Senior Systems Engineer - RF Sensing and Mission Systems
About The Position
Join Viasat's Government organization as a Senior Staff Systems Engineer supporting the development of advanced RF sensing, signal exploitation, communications, and mission systems. The role serves as a lead system architect, transforming customer mission needs into technical solutions and well-defined system requirements. The engineer works across hardware, software, embedded systems, networking, RF, and sensing disciplines to develop system architectures and technical roadmaps for complex defense and aerospace applications. The position combines strategic vision with hands-on systems engineering leadership to guide programs from concept development through deployment. The role also supports technical planning, solution development, customer engagements, proposal activities, and system integration, verification, validation, and operational demonstrations. Travel of up to 25% is expected.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Systems Engineering, Physics, Applied Mathematics, or a related technical discipline; an advanced degree is preferred.
- 10+ years of experience developing and architecting complex defense, aerospace, communications, sensing, or mission systems.
- Demonstrated ability to develop system vision, architectures, and requirements from broad customer goals and mission objectives.
- Experience with RF sensing, signal exploitation, communications systems, or related mission applications.
- Strong understanding of networked and distributed system architectures.
- Experience leading requirements analysis, allocation, verification, and validation activities.
- Familiarity with embedded systems, software development, and hardware design processes.
- Working knowledge of systems engineering methodologies, requirements management, and technical baseline control.
- Experience conducting system trade studies and technical performance analyses.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including customer-facing technical presentations and briefings.
- Ability to work effectively across multidisciplinary engineering organizations.
- Active Secret clearance and ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret clearance along with SAP approvals.
- Willingness to travel up to 25%.
Nice To Haves
- Experience with distributed RF systems and networked sensing architectures.
- Background in RF direction finding, geolocation, spectrum monitoring, signal classification, or signal exploitation.
- Familiarity with software-defined radios and modern communication systems.
- Experience with Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) tools and practices.
- Experience with requirements management tools such as DOORS, Jama, or equivalent.
- Hands-on experience with embedded processing platforms, FPGA-based systems, digital hardware, and networking technologies.
- Experience supporting DoD programs through customer engagement, capture, proposal development, and technical leadership activities.
- Active Top Secret clearance; TS/SCI preferred.
Responsibilities
- Develop system architectures, technical strategies, and implementation roadmaps for advanced mission systems.
- Translate broad customer objectives into system concepts, requirements, and technical solutions.
- Lead requirements development, decomposition, allocation, and traceability across hardware, software, networking, and sensing subsystems.
- Perform system-level trade studies to evaluate architecture options, technical risks, and performance objectives.
- Define and evaluate communications, RF sensing, signal exploitation, and distributed system architectures.
- Collaborate with software, hardware, FPGA, embedded systems, and integration teams to ensure successful implementation of system requirements.
- Support technical planning, solution development, customer engagements, and proposal activities.
- Conduct technical reviews and present system architectures, concepts of operations (CONOPS), and design approaches to internal leadership and government customers.
- Support integration, verification, validation, and operational demonstrations.
- Provide technical leadership across multidisciplinary engineering teams.
Benefits
- Medical, financial, and other benefits focused on holistic health and wellness.
- Additional cash or stock incentives may be provided as part of the compensation package.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
