Radio Frequency Subject Matter Expert (RF SME)

Dulles, VA 

Phantom Engineering, Inc. is a technical services consulting firm supporting customers in the federal government sector. Our company employs a team of mission-driven professionals who have a wealth of experience in engineering, operations, and domain-specific technical consulting. Our employees are driven by a passion for the customer’s mission. The Phantom team works together to tackle our customer’s greatest challenges with a proven track record of making the most daring endeavors successful. Our goal is to build a company of like-minded individuals who share the same qualities of strong technical expertise and drive to meet the customer’s most critical and complex challenges. We offer competitive salaries, top-notch benefits, and a generous 401K package. 

Phantom Engineering is seeking a Radio Frequency Subject Matter Expert (RF SME) to support our NoVA-based Federal Government customer’s dynamic program focused on SATCOM. The position requires a working knowledge of RF systems, performance, and theory. In this role, the RF SME will define RF system requirements, support concept development for new capabilities, and create models to analyze RF channel performance. 

This position requires the individual to perform validation and verification, system and operational performance analysis, and system architecture design. The RF SME will be expected to perform duties that pertain to RF front end development (antennas, amplifiers, signal distribution, etc.) and in-signals processing. The candidate will perform estimations of antenna sizing and RF system performance for choosing installation locations. The RF SME will be responsible for briefing the team and customers on their work and supporting system implementation to execute the mission.

Experience in the practical application of RF / SATCOM systems, such as installation and operation in production, is a plus. Experience in signal generation and signals processing (using SDRs, GOTS systems, COTS modems) is also a plus. 

The customer has flexible needs that can be met with more junior engineers (5+ yrs experience) and senior engineers (20+ years experience). 

Required Qualifications:

• TS/SCI +  Full Scope Polygraph
• Bachelors degree in electrical engineering or another engineering or technical field
• Minimum of 5 years experience
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Understanding of the system engineering lifecycle and ability to apply it to projects
• Ability to work well with people from many different disciplines with varying degrees of technical experience 
• Ability to multi-task and work in a dynamic, fast-paced environment
• Experience with Microsoft Office

Required skills:

• Analyze RF system concepts to develop requirements and lead design, development, and integration activities;
• Track, monitor, analyze, and provide recommendations for system enhancements;
• Develop and analyze technical documentation such as requirements, concept of operations, high-level system architectures, and system specifications;
• Ability to ensure designs are compatible with the architecture and allocated requirements to segments;
• Identify needed technologies and future implementations that meet user needs;
• Identify technical risks and mitigation strategies;
• Support development and verification of RF systems;
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to create and deliver technical presentations;
• Recognize and adopt best practices in documentation, testing, security, operational support at scale, and efficient use of resources;
• Work with developers/engineers across disciplines to implement customer and system requirements;
• Perform system validation and verification, system integration, and system performance analysis;
• Plan and execute modeling and simulation systems development.