Research Faculty Open Rank, Spectrum Dominance Division

Virginia Tech•Blacksburg, VA

17h•Onsite

About The Position

The Virginia Tech National Security Institute (VTNSI) is seeking a Research Associate or Research Scientist for its Spectrum Dominance Division (SDD) in Blacksburg, Virginia. The SDD focuses on radio frequency (RF) research, including antenna design, waveform design, and receiver design, with expertise in SDR development, RFML, SIGINT, RADAR, cellular, electromagnetic materials, cognitive radio, and additive manufacturing. The division works on R&D from TRL 3-6, bridging fundamental research to prototypes for sponsors, with a strength in real-time RF system development using FPGA, GPU, and SDR platforms. VTNSI has advanced testing facilities, including wireless testing labs and the Counter-UAS Testing and Research Center, along with significant secure computing infrastructure.

Requirements

Must be a US citizen.
Ability and willingness to obtain and maintain a security clearance.
An earned Bachelor’s with professional experience or Master’s degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related engineering discipline.
Demonstrated background in software/hardware development for radio frequency applications, with Python and C++ being the division’s primary development languages.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge or experience with real-time radio frequency hardware/software systems, such as software-defined radios (SDRs), GNU Radio, 5G/6G/O-RAN testbeds (OAI, srsRAN, and OCUDU), FPGAs, and/or embedded systems.
Knowledge or experience with assembling RF systems and measuring performance with commercial test equipment (e.g. vector network analyzers, RF signal generators, spectrum analyzers, logic analyzers, and/or real-time oscilloscopes).
Experience or basic knowledge of antenna systems such as directivity, gain, impedance, VSWR, S-parameters, polarization, frequency response, and/or beam patterns.
Knowledge or experience working on team-based software development projects using appropriate version control software tools such as Git.

Responsibilities

Support radio frequency software/hardware development on 2-3 simultaneous team-based research efforts.
Support project internal communications and milestones through oral/written status updates and/or code review.
Support project final deliverables through code documentation, user guides, final reports, and/or academic publications.
Have flexibility and adaptability to work on different radio frequency application areas such as signals intelligence, waveform design, RADAR, electromagnetics, cellular, etc.
Engage with sponsors through occasional oral briefings and demonstrations, virtually and occasional travel to sponsor sites.