Lead Radar Engineer

NCSL International; Huntsville (AL); Hybrid; USD 154,000 - 278,000; Full time

Job summary

Leidos in Huntsville, AL seeks a Lead Radar Engineer to serve as senior technical authority for RTR radar instrumentation, driving sustainment, modernization, integration, and mission readiness. You will work with operations, maintenance, systems engineering, and cybersecurity teams to ensure data quality and available performance across the program.

The role requires deep radar engineering expertise, hands-on problem solving, and collaboration with government stakeholders. U.S.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics, Systems Engineering, or related STEM with 12+ years of experience.
• Experience with complex radar/RF sensor systems including radar design, RF, antennas, signal processing, calibration, or imaging.
• Strong root-cause analysis, engineering data interpretation, and communication with stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical leadership for RTR radar operations, sustainment, integration, and test.
• Analyze radar performance data to identify degradation and opportunities to improve capability and reliability.
• Drive root-cause analysis and corrective actions for hardware, software, RF, and system-interface issues.

Skills

Radar engineering

System analysis

Root-cause analysis

RF systems

Team leadership

Education

Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering

Master's degree

Tools

MBSE tools

Configuration management

Job description

Leidos is a FORTUNE 500 company bringing a mix of innovative technology and sector expertise to customers in the national security, engineering, and health industries. At Leidos, we deliver innovative solutions through the efforts of our diverse and talented people who are dedicated to our customers’ success. We empower our teams, contribute to our communities, and operate sustainably. Everything we do is built on a commitment to do the right thing for our customers, our people, and our community. Our Mission, Vision, and Values guide the way we do business.

If you're looking for comfort, keep scrolling. At Leidos, we outthink, outbuild, and outpace the status quo - because the mission demands it.

The Defense Sector is seeking a highly qualified Lead Radar Engineer to support the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (USASMDC) Reagan Test Range (RTR) Operations, Sustainment, Improvement, and Engineering (ROSIE) program.

RTR is a Department of Defense Major Range and Test Facility Base (MRTFB) supporting two primary mission areas: Space Operations and Test and Evaluation of DoD weapons systems, including offensive and defensive missiles, hypersonic systems, and space testing. RTR missions are executed from Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the RTR Operations Center-Huntsville (ROC-H), using sophisticated radar, telemetry, optical, command-and-control, and mission systems.

Position Overview

The Lead Radar Engineer will serve as a senior technical authority for the operation, sustainment, performance, modernization, integration, and mission readiness of RTR radar instrumentation. The successful candidate will combine deep radar engineering expertise with hands-on problem solving and technical leadership to ensure RTR radar systems deliver the accuracy, availability, reliability, and data quality required for missile test and space operations. The Lead Radar Engineer will work across operations, maintenance, systems engineering, hardware and software engineering, mission planning, data analysis, cybersecurity, and Improvements & Modernization (I&M) teams to resolve complex radar problems and transition improvements into the operational baseline. The position requires an engineer who can move comfortably between mission performance, radar phenomenology and data, hardware/software troubleshooting, systems engineering, sustainment, and modernization.

This position is contingent upon contract award to Leidos.

