RF Engineering Technician

NCSL International; Saint Petersburg (FL); On-site; USD 58,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

Leidos' Defense Systems Group in St. Petersburg, FL is seeking an RF Engineering Technician to support the development, integration, and testing of RF, microwave, and antenna systems for defense applications.

You will work hands-on in a laboratory environment, assembling CCAs, running tests, troubleshooting issues, and documenting results while maintaining lab equipment and ensuring compliance with security requirements.

Qualifications

• Ability to obtain and maintain a DoD Secret Security Clearance.
• High school diploma (or equivalent) with 4-6 years of relevant experience.
• Ability to solder to IPC-A-610 requirements.
• Experience testing and troubleshooting RF and analog circuits and subsystems.
• Proficiency with RF test equipment including VNAs, spectrum analyzers, RF power meters, and signal generators.
• Ability to interpret schematics, wiring diagrams, and test procedures.

Responsibilities

• Work cross functionally to provide hands-on technical support to engineering teams in the design, development, integration, and testing of RF/microwave systems and antenna hardware.
• Perform testing and characterization of RF components and subassemblies to verify performance against design requirements and documentation.
• Assist in developing and maintaining engineering documentation, including design specs, test procedures, BOMs, and PCB layout guidance.
• Build, modify, and maintain RF test fixtures, cables, and harnesses to support validation and troubleshooting of CCAs.
• Assemble complex CCAs and support laboratory test activities including setup, calibration, data collection, and result documentation.
• Troubleshoot hardware issues at component and subsystem levels; identify root causes and implement corrective actions.

Skills

RF testing

Troubleshooting

Solder IPC-A-610

RF hardware

Documentation

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Tools

Vector Network Analyzer

Spectrum Analyzer

RF Power Meter

Signal Generator

Job description

The Defense Systems Group at Leidos has an opening for an RF Engineering Technician at our St. Petersburg, FL facility. This role provides hands-on support to engineering teams in the development, integration, and testing of advanced RF, microwave, and antenna systems for mission-critical defense applications.

In this position, you will work in a laboratory environment supporting the development, validation, troubleshooting, and characterization of complex communication and electronic warfare systems. You will play a key role in test execution, hardware assembly and integration, and ensuring system performance meets design requirements.

The St. Petersburg facility specializes in the design, development, prototyping, integration, and testing of advanced electronic systems, including embedded communications, Software Defined Radios (SDR), phased array antenna systems, and secure RF architectures supporting Department of Defense customers.

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Work cross functionally to provide hands-on technical support to various engineering teams in the design, development, integration, and testing of RF/microwave systems and antenna hardware.
• Perform testing and characterization of RF components and subassemblies to verify performance against design requirements and technical documentation.
• Assist in the development and maintenance of engineering documentation, including design specifications, test procedures, schematics, bills of materials (BOMs), and printed wiring board (PWB) layout guidance.
• Build, modify, and maintain RF test fixtures, cables, and wire harnesses to support validation and troubleshooting of complex circuit card assemblies (CCAs).
• Assemble complex circuit card assemblies (CCAs).
• Support laboratory test activities, including setup, calibration, data collection, and documentation of results.
• Troubleshoot hardware issues at the component and subsystem level, working closely with engineers to identify root causes and implement corrective actions.
• Maintain lab equipment and ensure proper configuration and handling of RF test instrumentation.

Clearance Qualifications

• U.S. Citizenship required.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Secret Security Clearance.
• Active Secret clearance preferred.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Top-Secret security clearance strongly preferred.
• Willingness to work in classified laboratory environments and support secure development, integration, and test activities.
• Ability to comply with all program-specific security requirements, including handling of classified materials and controlled technical data (ITAR/EAR).

Basic Qualifications:

To be considered for this position, you must minimally meet the knowledge, skills, and abilities listed below

• Ability to obtain and maintain a DoD Secret Security Clearance.
• High school diploma (or equivalent) with 4 - 6 years of relevant experience.
• Ability to solder to IPC-A-610 requirements
• Experience testing and troubleshooting RF and analog circuits and subsystems.
• Proficiency with RF test and measurement equipment, including vector network analyzers (VNAs), spectrum analyzers, RF power meters, and signal generators.
• Ability to interpret technical documentation such as schematics, wiring diagrams, and test procedures.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to document test results accurately.

Preferred Qualifications:

Candidates with these desired skills will be given preferential consideration

• Active Secret Security Clearance.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Top-Secret security clearance.
• IPC J-STD-001 solder certification
• Hands-on experience testing and characterizing RF amplifiers, RF circuits, and antenna systems.
• Related Engineering degree.

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, provoke, and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. We're already at step 30 - and moving faster than anyone else dares.

Pay Range:

Pay Range $57,850.00 - $104,575.00

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.

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.

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.

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.