Lead Systems Engineer, RF Hardware Development - Turn Mission Goals into a Working V0 in 90 Days
Tampa, FL | On-site
Opportunity Summary
Join an early-stage defense technology company building RF sensing and electronic warfare systems for demanding operational environments. This is a hands-on technical lead role, not a traditional program manager seat. You will take a short list of top-level functional goals, break them into derived requirements as the build evolves, and keep a fast-moving hardware team aligned on requirements, design decisions, change control, and schedule. Each week the team closes out a board iteration; you run the design review, capture what changed, and drive the decision on what goes into the next spin.
You will be part of a newly formed team of four to five engineers chartered to deliver a V0 of a new distributed RF sensing product in roughly 90 days. The team starts from a short list of functional goals rather than a fixed requirements document, has a dedicated development budget, and decides for itself how to get there. Expect weekly development spins, with new PCB revisions ordered at the end of most weeks. Iterations are engineer-driven: if you see a way to make your design better, you make the call and the respin gets built.
About Us
We are a venture-backed defense technology startup founded by former Army officers with frontline electronic warfare and cyber experience. The company builds spectrum-control systems that detect, disrupt, mask, and manage wireless signals, and designs its receive, compute, and transmit boards, firmware, and software in-house down to the component level. Systems are already fielded with Army and special operations users, defense programs are advancing toward production, and a new commercial sensing product line is entering large-scale deployment. The team of roughly 15 is growing quickly ahead of its next funding round.
Job Duties
- Own the requirements baseline for a new distributed RF sensing product, starting from roughly ten top-level functional goals and decomposing them into derived system, hardware, firmware, and software requirements
- Keep requirements current as the design evolves rather than locking them up front, capturing changes, rationale, and downstream impacts
- Lead design reviews at the close of each board iteration and drive clear decisions on what changes in the next revision
- Manage configuration and engineering change across rapid hardware revisions so the team always knows what is in the current build, what moves to the next spin, and why
- Build and maintain the 90-day development schedule, track weekly milestones, and surface risks and dependencies early
- Make practical scope, cost, and schedule tradeoffs with the engineering leads to protect the V0 delivery
- Coordinate integration across RF hardware, FPGA and signal processing, geolocation algorithms, firmware, and dashboard software
- Plan and track verification, tying requirements to bench and field test results
- Track BOM changes and long-lead components across board spins with the supply chain team
- Join customer and site calls as the technical point of contact on integration and capability questions
- Cover customer-facing technical coordination during the first 90 days, before a dedicated project manager takes over the customer relationship at contract execution
- Document deferred scope and define the follow-on roadmap after V0
Qualifications
- 5+ years of experience developing complex electronic hardware, including time as a systems engineer or technical lead on at least one hardware program
- Degree in electrical engineering, systems engineering, RF engineering, or a related discipline, or equivalent experience
- Hands-on background designing, integrating, troubleshooting, or testing electronics before moving into technical leadership
- Experience decomposing high-level goals into requirements and managing them through rapid design iteration
- Experience running design reviews and engineering change or configuration control on multi-revision PCB programs
- Track record delivering hardware from concept or early prototype through customer testing on an accelerated schedule
- Working knowledge across RF, digital, firmware, and software sufficient to challenge assumptions and make informed tradeoffs
- Clear communicator who can represent the technical program in front of customers when needed
- U.S. citizenship required, with the ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance
- Comfortable turning broad goals into your own plan and delivering on weekly iteration cycles with minimal top-down direction
- Able to work on-site in Tampa, FL
Preferred Experience
- Experience with software-defined radios, electronic warfare, SIGINT, RF sensing, or wireless communications systems
- Familiarity with RFSoCs, high-speed data converters, RF front ends, or similar mixed-signal electronics
- Systems or technical leadership experience at a startup or small hardware team running rapid board spins
- Experience supporting pilot deployments with defense, public-sector, or secure-facility customers
- Exposure to FCC equipment authorization or export classification
- Military experience in electronic warfare, signals, cyber, or special operations environments
- INCOSE certification or equivalent systems engineering training
Why Join Us
- Own the technical direction of a new product line from first requirements through a fielded V0
- Lead a small, senior-minded team where your requirements and design-review calls shape the product directly
- Work alongside engineers designing custom RF, FPGA, firmware, and software rather than integrating off-the-shelf boxes
- Dedicated development budget, so the team is not forced to cut corners to hit the schedule
- Weekly build, test, and iterate cycles where engineers decide when a design needs another spin
- Optional travel to field exercises, new equipment training, and customer demonstrations for those who want it; no one is required to travel
- Health, dental, and vision coverage with employer-subsidized premiums
- 401(k) with company match, available from day one
- Unlimited PTO with no accrual period
- Streamlined hiring process: one recruiter conversation and one virtual technical interview with the team you would join
- Join at an early stage with significant ownership and long-term growth as the company scales
Compensation Details
$120,000 - $150,000