Wireless Architect

Specter•San Francisco, CA

26d

About The Position

Specter is building a software-defined control plane for the physical world. Our mission is to protect and empower American businesses by granting them ubiquitous perception over their physical assets. We’re creating a connected hardware–software ecosystem built on multi-modal wireless mesh sensing technology, driving down the cost and time of deploying sensors by 10×. Ultimately, Specter’s platform will serve as the perception engine for a company’s physical footprint -enabling real-time perimeter visibility, autonomous operations management, and “digital twinning” of physical processes. Our founders, Xerxes Libsch and Philip Clark, are building a team of exceptional engineers from Anduril, Tesla, Uber, and the U.S. Special Forces who are redefining how machines sense and understand the physical world. The Role Specter is hiring a Wireless Architect to lead the definition, simulation, and validation of our end-to-end wireless architecture. This role spans RF systems, DSP, channel modeling, SDR design, and multi-node mesh networking. You will define the wireless fabric connecting thousands of edge devices, ensuring resilient, long-range, high-bandwidth communications under strict power, cost, and environmental constraints. You’ll build the system-level models that drive hardware and software decisions, guide DSP and RF engineers in implementing advanced PHY/MAC behaviors, and develop the architectures that feed into our production SDR platform. This role is deeply cross-functional - requiring collaboration across hardware, firmware, software, and machine learning teams to deliver a cohesive wireless system from simulation to real-world deployment.

Requirements

Led RF or wireless systems architecture from concept through production, including DSP, PHY/MAC, and embedded software integration.
Deep experience with SDR architectures, PHY-layer design, and multi-node wireless networking systems (<3 GHz preferred).
Strong foundation in digital signal processing, link-level simulation, channel modeling, and algorithm optimization for real-time embedded targets.
Expertise in 802.11 PHY/MAC, 802.11ah (HaLow), LTE/5G NR fundamentals, or other long-range, bandwidth-efficient wireless standards.
Skilled with RF and DSP simulation tools (MATLAB, Simulink, ADS, HFSS) and bench-level instrumentation (VNA, spectrum analyzer, OTA).
Experience taking wireless systems through FCC/CE certification, DVT, and production tuning.
Hands-on, experimental mindset - able to move fluidly between system modeling, firmware debugging, RF measurement, and field validation.

Nice To Haves

Bonus: experience in electronic warfare, low-probability-detect waveforms, or ML-enhanced DSP.

Responsibilities

Lead end-to-end RF system architecture definition, including link budgets, channel modeling, interference studies, and performance modeling across Wi-Fi HaLow, 802.11, LTE, 5G NR, and custom low-SNR waveforms.
Perform system-level simulations and KPIs definition to guide hardware, firmware, and network-layer design.
Architect and validate Specter’s modular SDR platform, including transceiver selection, RF front-end architecture, antenna strategy, and PHY/MAC integration.
Guide DSP engineers on algorithm development, trade studies, and implementation of signal processing and ML pipelines targeting FPGAs, GPUs, and embedded platforms.
Drive cross-team integration of DSP, PHY, and networking layers into OpenWRT-based software stacks and real-time mesh networking protocols.
Conduct modeling and analysis to optimize network topology, modulation schemes, beam patterns, and power-performance trade-offs.
Collaborate with hardware teams on analog front-end design (LNAs, PAs, filters, matching networks) and tightly integrate RF/analog blocks with digital baseband.
Build RF simulation and test infrastructure including MATLAB/Simulink, ADS, HFSS, and automated lab measurement workflows.
Drive system-level validation, OTA performance characterization, and field testing across large-scale, multi-site deployments.
Influence silicon and infrastructure vendors to adopt features aligned with Specter’s long-range, low-power, high-density mesh requirements.
Support certification, DVT, and production RF tuning workflows to ensure reliable, scalable wireless performance across thousands of deployed devices.