Communications Systems Engineer
SETA communications systems engineer supporting an Intelligence Community R&D customer: performing technical reviews, risk assessments, and design evaluations of optical and quantum communication systems (terminals, free-space links, photonics), plus roadmaps, documentation, and acquisition support for national security systems.
- Compensation
- $165K–$195K / yr
- Location
- Chantilly, VA
- Work setup
- Not specified
- Seniority
- Not specified
- Employment
- Not specified
- Experience
- 4+ years
- Category
- Software engineering
- Posted
Skills
Must have
- TS/SCI clearance with polygraph
- BS in a STEM engineering discipline
- 12+ years' relevant experience, including 4+ years in optical or quantum communication systems
- Experience with USG program management and acquisition lifecycle processes and documentation
- Strong interpersonal, verbal, and technical writing communication skills
- Ability to work collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office tools
Nice to have
- MS in a STEM engineering discipline
- 1+ year supporting USG R&D acquisition processes and documentation
- Experience with space-based optical terminals, quantum optical payloads, photonic systems, or quantum-enhanced communication architectures
Full description
FTS International, LLC (FTS) is committed to providing the Federal Government with quality consultants and support. To ensure mission success we focus on putting our customers first while minimizing corporate bureaucracy on our staff. We provide Subject Matter Experts (SME) free of Organizational Conflicts of Interest (OCI) focused on independent analysis and mission support services within the disciplines of Engineering, Counter Terrorism Operations, Management, Information Technology, Signals Analysis, Administration, Cyber Security and Linguistics.
FTS has an opportunity for a Communications Systems Engineer in Chantilly, VA.
The Communications Systems Engineer will support specialized analysis, engineering, design, and operations for Intelligence Community (IC) and Department of War (DoW) customers.
Responsibilities
- Support development of next-generation and far-future national security systems across land, sea, air, and space domains
- Provide systems engineering and technical advisory (SETA) support to an IC Research & Development (R&D) customer developing advanced hardware, software, and architectural solutions for mission-critical optical and quantum communication systems
- Perform technical reviews, assessments, and risk evaluations of optical and quantum communication system development efforts at the component, subsystem, system, and architecture levels
- Evaluate designs and technologies including optical terminals, free-space optical links, photonic components, entanglement-based communication architectures, and quantum-enhanced optical subsystems
- Assess emerging technologies and identify gaps related to high-bandwidth space links, advanced modulation formats, pointing/tracking systems, link budgets, networking performance, and secure quantum-enabled transport architectures
- Support development of technology roadmaps, requirements, specifications, verification approaches, and transition strategies for optical and quantum system modernization
- Conduct technical outreach with mission users to capture needs and evaluate applicability of emerging optical and quantum capabilities
- Prepare system engineering documentation, technical analyses, and program-level briefings to communicate findings and strategic recommendations
- Provide support to programmatic and acquisition activities, including source selections, lifecycle documentation, and system integration planning
Required Skills/Qualifications
- TS/SCI with polygraph
- BS STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math) in engineering discipline
- 12+ years' relevant experience with at least 4 years in optical or quantum communication systems