Senior Laser Communications Engineer (Top Secret)

HRB; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 165,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, & Vision Plan

Retirement plan and 401K matching

Tuition assistance program

11 paid federal holidays

Job summary

HRB in Washington, DC seeks a highly experienced engineer-scientist to support Naval Research Laboratory SSDD. The role requires U.S.

citizenship, Top Secret clearance, and a PhD in Physics, Electrical, Optical Engineering or related field to advance laser communications for space, air, and ground applications. You will lead development and evaluation of laser subsystems, run multi-environment modeling (MATLAB, Python, Zemax, LabVIEW), design tests, collect data, and prepare executive reports.

Qualifications

• PhD in Physics, Electrical, Optical Engineering or related technical field required.
• 12+ years of increasing responsibility in engineering/scientific disciplines including systems engineering, R&D, and program/portfolio management.
• Knowledge of state-of-the-art systems, electro-optical systems, optical propagation, and free-space optical laser communications.
• Expertise in laser subsystems components and controls (transmitters, fiber, lenses, detectors, signal processing, link budgets).
• Knowledge of laser atmospheric propagation theory and analysis.
• Experience with MATLAB, Python, Zemax, LabVIEW or similar environments; ability to model and code across platforms.
• Ability to develop test methodologies and execute optical test instrumentation, data collection, and technical reporting.

Responsibilities

• Support Naval Research Laboratory SSDD in C4ISR hardware/software solutions for space, airborne, and ground applications.
• Provide technical expertise for laser communications systems across multiple domains.
• Facilitate R&D of advanced laser technologies for deployable, defense-grade solutions.

Skills

Laser systems knowledge

Optical propagation

Data analysis

Test methodologies

Executive documentation

Systems engineering

Portfolio management

Programming

Education

PhD in Physics, Electrical, Optical Engineering or related technical field

Tools

MATLAB

Python

Zemax

LabVIEW

Job description

HRB in Washington, DC seeks a highly experienced engineer-scientist to support Naval Research Laboratory SSDD. The role requires U.S.

citizenship, Top Secret clearance, and a PhD in Physics, Electrical, Optical Engineering or related field to advance laser communications for space, air, and ground applications. You will lead development and evaluation of laser subsystems, run multi-environment modeling (MATLAB, Python, Zemax, LabVIEW), design tests, collect data, and prepare executive reports.