Primary Responsibilities

• Serve as the program’s lead radar engineering subject matter expert, providing technical leadership for RTR radar operations, sustainment, troubleshooting, modernization, integration, and test.
• Analyze radar performance and mission data to identify performance degradation, anomalous behavior, emerging technical issues, and opportunities to improve radar capability, availability, reliability, maintainability, and data quality.
• Lead technical troubleshooting and root-cause analysis of complex radar hardware, software, RF, signal-processing, timing, control, instrumentation, and system-interface problems; develop and drive corrective actions through verification and closure.
• Ensure radar systems meet required mission performance, calibration, accuracy, sensitivity, and operational availability requirements and provide the technical analysis necessary to substantiate system readiness.
• Evaluate radar metric, imaging, and signature data and support mission Quick Look analysis, post-mission assessment, lessons learned, and identification of radar performance issues and corrective actions. ROSIE requires post-mission analysis of instrumentation performance and Quick Look data products.
• Analyze radar reliability, availability, and maintainability performance, including MTBF, MTTR, operational availability, recurring failures, and performance trends; identify and implement actions that improve mission readiness. The PWS establishes operational-availability measurement and requires at least 95% availability for designated Space Operations instrumentation and 99% for mandatory sensors during test mission windows.
• Lead or support radar Improvements & Modernization studies, engineering projects, and instrumentation modifications from requirements definition through design, integration, verification, validation, acceptance testing, and operational deployment.
• Maintain radar technical baselines through disciplined configuration management and ensure modifications to radar hardware, software, firmware, interfaces, and documentation are properly evaluated, tested, documented, and approved prior to incorporation into the operational baseline.
• Identify technical risks before they affect mission execution and develop measurable mitigation and contingency approaches.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics, Systems Engineering, or a closely related STEM discipline with 12+ years of relevant experience; or a Master’s degree with 10+ years of relevant experience.
• Significant engineering experience with complex radar or RF sensor systems, including demonstrated experience in several of the following areas: radar system design and analysis, RF systems, transmitters/receivers, antennas, radar signal processing, waveform processing, tracking, imaging, calibration, radar cross section/signature measurements, instrumentation, or radar performance analysis.
• Demonstrated ability to diagnose complex radar-system performance problems using engineering analysis, system data, test equipment, modeling/simulation, and structured root-cause analysis.
• Demonstrated systems engineering experience encompassing requirements analysis, design, integration, verification, validation, test, and transition of engineered capabilities into an operational environment.
• Experience developing and executing engineering test plans, procedures, technical reviews, and acceptance criteria.
• Experience with configuration-controlled operational systems and formal engineering change processes.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate complex technical issues, risks, alternatives, and recommendations clearly to engineers, program leadership, customers, and senior Government stakeholders.
• Ability to travel to CONUS and OCONUS locations as required.
• Must be a U.S. citizen and possess or be able to obtain and maintain a Secret Clearance required for assigned duties.

Desired Qualifications

• Master’s or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Systems Engineering, Applied Mathematics, or a related technical discipline.
• Direct engineering experience with ALTAIR, TRADEX, ALCOR, MMW, or other RTR/KREMS instrumentation.
• Experience with high-power instrumentation radars, phased-array radars, wideband imaging radars, missile-defense radars, space-surveillance radars, or comparable advanced DoD radar systems.
• Experience with radar detection and tracking, discrimination, target characterization, wideband imaging, metric data, RCS/signature analysis, signal processing, or radar calibration.
• Experience developing or evaluating radar algorithms, signal-processing techniques, simulations, or automated sensor-performance analysis.
• Experience with digital engineering and MBSE tools and methodologies.
• Experience modernizing legacy radar or sensor systems while maintaining operational availability and mission continuity.
• Active Top Secret clearance with SCI eligibility.

If you're looking for comfort, keep scrolling. At Leidos, we outthink, outbuild, and outpace the status quo - because the mission demands it. We're not hiring followers. We're recruiting the ones who disrupt, prove, and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. We're already at step 30 - and moving faster than anyone else dares.

Original Posting

September 15, 2026

For U.S. Positions: While subject to change based on business needs, Leidos reasonably anticipates that this job requisition will remain open for at least 3 days with an anticipated close date of no earlier than 3 days after the original posting date as listed above.

Pay Range

Pay Range $154,050.00 - $278,475.00

The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.

Pay and Benefits

Pay and benefits are fundamental to any career decision. That's why we craft compensation packages that reflect the importance of the work we do for our customers. Employment benefits include competitive compensation, Health and Wellness programs, Income Protection, Paid Leave and Retirement. More details are available at www.leidos.com/careers/pay-benefits.

About Leidos

Leidos is an industry and technology leader serving government and commercial customers with smarter, more efficient digital and mission innovations. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with 47,000 global employees, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $16.7 billion for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2025. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com.

Securing Your Data

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If you believe you are the victim of a scam, contact your local law enforcement and report the incident to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

Commitment to Non-Discrimination

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, ethnicity, age, national origin, citizenship, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, pregnancy, family structure, marital status, ancestry, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran or military status, or any other basis prohibited by law. Leidos will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with relevant laws.