RF Engineer -- Radio Systems / RF Hardware

Parra Consulting Group; Aberdeen, Northern (MD, KY); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance (100% employer-paid)

Life insurance (employer-paid)

Disability insurance (employer-paid)

Paid time off

Job summary

Parra Consulting Group in Aberdeen Proving Ground seeks an RF Engineer to lead design and integration of custom radio hardware. You will work across RF, digital, FPGA, and embedded systems to prototype and mature capabilities for critical missions.

The role requires hands-on expertise in RF characterization, PCB design, and lab testing, collaborating with embedded software, FPGA, cybersecurity, and systems teams to deliver robust radio solutions.

Qualifications

• Active TS/SCI security clearance is required.
• Bachelor's degree in Electrical/Computer Engineering or related field, or equivalent experience.
• Experience designing, developing, integrating, or troubleshooting RF communication systems or radio hardware.
• Strong RF fundamentals: signal chains, filtering, amplification, frequency conversion, impedance matching, noise, link budgets.
• Experience with analog/digital circuit design and PCB-level hardware development.
• Familiarity with MATLAB/Simulink, Python, C/C++, or embedded Linux.
• Experience with FPGA-based systems using Verilog/SystemVerilog/VHDL.
• Experience integrating embedded processors, FPGAs, RF transceivers, ADCs/DACs.
• Hands-on experience with RF and electronics test equipment.
• Ability to troubleshoot hardware at component, board, and system levels.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, development, and integration of custom RF hardware for national security missions.
• Work across RF, digital, FPGA, and embedded systems to prototype solutions.
• Perform circuit design, board bring-up, and RF characterization.
• Develop RF front ends, digital processing hardware, and embedded components.
• Collaborate with software, FPGA, cybersecurity, and systems engineering teams.

Skills

Security clearance TS/SCI

RF fundamentals

Analog/digital circuit design

C/C++

Python

MATLAB/Simulink

Embedded Linux

Oscilloscopes & spectrum analyzers

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical or Computer Engineering

Tools

Verilog/SystemVerilog/VHDL

FPGA development tools

Job description

Parra Consulting Group (PCG) is seeking an RF Engineer -- Radio Systems / RF Hardware to lead the design, development, and integration of custom radio and RF hardware supporting critical national security missions. This role works across RF, digital, FPGA, and embedded systems to develop new communications capabilities, troubleshoot complex hardware, and rapidly prototype solutions for advanced mission requirements. This position is located at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.

More About the Role

As a Radio Systems / RF Hardware Engineer, you'll provide hands‑on engineering expertise across the full radio development lifecycle, from architecture and component selection through circuit design, FPGA integration, board bring‑up, and RF characterization. You'll develop and integrate RF front ends, digital processing hardware, and embedded components while using laboratory test equipment to evaluate and troubleshoot system performance. You'll collaborate with embedded software, FPGA, cybersecurity, and systems engineering personnel to develop and mature custom radio capabilities for sophisticated operational environments.

Required Qualifications

• Active TS/SCI security clearance.
• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related discipline, or equivalent relevant experience.
• Experience designing, developing, integrating, or troubleshooting RF communication systems or radio hardware.
• Strong understanding of RF fundamentals, including signal chains, filtering, amplification, frequency conversion, impedance matching, noise, and link budgets.
• Experience with analog/digital circuit design and PCB‑level hardware development.
• Familiarity with MATLAB/Simulink, Python, C/C++, or embedded Linux.
• Experience developing or integrating FPGA‑based systems using Verilog, SystemVerilog, or VHDL.
• Experience integrating embedded processors, FPGAs, RF transceivers, ADCs/DACs, or similar devices.
• Hands‑on experience with RF and electronics test equipment such as oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, VNAs, signal generators, and logic analyzers.
• Ability to troubleshoot hardware at the component, board, and system levels.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience designing a radio or RF transceiver from the board/component level, not solely integrating commercial radios.
• Experience with software‑defined radios, RF transceiver ICs, RF front ends, PLLs, mixers, LNAs, PAs, and filters.
• Experience implementing DSP functions in FPGA logic, including filtering, FFTs, modulation/demodulation, or digital up/down conversion.
• Experience with RF/mixed‑signal PCB design, controlled impedance, grounding, shielding, signal integrity, and EMI/EMC considerations.
• Experience with RFSoC, SoC FPGA, high‑speed ADC/DAC interfaces, or similar architectures.
• Experience with communications, unmanned systems, electronic warfare, SIGINT, radar, or other RF‑intensive defense applications.
• Experience rapidly prototyping and debugging custom RF or embedded hardware.

Why Join PCG

Parra Consulting Group offers a collaborative, mission‑focused environment where your expertise directly supports national security operations. PCG provides competitive compensation, 100% employer‑paid medical/dental/vision coverage, life and disability insurance, and a PTO plan to ensure professional growth and work‑life balance.