Senior RF Engineer

Wardstone; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Wardstone is seeking a senior engineer to own the radar seeker architecture from front-end to processing and track data for guidance. You’ll collaborate with GNC, avionics, and mechanical teams to move the seeker from lab bench to live intercepts.

You will shape core architecture, make buy/make decisions, and build test infrastructure, with opportunities to hire and lead a seeker team as the program grows.

Qualifications

• 6+ years designing, integrating, or testing radar systems.
• Ownership of a significant subsystem through hardware test.
• U.S. person with eligibility for security clearance.
• Proficiency in C++ and Python, with real-time/embedded systems experience.

Responsibilities

• Own the seeker architecture and make buy/make decisions for radar sensors and processing hardware.
• Build real-time signal processing pipelines for detection and tracking of high-speed targets.
• Fuse radar tracks with IMU, GPS, and state estimates for terminal guidance.
• Design RF test rigs and run hardware-in-the-loop tests.
• Lead seeker testing from the lab bench through flight test.
• Help hire and lead a seeker team as the program grows.

Skills

DSP

C++

Python

Real-time systems

Radar knowledge

Lab testing

Education

B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Physics, or Aerospace Engineering

M.S. preferred

Tools

VHDL/Verilog

GPU acceleration

FPGA

Spectrum analyzers

VNAs

Oscilloscopes

Job description

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.

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.

Compensation

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