Communications systems engineer
Designs, builds, and tests free-space optical (laser) communication terminals for terrestrial, airborne, and space platforms — owning link budgets, end-to-end performance modeling, acquisition/tracking strategies, and lab and field validation. MATLAB/Python modeling is core; RF, SATCOM, fiber-optic, or wireless backgrounds are welcome.
- Compensation
- Not disclosed
- Location
- DAYTON, United States
- Work setup
- Not specified
- Seniority
- Not specified
- Employment
- Full time
- Experience
- 5+ years
- Category
- Software engineering
- Posted
Skills
Must have
- B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Optical Engineering, or a related technical field
- 5+ years designing, analyzing, or testing communication systems in any medium (RF/microwave, satellite, fiber-optic, wireless, or optical); 8+ years for Senior/Principal
- Demonstrated ownership of link budgets and system performance analysis: margin allocation, SNR/BER modeling, availability and outage estimation
- Working fluency in MATLAB and/or Python for modeling, simulation, and data reduction
- Hands-on laboratory experience bringing up and characterizing hardware (test equipment, instrumentation, measurement campaigns, debugging)
- Comfort operating across disciplines and with the ambiguity of early-stage development work
- Clear technical communication, in writing and in front of customers
Nice to have
- Free-space optical or laser communication systems; directed energy systems
- Laser sources, optical alignment, and fiber-coupled optical systems
- Optical design and simulation tools (Zemax, Code V, FRED) or RF/system modeling tools (STK, Ansys HFSS, GNU Radio, Simulink)
- Closed-loop pointing, acquisition, and tracking (any domain: antenna pointing, gimbal control, radar tracking, EO/IR stabilization)
- Communication protocols, waveform design, DSP, forward error correction, or coherent detection
- Standards such as CCSDS or optical inter-satellite link (OISL) protocols
- Turbulence and propagation modeling in any medium
- Space-qualified systems or flight hardware; environmental and qualification testing
- SWIR/MWIR optics, MEMS beam steering, or Risley prisms
- Secure communications and encryption
- Ability to obtain a security clearance (optional; U.S. citizen/eligible for clearance)
Full description
Communications Systems EngineerLocation: Dayton, Ohio
Type: Full-time
Clearance: Optional – e.g., U.S. Citizen/Eligible for Clearance
Communications Systems Engineer — Free-Space Optical (FSO) / Laser Communications
Levels considered: Experienced through Senior/Principal.
Position Overview
We are looking for a strong communications systems engineer to help design, build, and test next-generation free-space optical (FSO) communication terminals for terrestrial, airborne, and space-based platforms.
You do not need a background in laser communications to apply. Much of what makes an FSO link work is the same engineering practiced across the communications field: link budgets and margin allocation, modulation and coding, acquisition and synchronization, fade and outage statistics, closed-loop pointing and tracking, and end-to-end system validation against SWaP-C constraints. If you have done this work in RF, microwave, SATCOM, fiber-optic transport, wireless, radar, or EO/IR sensing, you have most of what we can build on to teach you the optical layer.
Prior experience in optical communications, free space optical comm, directed energy, and laser systems is a plus.
What You'll Do
- Contribute to (and, with experience, lead) the architecture and design of laser communication components and their subsystems — transceiver, modem, interfaces, data conditioning.
- Build and defend link budgets, model end-to-end communication performance, and trade the design against size, weight, power, and cost constraints.
- Analyze link impairments — atmospheric turbulence, scintillation, fading, pointing jitter, platform dynamics — and shape acquisition, tracking, and mitigation strategies around them.
- Drive component selection, integration, and system-level validation across lasers, modulators, detectors, beam expanders, and fiber-optic assemblies.
- Work alongside optical, mechanical, and software specialists to integrate optical communication systems into airborne and space-qualified platforms.
- Support alignment, calibration, and test campaigns — including pointing, acquisition, and tracking — in the lab and in the field.
- Participate in customer briefings, requirements definition, and roadmap planning.
- Author technical documentation, system specifications, and support proposal and IP development.
What We're Looking For
- B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Optical Engineering, or a related technical field.