RF Hardware Engineer - Radar

ABOUT PROTORA

Protora (formerly C Speed) builds radar and surveillance systems that give military and government customers eyes on their airspace, borders, and critical sites. Our name draws from the Praetorian Guard, elite soldiers whose job was to watch and protect. That history shapes our mission today: we take first watch, so the people we protect don't have to. We are a growing company with a new brand and a clear direction. This role is an important part of designing, developing, and testing the radar technology behind our mission.

THE ROLE

Protora is seeking a mid-level RF Hardware Engineer to design, build and test the RF hardware at the heart of our radar systems, including receivers, exciters and transmitters. In this role, you will own discrete technical work packages end to end—from block diagram and component selection through simulation, bring-up, integration and field test—with guidance from senior staff on program-level architecture. You will work alongside antenna, signal processing, software, and systems engineering teams to turn performance requirements into demonstrated capability.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Design, build and test radar receiver, exciter and transmitter subsystems, from block diagram and component selection through schematic capture, board and subsystem bring-up and verification.
• Perform RF cascade analysis (gain, noise figure, linearity, dynamic range and phase noise) and allocate system-level requirements to hardware specifications.
• Simulate RF circuits and assemblies using RF toolsets and validate models against measured performance.
• Work with antenna, signal processing and systems engineers on interfaces, calibration approaches and system-level performance trades.
• Lead hardware bring-up, debug and troubleshooting; plan and execute laboratory, chamber, and field test and analyze measured data against predicted performance.
• Support environmental and EMI/EMC qualification (e.g., MIL-STD-810, MIL-STD-461) and transition designs to production, including acceptance test procedures.
• Author technical documentation, including hardware specifications, design documentation, trade studies, test plans and procedures, and test reports.
• Present analysis and test results at internal design reviews and customer technical exchanges.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements

WHAT YOU BRING

• B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related technical field.
• 4–7 years of professional experience designing, building and testing RF/microwave hardware, preferably for radar or other sensor systems.
• Solid grasp of RF and microwave fundamentals, including S-parameters, impedance matching, noise figure, linearity (P1dB, IP3), and phase noise, along with working knowledge of radar theory such as radar range equation. 
• Demonstrated ability to apply RF and radar theory to hardware design, integration, and troubleshooting. 
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively in a lean, cross-functional engineering environment with a positive, solutions-oriented approach.
• Disciplined engineering mindset with an understanding of engineering processes, including requirements, design, documentation, integration, test, and validation.
• Proficiency in MATLAB or Python for analysis, test automation, and data reduction.
• Experience with RF design and simulation tools and schematic capture and layout tools (OrCAD).
• Hands-on experience with hardware bring-up, integration, and test, including spectrum analyzers, signal generators, vector network analyzers, oscilloscopes, power meters, and noise figure and phase noise measurement equipment.
• Demonstrated ability to document and present technical work to engineering and customer audiences.
• U.S. person status and the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. DoD Secret clearance.
• Ability to work across office, laboratory, anechoic chamber, and outdoor test range environments, including occasional testing outside standard business hours to meet range scheduling constraints.
• Ability to lift and move test equipment and hardware and work outdoors in varying weather conditions during field testing.

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE

• M.S. or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, RF/Microwave Engineering, electromagnetics, or related discipline.
• Active DoD Secret or Top-Secret clearance.
• Experience with active electronically scanned arrays (AESA), T/R modules, or phased array calibration.
• Experience designing amplifiers, low-noise receivers, frequency synthesizers or LO distribution networks.
• Experience with air surveillance, counter-UAS, or weapon-locating radar.
• Embedded or FPGA/DSP implementation experience (VHDL, Verilog, or C/C++ on real-time targets).
• Prior work under MIL-STD-461/464, MIL-STD-810, or comparable qualification standards.
• Experience with RF PCB layout and taking RF hardware from prototype into production including design for manufacturability.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

• Compensation Range: $120,000 - $130,000 commensurate with experience. 
• Benefits: Health, Dental & Vision Insurance | Paid Time Off (PTO) | Retirement Plan Package.

WHY JOIN PROTORA

• Direct impact. Your engineering work directly contributes to radar systems designed to support critical missions.
• Hands-on engineering. You will design hardware, bring it up on the bench, see it perform in the lab and out in the field.
• Work that supports people who protect others. The systems you build help the people on watch see threats coming.

READY TO JOIN THE MISSION?

Protora is always looking for talented professionals who want to do meaningful work with a team that treats every challenge like a mission. 

For more information about Protora, please visit our website: http://protoratech.com 

Protora provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.