RF Electronics Engineer

Mass Limited; Salisbury; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A technology solutions provider in the UK seeks an experienced engineer to support RF Receiver hardware development. The role involves liaising with various stakeholders and designing algorithms for RFSoC boards. Candidates should have an understanding of RF systems and previous experience with laboratory equipment. A STEM degree or relevant experience is required, with opportunities for further specialization in RF Sensing and Electronics.

Benefits

Wellbeing programmes

Employee assistance programme

Qualifications

• Understanding of RF sensor systems and Test & Evaluation practices.
• Experience with standard RF laboratory equipment.
• Experience managing both analogue and digital interfaces.

Responsibilities

• Support test and development of RF Receiver hardware.
• Liaise with military, academia, and industry stakeholders.
• Design algorithms for RFSoC boards.

Skills

Understanding of RF sensor systems

Previous experience with RF laboratory equipment

Experience creating scripts/programmes (MATLAB, Python, C++)

STEM Degree or RF Electronics experience

Education

STEM Degree

Tools

Vector Signal Analysers

Signal Generators

Oscilloscopes

Simulink

HDL Coder

Embedded Coder

Job description

Come and join our expanding Electronic Warfare Operations Support Group (EWOS) which is made up of 60+ electronic warfare specialists. From all manner of backgrounds, our engineers, scientists, and ex‑military personnel combine their experience to help our customers achieve the true operational potential and help keep their people and platforms safe. We are continuing to grow our team at Porton Down, Salisbury, working on key state‑of‑the‑art research, development, and delivery projects, led by our technical customer, Dstl. The primary role is to support test and development of RF Receiver hardware in various environments including laboratory, ground‑based field trials, airborne trials and synthetic environment testing. This will require using a range of different RF equipment to cover direct inject testing, free‑space testing and chamber testing, including field trials of RF receiver equipment in the UK and abroad. The role will require technical autonomy, liaising with military stakeholders, academia, industry and international partners, to assess the performance of receiver hardware, developing improvements, and providing advice. A secondary focus will be on implementation and testing of real‑time algorithms deployed to Radio Frequency System on Chip (RFSoC) boards, within a larger laboratory setup. Additionally, the role will enable you to design said algorithms, working with various technical stakeholders to derive and capture requirements, ensuring constraints and limitations are understood prior to deployment. Given the scale of the main project this role will work on, there are opportunities to work on all stages of the engineering lifecycle, including trials support both in the UK and internationally. You will have the prospect to develop into a Subject Matter Expert (SME) on RF Sensing and Electronics and their use in modern EW applications. Algorithm deployment will also involve an assessment of where on the RFSoC board certain computations should be performed (Application Processing Units, FPGA, or off‑board distributed computing), with the role allowing for specialism and knowledge to be gained in these areas. Working autonomously with unprecedented access to the customer, you will be crucial to ensure the success of these key projects, all whilst being supported by our on‑site and home‑site MASS teams.

Qualifications

• Understanding of RF sensor systems and Test & Evaluation (T&E) practices.
• Previous experience of working with standard RF laboratory equipment (Vector Signal Analysers, Signal Generators & Oscilloscopes). This includes understanding how to set‑up and test RF systems to assess their performance.
• Experience creating scripts/programmes (MATLAB, Python, C++).
• STEM Degree or extensive experience with RF Electronics.

Desirable Qualifications

• Design & Development of EW models (including understanding mission objectives and functions expected to be performed).
• Strong background in EW systems and concepts, including radar systems.
• Previous experience working in synthetic testing environments.
• Experience Integration/calibration of hardware and software models into a laboratory environment.
• Experience with either C++, embedded C++, or VHDL programming.
• Experience managing both analogue and digital interfaces between electronic components (RF/Data).
• Experience working on agile projects.
• Experience with Simulink, HDL Coder, and Embedded Coder toolboxes.
• Understanding the development of user and systems requirements.
• Understanding of Analogue & Digital Signal Processing techniques.

Wellbeing is at the core to our culture, allowing employees to flourish and to achieve their full potential. Our people are important to us, and we take pride in our wellbeing programmes and policies that support individuals including, mental health first aiders and readily available support through our extensive employee assistance programme.

Security & Eligibility

Due to the highly secure nature of the projects that you will be involved with, you must be:

• A UK National and eligible to work in the UK
• Eligible to obtain and maintain a UK Government SC-level security clearance