RF Systems Engineer - Expert

Fusion Innovation•Chantilly, VA

About The Position

Fusion Innovation is seeking an Expert RF Systems Engineer to serve as a senior technical advisor for wireless communication systems. The role develops, validates, and optimizes RF link budgets, translates system requirements into quantitative performance models, and provides recommendations that inform architecture, design, deployment, and operational decisions. The engineer collaborates with RF, antenna, systems, network, hardware, software, and field engineering teams to meet coverage, capacity, availability, reliability, and performance objectives.

Requirements

Active Top Secret/SCI with Polygraph.
Minimum experience of 12 years with a BS/BA, 10 years with an MS/MA, or 7 years with a PhD; an additional four years of experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
Demonstrated expert-level experience developing and reviewing RF link budgets and performing quantitative RF trade studies and sensitivity analyses.
Strong understanding of RF propagation, antennas, transmission lines, receivers, transmitters, and wireless communication systems.
Expertise in RF power and gain/loss calculations; dB/dBm/dBW conversions; noise figure and temperature; receiver sensitivity; C/N, C/I, C/(N+I), and Eb/N₀; free-space and non-free-space path loss; fade and implementation margins; antenna gain, beamwidth, polarization, and pointing; and modulation and coding impacts.
Ability to independently validate complex engineering analyses.
Strong technical writing, presentation, and communication skills.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, RF Engineering, Telecommunications, or a related discipline.
Experience with 4G/5G, private LTE/5G, satellite, microwave, tactical communications, or other advanced wireless systems.
Experience with RF propagation and coverage modeling tools and software such as MATLAB/Simulink, Python, STK, ADS, HFSS, CST, Atoll, or Pathloss.
Experience using spectrum analyzers, signal generators, network analyzers, power meters, and related RF test equipment.
Knowledge of antenna system design and characterization, and experience analyzing link availability and reliability.
Familiarity with applicable IEEE, ITU, 3GPP, FCC, or other relevant RF and wireless standards and regulations.
Experience supporting field deployment, drive testing, RF acceptance testing, or system verification.
Experience leading technical teams or serving as a senior engineering consultant or advisor.

Responsibilities

Develop comprehensive uplink and downlink RF link budgets for terrestrial, satellite, cellular, private wireless, tactical, and other wireless communication systems.
Calculate and validate transmit power and EIRP, receiver sensitivity, antenna gain, cable and other implementation losses, path losses, and propagation-related losses.
Analyze noise figure, system noise temperature, thermal noise, noise bandwidth, receiver G/T where applicable, C/N, C/(I+N), Eb/N₀, and required versus available link margin.
Model performance across frequency bands, modulation schemes, bandwidths, antenna configurations, propagation environments, and operating conditions.
Perform best-case, nominal, worst-case, and statistical analyses and establish engineering margins aligned with availability and reliability requirements.
Identify link-margin limitations, assess propagation and interference impacts, and determine the parameters with the greatest influence on system performance.
Conduct trade studies involving transmit power, antenna gain, receiver performance, bandwidth, coding and modulation, frequency selection, and deployment configuration.
Independently review and validate complex RF analyses and communicate recommendations to multidisciplinary engineering teams.