Senior Software Defined Radio (SDR) Engineer

Leidos•Arlington, VA

5d•$107,900 - $195,050•Onsite

About The Position

Today, Electronic Warfare (EW) is a growing enterprise — protecting the warfighter and our national security against ever-adapting threats. Our division currently has an exciting opportunity for a Software Defined Radio (SDR) Engineer to perform design, development, and hardware/software integration in Arlington, VA for the Electronic Warfare Division. Our division primarily focuses on research & development and advanced prototyping, transforming state-of-the-art signal processing algorithms into real-time software systems deployed on advanced RF platforms. The successful candidate will be an individual contributor responsible for designing, developing, and integrating high-performance SDR solutions using Ettus Research USRP platforms. This role requires expertise in real-time RF signal processing, low-latency streaming architectures, and software development close to the hardware layer. The ideal candidate is comfortable building production-grade SDR systems from the ground up and optimizing them for demanding operational environments.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical discipline
8+ years of experience including strong hands-on experience with Ettus Research USRP platforms (X310/X410, N320/N321, X440, B-Series platforms)
Strong proficiency in Modern C++, Python, and Linux systems programming, including Linux performance optimization
Experience with multithreaded and concurrent software architectures
Experience deploying systems with Red Hat Linux
Experience developing with UHD API, real-time streaming systems, high-rate packet processing, socket programming, low-latency software architectures, and Ettus RF Network On Chip (RFNoC) architecture
Strong understanding of RF fundamentals, wireless communications systems, IQ signal processing, digital modulation techniques, wideband RF architectures, and spectrum analysis
Experience implementing OFDM, QPSK/QAM, channel estimation, synchronization algorithms, FFT/channelization pipelines, adaptive filtering, signal detection and classification, and time/frequency synchronization
Position requires an active Secret security clearance or the ability to obtain and maintain one

Nice To Haves

Experience with Electronic Warfare (EW), SIGINT/ELINT systems, tactical communications, spectrum operations, radar or RF sensing systems
Familiarity with Xilinx FPGA architectures, Vivado, Verilog/VHDL, and hardware acceleration pipelines
Experience with 10/40/100 GigE transport, GPSDO/PPS synchronization, distributed SDR architectures, and real-time operating systems
Familiarity with MIMO systems, beamforming, and SATCOM architectures
Active Top Secret clearance preferred
Strong systems engineering mindset
Ability to troubleshoot complex RF/software interactions
Comfortable working directly with hardware in lab and field environments
Capable of building production-grade SDR software from the ground up
Strong debugging, optimization, and performance tuning skills
Self-starter capable of operating in fast-paced R&D environments

Responsibilities

Design, develop, and deploy advanced SDR systems using Ettus Research USRP hardware
Develop high-performance SDR applications using C++ and UHD (USRP Hardware Driver)
Implement and optimize real-time DSP pipelines, custom waveform generation, modulation/demodulation chains, RF streaming architectures, and high-throughput signal processing systems
Interface directly with FPGA-based SDR architectures, high-speed Ethernet transport layers, and RF front ends and synchronization systems
Develop software for low-latency and real-time RF applications
Perform RF system integration, testing, calibration, and troubleshooting
Analyze and optimize spectral performance, timing synchronization, throughput bottlenecks, and RF impairments
Integrate SDR platforms into larger communications, sensing, or EW architectures
Produce technical documentation, interface definitions, and software architecture artifacts
Support lab and field testing activities, travel up to 15%