Senior Radio Frequency Engineer

Wardstone; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Wardstone seeks a senior engineer to own the radar seeker from RF front end to track data that guides interception. You will define architecture, lead make-vs-buy decisions, and build test infrastructure, collaborating with founders and cross-functional teams to scale from lab benches to live intercepts.

As the program grows, you will hire and lead a seeker team. This high-ownership role requires deep radar physics knowledge, DSP expertise, and hands-on lab experience with AESA or FMCW radars,

Qualifications

• B.S. in Electrical Engineering or related field; M.S. preferred.
• 6+ years designing/integrating/testing radar systems with ownership of a subsystem.
• Strong understanding of radar physics, noise figure, phase noise, and link budgets.
• Proficiency in C++ and Python; experience with real-time/embedded systems.
• Hands-on lab experience with FMCW/Pulsed Doppler/AESA radars and RF test equipment.
• Experience sourcing RF components and make-vs-buy decisions.

Responsibilities

• Own the seeker architecture and lead make-vs-buy decisions for radar sensors and processing hardware.
• Develop real-time signal processing pipelines for detection and tracking of high-speed targets.
• Own the seeker-to-guidance interface and fuse radar tracks with IMU/GPS/State estimates for guidance.
• Design RF test rigs and lead hardware-in-the-loop tests in anechoic chambers and live environments.

Skills

Radar systems

C++

Python

Real-time embedded

DSP algorithms

Education

B.S. in Electrical Engineering

M.S. preferred

Tools

VNAs

Oscilloscopes

Spectrum Analyzers

Job description

You will own Wardstone's radar seeker, from the RF front end through signal processing to the track data that drives guidance. Your system determines whether the interceptor knows exactly where to strike.

This is a senior, high-ownership role. You'll make the core architecture and make-vs-buy decisions and build the test infrastructure. You'll work directly with the founders and with the GNC, avionics, and mechanical teams to take the seeker from the lab bench to live intercepts. As the program grows, you'll help hire and lead a seeker team.

What You'll Do

Own the seeker architecture

• Define the seeker architecture and lead make-vs-buy decisions for radar sensors, front-end components, and processing hardware.
• Own Tx/Rx chain analysis, including link budgets, noise figure, and phase noise, and integrate antennas with the airframe and radome.
• Specify the high-speed data interfaces between the seeker and the avionics, such as high-speed ADCs/DACs and PCIe.
• Select and manage suppliers for RF components and subsystems.

Build real-time signal processing

• Build low-latency processing pipelines that detect and track high-speed targets, including Doppler processing, range-Doppler mapping, and CFAR detection.
• Develop clutter and ECM rejection.
• Implement and optimize the pipeline on the flight processor [FPGA / GPU / embedded CPU].

Deliver tracks to guidance

• Own the seeker-to-guidance interface. Work with the GNC team to fuse radar tracks with IMU, GPS, and onboard state estimates (EKF/UKF) for closed-loop terminal guidance.

Test and verify

• Design RF test rigs and run hardware-in-the-loop tests using anechoic chambers, radar scene generators, RCS reference targets, and flight dynamics models.
• Lead seeker testing from the lab bench through environmental qualification and flight test.

Required Qualifications

• B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field. M.S. preferred.
• 6+ years designing, integrating, or testing radar systems, including ownership of a significant subsystem through hardware test.
• Deep understanding of radar physics and electromagnetics, including noise figure, phase noise, and link budget analysis.
• Strong DSP background, with experience implementing real-time radar detection and tracking.
• Proficiency in C++ and Python, and experience with real-time or embedded systems.
• Hands-on lab experience testing radar architectures (FMCW, pulsed Doppler, or AESA) with spectrum analyzers, VNAs, and oscilloscopes.
• Experience sourcing RF components and making make-vs-buy decisions.
• Must be a U.S. person as defined by ITAR (U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual). [Must be eligible to obtain a U.S. security clearance.]

Nice to Have

• Experience with missile seekers, air-to-air systems, counter-ballistic tracking, or EW resilience.
• FPGA signal processing (VHDL/Verilog) or GPU acceleration for radar pipelines.
• Antenna array design, beamforming, radome EM integration, or atmospheric attenuation modeling.
• RCS modeling and synthetic target generation.
• Experience with environmental testing for high-G, vibration, and thermal conditions (e.g., MIL-STD-810).
• Prior early-stage startup experience.

Overview

You will own Wardstone's radar seeker, from the RF front end through signal processing to the track data that drives guidance. Your system determines whether the interceptor knows exactly where to strike.

This is a senior, high-ownership role. You'll make the core architecture and make-vs-buy decisions and build the test infrastructure. You'll work directly with the founders and with the GNC, avionics, and mechanical teams to take the seeker from the lab bench to live intercepts. As the program grows, you'll help hire and lead a seeker team.

Compensation

• The base pay range for this role is $140,000 - $170,000 per year.