Senior Software Engineer / RF Systems

Quartermaster•Arlington, VA

3h•$200,000 - $230,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Quartermaster is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to contribute to the development of its RF sensing platform. This role involves building the software backbone, including edge applications, distributed data pipelines, and cloud services, to transform raw spectrum data captured on vessels into actionable maritime intelligence. The engineer will collaborate with RF, FPGA, and hardware engineers to deploy signal processing from the lab to a fleet, writing high-performance, hardware-aware code for embedded Linux systems. Responsibilities include managing data flow from ship to cloud, processing data at scale, and working directly with customers to define requirements. The position offers significant autonomy and ownership within a small, senior team, with work directly impacting field deployments.

Requirements

4+ years of professional software development experience and a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.
Strong coding and debugging skills in compiled, native languages (C, C++, or Rust); production Rust experience is strongly preferred.
Systems-level development on resource-constrained, embedded Linux platforms, including hardware-software interfaces (e.g., device drivers, memory-mapped I/O, DMA) and the computer architecture knowledge to write hardware-aware, performance-optimized code.
Proficiency with IP networking, including implementing or debugging custom TCP/UDP protocols.
Experience building and operating large-scale, distributed data processing pipelines in the cloud for high-volume or streaming data.
Demonstrated ability to independently decompose ambiguous, complex problems—including directly with customers—and carry them to deployment with minimal guidance.
Active U.S. security clearance, or eligibility and willingness to obtain one.

Nice To Haves

Hands-on AWS experience (e.g., S3, IoT Core, Lambda, ECS, Kinesis) and familiarity with infrastructure-as-code tooling preferred.
2+ years working with or adjacent to RF, SDR, or wireless communications software.
Familiarity with tools and standards such as GNU Radio, UHD/USRP, libiio, VITA 49, or SigMF is a plus.
Exposure to FPGA-based SoCs (e.g., Xilinx Zynq/MPSoC).
Background in digital signal processing (filtering, channelization, FFT-based analysis, CFAR detection) or GNSS timing and geolocation.
Prior experience on defense, maritime, or government programs.

Responsibilities

Design, build, and maintain high-performance software in Rust, C, and/or C++ that runs across a distributed system spanning edge devices and the cloud.
Architect optimized, hardware-aware software that interfaces with SDR hardware, FPGA fabric, and embedded Linux on compute-constrained SmartMast units.
Develop reliable streaming data paths for IQ samples, detection events, and metadata—from hardware drivers and DMA buffers through packetization (e.g., VITA 49), custom TCP/UDP transport, on-device processing, and upload to the cloud.
Build and operate large-scale cloud data processing pipelines that ingest, process, store, and serve high-bandwidth RF captures and telemetry from a globally distributed fleet to deliver real-time insights.
Work directly with customers to understand operational needs, derive and refine requirements, and translate them into technical solutions.
Partner with RF and DSP engineers to turn algorithms prototyped in Python or GNU Radio into production-grade, tested, and maintainable implementations.
Own device provisioning, configuration, versioning, and release tooling that allows new units to be brought up, updated, and monitored remotely with confidence.
Establish strong engineering practices across the stack: automated testing, hardware-in-the-loop validation, CI/CD, code review, design discussions, and clear documentation.
Support field deployments and diagnose issues on live units, using logs, telemetry, and captured data to identify root causes and drive durable fixes.