Associate RF Hardware Engineer (Comms)

Thales Defense & Security, Inc.; Clarksburg (MD); On-site; USD 90,000 - 105,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive Salary

Yearly Incentive Bonus Program

401(k) up to 7% company contribution

Tuition Reimbursement

Paid wellness, vacation, and holidays

Parental leave

9/80 Work Schedule

Job summary

Thales Defense & Security, Inc. seeks an Associate RF Hardware Engineer in Clarksburg, MD to join the RF design team. You will design RF circuits, PCB layouts, and interfaces for Tactical Radio and SATCOM products, working under a manager in a collaborative setting.

The role emphasizes hands-on lab work, verification testing, and continuous improvement. Requires US citizenship, a BSEE or equivalent, and strong RF/analog knowledge with proficiency in major design tools.

Qualifications

• US Citizenship required and ability to obtain US Secret clearance.
• BSEE or equivalent in Electrical Engineering.
• Demonstrated focus in analog or RF circuit design.
• Hands-on lab experience with test equipment.
• Experience with RF design tools (Altium/ADS etc).
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Willingness to work in Clarksburg, MD.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop RF circuits, cards and products for multiple markets.
• Work in multidisciplinary teams to define requirements and document designs.
• Implement RF designs using power amplifiers, LNA, filters and mixers.
• Design and optimize antennas and external RF peripherals.
• Contribute to trade studies to select RF architectures and components.
• Develop test plans, verify performance vs predictions, and iterate designs.

Skills

RF design fundamentals

Communication skills

Problem solving

Team collaboration

Education

BSEE or equivalent

Tools

Altium Designer

Microwave Office

ADS

Genesys

LTspice

MATLAB

LabVIEW

MS Office

Job description

Associate RF Hardware Engineer (Comms)

Req Id: 481

Location: Clarksburg, MD 20871; GERMANTOWN, MD 20876

Date Posted: Sep 8, 2026

Thales Defense & Security, Inc. (TDSI) Headquartered in Clarksburg, MD, is a U.S. company that has been serving domestic and international defense Air, Land and Sea domains for 60+ years. With over 1,000 employees, TDSI and its four subsidiaries (Advanced Acoustic Concepts, Digital Receiver Technology, Tampa Microwave, and Trusted Cyber Technologies), supports U.S. Joint Services, special operations forces and multi-national partners with a variety of communication, visualization, signal intelligence/electronic warfare, and sensor/sonar capabilities. TDSI's key technologies include tactical handheld radios, expeditionary satellite terminals, helmet-mounted displays, optics and target recognition capability, advanced radars, undersea sensing and missile systems. Lives dependon what we do!

We are seeking a Associate RF HW Electrical Engineer to work in our Clarksburg, MD office. This position reports to the RF Design Manager.

Top Benefits

• Competitive Salary
• Yearly Incentive Bonus Program
• Generous 401(k) program - up to 7% company contribution and 100% immediate vesting
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Paid wellness, vacation, and holiday leave
• Paid maternity, paternity, and parental leave
• 9/80 Work Schedule (every other Friday off)

Responsibilities

• Work within multidisciplined engineering project teams as an RF design engineer to design and develop RF circuits, circuit card assemblies, and products for Tactical Radio, SATCOM, Software Defined Radio, Electronic Warfare, and Land Mobile Radio markets.
• Participate in small RF engineering teams and/or work under the supervision of a senior member of the RF design staff to define requirements, conceive, document (create schematics, PCB layouts, interface control documents, hardware design documents, test plans/reports, etc), analyze/simulate, build prototypes, perform verification testing, debug, and optimize circuit designs to meet requirements at the circuit, card, and product levels.
• Working with your mentor and colleagues, implement RF designs utilizing RF power amplifiers, low-noise amplifiers, bandpass & lowpass filters, and frequency mixers capable of supporting advanced waveforms used in small size weight and power (SWAP) products.
• Design/source, analyze/simulate, test and optimize antennas, external RF amplifiers, and ancillaries for use with products to achieve overall product performance requirements.
• Contribute to technical trade studies and analyses to select RF architecture and key components.
• Assist other RF team members to develop and implement detailed design specifications, test plans and test procedures.
• Verify product performance vs. predictions for prototype products and production hardware products.
• Participate in continuous improvement and team building activities. Maintain productive working relationships with all team members.
• Complete assigned tasks in a quality and timely manner.
• Effectively support and communicate to management status, issues, needs and ideas.

Qualifications

• US Citizenship Required - Applicant selected may be subject to a government security investigation and must meet requirements to obtain and maintain a US Secret Security Clearance.
• BSEE or equivalent experience in Electrical Engineering.
• Demonstrated focus in analog or RF circuit design through junior/seniorlevel coursework, laboratory work, and technical projects.
• In-depth theoretical knowledge of Analog and RF circuit design at an undergraduate level.
• Hands-on lab experience to breadboard, prototype and test designs utilizing engineering test equipment commonly found in undergraduate engineering labs.
• Experience is desired, utilizing engineering development software tools including Altium Designer, Microwave Office, ADS, Genesys, LTspice, Matlab, Lab View, and Microsoft Office tools.
• Strong communication skills both verbal and non-verbal.
• Ability to think "out-of-the-box", develop, and implement innovation design solutions.
• Ability to comply with all Company guidelines, policies, procedures and embrace Company Core Values.

The annualized pay range for this role is $90,000.00 - $105,000.00 USD along with a target incentive compensation plan (ICP) of 5%. The pay range provided is a good faith estimate representative of the experience level for the role described above. TDSI considers several factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to, the role, function and associated responsibilities, a candidate's work experience, location, education/training, and key skills.

For specific questions about this job posting, candidates may contacttalent acquisitionat [e-mail].

ThalesDefense & Security, Inc.is committed to non-discrimination as applicable under federal, state and local laws. We are an E-Verify Employer.

If you need an accommodation or assistance in order to apply for a position with Thales Defense & Security, Inc., please call Human Resources at 240-864-7000.

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Nearest Major Market: Washington DC