Principal Systems Engineer- DRT

Thales Defense & Security, Inc.; Germantown (MD); Hybrid; USD 149,702 - 191,286; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

ICP incentive plan

Medical insurance

401(k) company contribution

Tuition reimbursement

Paid wellness/vacation/holidays

Parental leave

9/80 schedule

Hybrid work environment

Job summary

Thales Defense & Security, Inc. in Germantown, MD seeks a Principal Systems Engineer to advance SW Defined Radios for SIGINT and EW applications.

You will lead architecture, requirements, testing, and system integration across HF to SHF bands, coordinating with multi‑disciplined teams and supporting business development activities. Candidates should have extensive systems engineering experience in military communications, secure design practices, and strong English communication skills.

Qualifications

• U.S. Citizenship required; ability to obtain TS/SCI clearance.
• Experience with design, development and testing of tactical military comms systems.
• Strong presentation and English writing skills; able to capture and allocate requirements.

Responsibilities

• Provide systems engineering for SW Defined Radios in SIGINT/EW contexts.
• Guide exploitation, geolocation, RF jamming, IA, and cybersecurity aspects.
• Lead system-level activities: requirements, architecture, testing, and transition to manufacturing.
• Support BD with customer meetings, demos, and requirement elicitation.
• Serve as design authority for HF/UHF/VHF/SHF SIGINT and EW systems.
• Integrate SIGINT/EW solutions into military platforms and enterprise systems.

Skills

RF design

Digital design

Software design

Information security

System-level design

Requirements elicitation

Lifecycle management

Education

BSEE / BSCS

MSEE / MSCS

Job description

Overview

Thales Defense & Security, Inc. (TDSI), headquartered in Clarksburg, MD, is a U.S. company serving defense Air, Land and Sea domains with 60+ years of experience. TDSI and its subsidiaries provide a range of technologies for the US military and partners, including RF transceivers, DF antennas, signal processing exploitation, geolocation, and electronic attack capabilities.

Open position: Principal Systems Engineer in Germantown, MD focusing on EW/SIGINT line of Digital Receiver Technology (DRT) products. DRT is a SIGINT/EW system solution provider for U.S. and allied partners.

Top Benefits

• Competitive Salary
• Yearly Incentive Compensation Plan
• Medical insurance for self and eligible family members
• 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)
• Hybrid working environment

Responsibilities

• Provide systems engineering expertise in developing SW Defined Radios for SIGINT and EW applications.
• Guide signals exploitation, geolocation techniques, precision PNT, RF jamming modalities, information assurance (IA) and cybersecurity.
• Lead product development systems activities: use case analysis, requirements capture and allocation, architectural analysis and design, system-level testing, integration, verification and validation, and transition to manufacturing.
• Support Business Development with customer meetings, product presentations and demonstrations, requirements elicitation, architecture development, and systems implementation.
• Serve as project design authority for HF, UHF, VHF, and SHF SIGINT and EW systems.
• Integrate SIGINT/EW solutions into military platforms and Enterprise-level collection systems.
• Lead complex systems integration efforts with multi-disciplined engineering teams.
• Develop technical proposals, support cost estimation, and evaluate competing offerings.
• Represent Thales at relevant industry forums and act as customer liaison for design reviews and technical interchanges.
• Support field installation, testing, evaluation, troubleshooting, and government acceptance testing.

Qualifications

The following are representative of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

• U.S. Citizenship required; ability to obtain and maintain U.S. Top Secret or SCI clearance (current TS/SCI preferred).
• BSEE, BSCS, or equivalent; MSEE, MSCS or equivalent preferred.
• 8+ years as a Design/Systems Engineer.
• Strong presentation and writing skills; fluent in English.
• Experience with system-level design, development, and testing of tactical, secure military communications systems.
• Experience with requirements elicitation, decomposition, traceability, and lifecycle management.
• Knowledge of RF design, digital design, software design, and information security.
• Experience in a laboratory environment with RF and digital test equipment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience developing Software Defined Radios.
• Experience developing SIGINT/EW systems.
• Experience integrating SIGINT/EW systems into platforms and Enterprise collection systems.
• Experience with Direction Finding (DF) and Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) collection systems.
• Experience with signals exploitation and Electronic Attack software development.
• Information Assurance and cybersecurity experience.

The annualized pay range is $149,702-$191,286 USD, with a target incentive compensation plan (ICP) of 5%. This range is a good faith estimate and may vary based on role, location, experience, and qualifications.

For specific questions about this job posting, candidates may contact talent acquisition at [e-mail].

Thales Defense & 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 to apply, please call Human Resources at 202-961-1016.

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Nearest Major Market: Washington DC