Entry Level- DSP Engineer (Onsite- Aberdeen, Maryland)
About The Position
Fairwinds Technologies is seeking curious, hands-on early-career engineers to apply digital signal processing theory to real radios, RF systems, embedded platforms, and operationally relevant test environments. In this role, you may support either their xG or Mixed Signal product development team, or technical-services contracts aligned with those product areas. You will work alongside experienced DSP, FPGA, RF, software, systems, and test engineers to model, implement, integrate, measure, and improve signal-processing capabilities. Assignments may span internal product development and customer-funded research, integration, test, demonstration, and field-support activities. The position is designed to build practical engineering depth while giving an early-career engineer exposure to the full lifecycle from algorithm concept through measured performance.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Applied Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science, or a closely related technical field, completed or expected before start date.
- Coursework, laboratory, internship, capstone, research, or personal-project experience in digital signal processing, communications, controls, image processing, acoustics, radar, or a related analytical discipline.
- Working knowledge of core DSP concepts such as sampling, aliasing, discrete-time systems, convolution, digital filtering, Fourier transforms, spectra, noise, and signal-to-noise ratio.
- Experience using MATLAB, Python, Simulink, GNU Radio, or another numerical modeling and analysis environment.
- Basic programming ability and willingness to learn the software and hardware interfaces needed to move algorithms into practical systems.
- Ability to apply structured problem solving, interpret measured data, communicate assumptions, and document results clearly.
- Ability to collaborate in a multidisciplinary engineering environment and satisfy customer, site-access, export-control, and security requirements associated with assigned work.
Nice To Haves
- Exposure to digital communications topics such as modulation, coding, synchronization, equalization, channel estimation, link budgets, or error-rate analysis.
- Experience with software-defined radio platforms, GNU Radio, RF laboratory equipment, data-acquisition systems, or recorded in-phase and quadrature data.
- Familiarity with fixed-point arithmetic, real-time processing, FPGA development concepts, HDL, embedded C or C++, or hardware-in-the-loop testing.
- Coursework or project experience in wireless communications, 5G/LTE, non-terrestrial networks, radar, electronic warfare, satellite communications, coherent systems, or RF test and measurement.
- Exposure to Git, Linux, automated testing, CI/CD, technical plotting, report generation, or reproducible analysis workflows.
Responsibilities
- Develop, simulate, analyze, and test digital signal processing algorithms for communications, sensing, RF test, and signal-conditioning applications.
- Use MATLAB, Simulink, Python, or comparable engineering tools to model signals, evaluate algorithm performance, visualize results, and automate analysis.
- Implement and validate filtering, modulation and demodulation, synchronization, channelization, resampling, spectral analysis, detection, estimation, and related DSP functions as assigned.
- Analyze time-domain and frequency-domain data from simulations, laboratory instruments, radios, channel emulators, and prototype hardware.
- Support translation of algorithms into embedded software or FPGA-oriented implementations in collaboration with software and FPGA engineers.
- Develop repeatable test methods, reference models, test vectors, acceptance criteria, and automated data-processing workflows.
- Assist with system integration involving radios, modems, data converters, RF front ends, coherent signal paths, networked test equipment, and embedded Linux platforms.
- Compare predicted and measured performance, investigate discrepancies, document root causes, and recommend corrective actions.
- Prepare clear technical documentation, test reports, plots, briefings, and configuration records for product and customer-funded activities.
- Participate in laboratory and field testing, demonstrations, design reviews, and multidisciplinary troubleshooting.
Benefits
- range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Entry Level
