RF Engineer

Shift5 is seeking a RF Engineer to join our growing Research team. In this role, your primary responsibilities will be designing, prototyping, building, and testing RF collection and transmission systems that will be fielded in both lab and operational environments. You will study and interact with communication/radar systems on critical operational technology (OT) such as airplanes, drones, ships, trains, and ground vehicles. Lastly, you will provide technical expertise on RF and wireless technologies as it pertains to various company priorities. An ideal candidate is capable of implementing simple RF front-end systems while also writing software for software-defined radios (SDRs) and signal processing algorithms. You will play a crucial role in helping Shift5 defend critical national infrastructure, weapons platforms, and logistics.

Shift5 is a rapidly growing cybersecurity start-up. We specialize in cybersecurity technology for operational systems, data collection, and insights for a wide variety of operational systems. To put it simply, we defend planes, trains and tanks from cyberattack. We are a collaborative, passionate and driven cadre of cyber security experts. Our engineers are multidisciplinary and our team is dynamic. We’re a growing company focused on helping our customer’s fleets run smarter and safer by capitalizing on mountains of data resting right about the wheels. Come join us.

Our Values :

Embrace Truth and Integrity: Base decisions on data, foster open dialogue, and uphold unwavering integrity.

User-Centric Focus: Prioritize user needs to guide our actions and resource allocation.

Collaborative & Adaptable: Collaborate for excellence, learning from failures and driving iterative improvements, recognizing every decision's significance.

You will be expected to:

Travel to customer sites on average 15-20% of the time.

Work in a hybrid model, local to Shift5 HQ in Rosslyn, VA.

Evaluate wireless technologies on existing OT platforms from a hardware/RF perspective.

Break down project functional requirements into technical design requirements.

Work with software engineers, hardware engineers, reverse engineers, and vulnerability researchers to collaboratively build comprehensive products and solutions that achieve customer requirements.

Design active and passive wireless systems consisting of one or more SDRs (software-defined radios).

Write software that can implement wireless systems utilizing SDRs as well as to process, decode, and analyze signals.

Design wireless modems, calculate link budgets, perform BER/PER testing.

Antenna design, selection, and testing.

RF component selection - LNAs, filters, transceiver ICs, power amplifiers, cabling, attenuators, etc.

Have a background in DSP concepts.

Use test equipment such as signal generators, spectrum analyzers, oscilloscopes, VNAs.

Effectively communicate technical findings and concepts to internal stakeholders and customers, both verbally and in writing.

Required :

Active US Government TS clearance (and willingness to maintain)

BS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or similar field

2+ years of professional experience in designing, building, and testing wireless communication systems

2+ years of professional experience in antenna selection/testing

2+ years of professional experience in RF component selection/testing

Strong understanding of wireless signal propagation

Strong understanding of signal modulation/demodulation concepts

Understanding of the physical (PHY) layer of modern wireless protocols (LoRa, WiFi, LTE, other OFDM-based technologies)

Understanding of spread-spectrum technologies (DSSS, FHSS, CSS, etc.)

General (non-RF) hardware design, selection, and testing

Writing C++ and Python code in a Linux development environment

Experience working with embedded Linux systems

Experience interacting with SDRs from both a hardware and software perspective

Using Ettus USRP SDRs, such as the B200/B210 and X300/X310 series

Using GNU Radio or other software DSP frameworks

Preferred :

Experience working with Epiq SDRs

Implementing DSP algorithms on an FPGA

Red teaming/reverse engineering proprietary wireless protocols

Aerospace or aviation specific experience

Compensation & Benefits :

Competitive salary and stock options in a fast-growing startup

Employer-paid medical, dental and vision coverage

Health Savings Account with annual employer contributions

401k with employer contributions

Life Insurance

Uncapped paid time off policy

Flexible work & remote work policy

Tax-deferred public transit benefits with Metro SmartBenefits (DC/MD/VA)

We are committed to building an inclusive culture of belonging that embraces the diversity of our people and represents the communities in which we work and the customers we serve. We know the happiest and highest performing teams include people with diverse perspectives and ways of solving problems. We strive to attract and retain talent from all backgrounds and create workplaces where everyone feels empowered to bring their full, authentic selves to work.

Shift5 is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identify, national origin, disability, age, marital status, ancestry, projected veteran status, or any other protected group or class.

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