly advancing application space
- A collaborative, multidisciplinary team working on next-gen optical communications
- Opportunities for technical growth, system-level ownership, and leadership
- Flexible work environment with strong emphasis on innovation and impact
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Mid Level
Education Level
Ph.D. or professional degree
