Systems Research and Development Engineer

Reference #: REQ0000058139
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JOB DESCRIPTION AND POSITION REQUIREMENTS:
We are seeking a motivated, experienced, and driven Systems Research and Development Engineer to join the Communications and Signal Processing (CSP) Division in the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) at Penn State. This position will be working with senior technical staff to research, design, develop, integrate, and test advanced communications systems. You will need an advanced understanding of the electrical engineering principles associated with communications. We desire a person interested in collaborating and learning with a team of brilliant fellow researchers to develop the next generation communications and signal processing software and hardware solutions. ARL fosters and develops some of the greatest minds that the Department of Defense (DoD) has to offer.

ARL is an authorized DoD SkillBridge partner and welcomes all transitioning military members to apply.

You will:
Organize and direct a multi-disciplinary, strong, and diverse engineering team
Balance team members, activities and priorities with the process to achieve a final product
Provide technical leadership within the CSP Division projects
Plan and direct research projects related to communications
Guide programs of national or international significance; identify future problems, research trends, and opportunities
Interact and collaborate regularly with the engineering team, principal investigator, sponsors, and other stakeholders

This position can be filled at multiple levels depending on your education and work experience. Minimally requires a Bachelors degree in an engineering or science discipline plus five years related experience. Additional education and/or experience required for higher level positions. A Masters degree in Electrical Engineering is preferred.

The position will be located in State College, PA, Reston, VA or Annapolis Junction MD. This position requires in-office work, but may allow for hybrid work when contract permits.

Required skills/experience areas to include:
Experience with collection and processing architectures for RF signals in general, with emphasis on the impact of propagation effects in the HF and below bands as well as UHF through Ku bands.
Direct experience with AoA and TDOA/FDOA geolocation techniques.
Experience with Communications protocols – OSI stack, UDP/TCP/IP
Familiarity with wireless specifications such as cellular(4G/5G)/WiFi (802.11)
Capable of creating testable system level performance requirements from sponsor defined use cases or user stories.
Capable of taking high level system requirements and performing a first order decomposition into hardware and software functions.
Capable of generating test plans/procedures to validate system level performance.
Willing to perform occasional travel to CONUS and possibly OCONUS locations.

Preferred skills/experience areas to include:
TS/SCI Clearance
Communication, Analytical and Organizational skills
Detail-oriented thinking with the ability to see the “big picture”
Troubleshooting experience
Conflict resolution experience
FFRDC or UARC experience

The mission of ARLs CSP Division within the Communications, Information, and Navigation Office (CINO) is to provide innovative solutions to challenging national problems in sea, land, air, space, and cyber doma ns through basic and applied research, rapid prototyping, as well as demonstration and fielding of technologies. CINO focuses on developing the most advanced technologies and to provide expert knowledge for our Navy, Army, and other U.S. government sponsors in the following concentrations: Communications and Imaging, Cyber Innovation, Navigation Research and Development, Autonomous and Intelligent Systems, Information Science and Technology, Visualization and Decision Support, Institute for Non-Lethal Defense Technologies.

Candidate selected will be subject to a government security investigation. You must be a U.S. citizen to apply. Employment with the Applied Research Laboratory will require successful completion of a pre-employment drug screen.

ARL is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion; we believe this is central to our success as a Department of Defense designated University Affiliated Research Center (UARC). We are at our best when we draw on the talents of all parts of society, and our greatest accomplishments are achieved when diverse perspectives are part of our workforce.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION on ARL, visit our web site at www.arl.psu.edu.
The proposed salary range may be impacted by geographic differential.

The salary range for this position, including all possible grades is:
$109,300.00 – $191,000.00

Salary Structure – additional information on Penn States job and salary structure.

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Pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act and the Pennsylvania Act of 1988, Penn State publishes a combined Annual Security and Annual Fire Safety Report (ASR). The ASR includes crime statistics and institutional policies concerning campus security, such as those concerning alcohol and drug use, crime prevention, the reporting of crimes, sexual assault, and other matters. The ASR is available for review here.

Employment with the University will require successful completion of background check(s) in accordance with University policies.

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