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POSITION SPECIFICS
Your working location will be fully on-site in State College, PA, but options exist for limited hybrid of on-site/work from home, based on project-dependent ability. This role requires frequent travel to sponsor locations in the Beltway area and to contractor and second party locations within and outside the continental United States. Trip lengths may be up to 2 weeks in duration.
We are searching for analytical RF engineers to join the Strategic Systems Operation Division within the Information Advantage Office at the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) at Penn State. This role will collaborate with technical staff to research, design, develop, integrate, and test advanced wireless RF communications systems.
ARL is an authorized DoD SkillBridge partner and welcomes all transitioning military members to apply.
You will:
Apply your expertise in RF to contribute to programs of national or international impact by identifying emerging challenges, research trends, and future opportunities
Ensure technical excellence and on-time completion of all project tasks
Develop and deliver clear updates on program status to Fleet-level personnel at both individual and community meetings
Interact and collaborate regularly with the engineering team, principal investigator, sponsors, and other stakeholders
Embrace ARL’s mission to discover, demonstrate, transition, and educate while contributing as a key member of a multi-disciplinary engineering team
Required Skills/Experience areas include:
Experience in the use and analysis of passive and active RF systems
Experience with troubleshooting, measuring, and designing RF systems
Knowledge in the areas of RF circuit implementation, design, test, and analysis
Experience with electromagnetic and acoustic fundamentals in the areas of Acoustic, VLF, UHF, and microwave frequencies
Agility with link budget theory and RF fundamentals
Facility with conversions from analog to digital domains, or equivalent
Awareness of Nyquist sampling zones and up-down block conversions
Working experience with software radio architectures and RF sensitivity analytics
RF simulation experience in analog and digital domains using tools such as CST, XFdtd, ADS, Genesis, Spice, etc.
Familiarity with breadboard layout and evaluation required in PCB design supporting RF prototype design applications
Knowledge of phased arrays and fundamental electromagnetic theory
Understanding of antenna theory and measurements required for meeting RF systematic requirements
Systematic troubleshooting of operating systems and input-output debugging
Experience in field testing and major exercises supporting prototype transitional efforts
Prior success collaborating with peers from other engineering disciplines to integrate systematic designs and modify RF circuitry to interface with software infrastructure
Preferred Skills/Experience areas include:
Success in environments where various forms of communication and organizational skills were crucial to be effective
Demonstrated capacity to balance detail-oriented thinking while maintaining the ability to see the “big picture”
Current eligibility for access to classified information at the Secret level or…