Radio Frequency Communications Engineer

Smack Technologies Inc.; Dripping Springs (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Smack Technologies Inc. is seeking an experienced RF/edge systems engineer to own the architecture from design to deployment on tactical edge hardware. You’ll deploy on edge devices and ensure performance under degraded comms and sensing conditions.

You’ll bridge signal processing, SDR hardware, and ML deploys, building low-latency DSP pipelines in C++/Python/GNU Radio, and lead field trials from lab to live environments with real-world data.

Qualifications

• B.S./M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Robotics, Physics, or related technical field with practical coding experience.
• 3+ years programming software-defined radios (e.g., Ettus USRPs, Lime LMS7002M, TI AFE79xx).
• Experience integrating tactical MANET datalinks / sensing arrays (e.g., Doodle Labs Mesh Rider, KrakenSDR).
• Experience deploying real-time signal processing pipelines using C++, Python, and/or GNU Radio.
• Benchtop equipment experience: RF system bring-up, characterization and troubleshooting with spectrum analyzers and oscilloscopes.
• Rapid prototyping and field iteration: from concept to functional prototypes with live field data.

Responsibilities

• Architect and field resilient comms: design, build, and deploy end-to-end RF and communications architectures for tactical edge hardware.
• Characterize link reliability and RF situational awareness in DDIL environments, ensuring graceful degradation under jamming or signal loss.
• Bridge signal processing and SDR hardware: deploy ML and signal processing algorithms onto software-defined radios and edge devices.
• Build high-throughput, low-latency DSP pipelines using C++, Python, and/or GNU Radio, treating RF as a dual-use asset for tactical communications and spectrum sensing.
• Validate from lab bench to live field, using spectrum analyzers, signal generators, and oscilloscopes, alongside realistic field testing.
• Run field trials to understand failure modes and feed real-world data back into models.

Job description

Smack is building domain-specific models for the sole purpose of delivering AI-enabled decision-making for modern warfare. Our team has decades of military leadership experience at every level. We understand the problem better than anyone, and we know exactly what our end users need to solve it.

About the Role

We’re pushing Smack’s domain-specific models to the tactical edge, orchestrating decision-making in denied, disrupted, intermittent, and limited (DDIL) comms environments. We treat RF as both a comms link and an environment sensor, where you’ll work at the intersection of unique technical problems and impactful missions.

The real world is right; your model of it is wrong. We emphasize fast feedback loops that enable us to move from concept to fielded system rapidly. Your job is to own the RF and communications edge architecture from system design to physical deployment. You will deploy onto edge-deployed hardware, ensuring our decision-making systems operate under comms and sensing degradation gracefully and within deployed constraints.

This role is ideal for engineers who want a high-ownership, fast-moving startup environment and who can bridge signal theory and real-world data to create impact quickly.

What You’ll Do

• Architect and field resilient comms: design, build, and deploy end-to-end RF and communications architectures tailored for tactical edge hardware
• Characterize link reliability and RF situational awareness in DDIL environments, building systems that degrade gracefully under heavy jamming or signal loss
• Bridge signal processing and SDR hardware: deploy ML and signal processing algorithms onto software-defined radios and edge devices
• Build high-throughput, low-latency DSP pipelines using C++, Python, and/or GNU Radio, treating RF as a dual-use asset for both tactical communications and spectrum sensing
• Validate from lab bench to live field, using spectrum analyzers, signal generators, and oscilloscopes, etc., alongside realistic field testing
• Run field trials to understand when our systems fail, and feed real-world data back into the models

Required Skills

• B.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Robotics, Physics, or a related technical discipline (or equivalent practical work experience), with experience writing production-grade code
• 3+ years programming software-defined radios (e.g., Ettus USRPs, Lime Microsystems LMS7002M, TI AFE79xx series)
• Experience integrating tactical MANET datalinks / sensing arrays (e.g., Doodle Labs Mesh Rider, KrakenSDR)
• Experience deploying real-time signal processing pipelines using C++, Python, and/or GNU Radio
• Benchtop equipment experience: bring up hardware, characterize and troubleshoot RF systems and signals using spectrum analyzers, vector signal generators (VSGs), power meters, and oscilloscopes
• Rapid prototyping and field iteration: proven track record of taking concepts from scratch to functional prototypes (custom hardware, Python and C++ software setups, live field trials, real-world data validating models)

Nice to Have

• Applied RFML: machine learning applied to spectrum sensing, automatic modulation classification, or cognitive radio protocols
• Experience operating in contested/DDIL environments (jamming, low-SNR, multi-path fading)

Smack's Mission & Values

Smack’s mission is to Deliver Decision Dominance to the Department of War, our allies, and partners.

• We’re here to serve: We work extremely hard every day in service of our mission and each other.
• We’re here to win: There are no participation trophies in war. We’re not satisfied with anything less than winning.
• We’re a culture of “And”: The Iron Triangle is for losers. Even the laws of physics can be bent with a little motivation.

Compensation:

Our full package includes base, equity, and performance incentives.