Associate RF Hardware Engineer (Comms)

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

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive Salary

Yearly Incentive Bonus Program

Generous 401(k) up to 7%

Tuition Reimbursement

Paid wellness, vacation, and holidays

Parental leave

9/80 Work Schedule

Job summary

Thales Defense & Security, Inc. in Maryland seeks an Associate RF Hardware Engineer to design and develop RF circuits and assemblies for Tactical Radio, SATCOM, and EW platforms.

You will work in a multidisciplinary team under the RF Design Manager, translating requirements into hardware solutions. Responsibilities include schematic/PCB work, test planning, and prototype verification, with opportunities to contribute to trade studies and ongoing product improvements.

Qualifications

• US citizenship required; may be subject to government clearance.
• BSEE or equivalent in Electrical Engineering.
• Focus in analog or RF circuit design from coursework and projects.
• Hands-on lab experience with engineering test equipment.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop RF circuits, circuit card assemblies, and products for RF/COMM markets.
• Create schematics, PCB layouts, interface control documents, and test plans.
• Implement RF designs with power amplifiers, low-noise amplifiers, and filters.
• Design/verify antennas and external RF components to meet performance targets.
• Support continuous improvement and collaborate with RF teams.

Skills

US Citizenship

RF circuit design

Analog circuits

Lab testing

Communication skills

Innovative design

Education

BSEE or equivalent

Tools

Altium Designer

Microwave Office

ADS

Genesys

LTspice

Matlab

LabVIEW

Microsoft 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