Responsibilities
Ready to make an impact on a mission that matters? Join Arcfield and be part of a team delivering innovative engineering and technology solutions that help advance our nation's security. At Arcfield, you'll have the opportunity to tackle meaningful challenges alongside talented, driven professionals who bring diverse skills, perspectives, and expertise to the mission. We're looking for motivated, curious, and adaptable individuals who thrive in dynamic environments, embrace new challenges, and are eager to learn, grow, and make a difference. Whether you're building on your existing expertise or ready to take the next step in your career, Arcfield offers an environment where you can expand your skills, explore new opportunities, and contribute to work that has a real impact.
The RF Systems Engineering Advisor will lead the development, analysis, and validation of quantitative RF performance models for advanced wireless communication systems. This role translates system requirements into actionable RF engineering analyses; identifies link-margin limitations; evaluates propagation, interference, and implementation impacts; and provides recommendations that inform architecture, design, deployment, and operational decisions.
The Advisor will work across multidisciplinary engineering teams - including RF, antenna, systems, network, hardware, software, and field engineering - to ensure wireless systems meet required coverage, capacity, availability, reliability, and overall performance objectives.
Responsibilities for this position include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Develop comprehensive uplink and downlink RF link budgets for terrestrial, satellite, cellular, private wireless, tactical, and other wireless communications systems.
- Translate system-level requirements into quantitative RF performance models, assumptions, calculations, and engineering recommendations.
- Calculate, validate, document, and maintain key link-budget parameters.
- Develop link budgets across varying frequency bands, modulation and coding schemes, bandwidths, antenna configurations, propagation environments, operating conditions, and deployment scenarios.
- Perform best-case, nominal, worst-case, and statistical link-budget analyses to assess system performance and risk.
- Establish appropriate engineering margins based on availability, reliability, mission, and service-level requirements.
- Identify link-budget sensitivities and determine the parameters with the greatest effect on system performance.
- Conduct trade studies involving transmit power, antenna gain, receiver performance, bandwidth, coding and modulation, frequency selection, topology, and deployment configuration.
Qualifications
- Must possess and be able to maintain a TS/SCI clearance with polygraph.
- Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, RF/Microwave Engineering, Communications Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
- BS 10-12; MS 8-10; PhD 5-7
- Significant experience in RF systems engineering, wireless communications, link-budget development, propagation analysis, or related disciplines.
- Demonstrated ability to develop and interpret uplink and downlink RF link budgets.
- Strong understanding of RF fundamentals, including antenna performance, propagation, receiver sensitivity, noise analysis, interference, modulation, coding, and digital communications performance metrics.
- Experience analyzing C/N, C/(I+N), Eb/N₀, link margin, noise figure, system noise temperature, EIRP, and G/T.
- Ability to perform engineering trade studies and make technically sound, data-driven recommendations.
- Strong analytical, written, verbal, and cross-functional communication skills.
Desired
- Advanced degree in Electrical Engineering, RF/Microwave Engineering, Communications Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a related field.
- Experience with terrestrial, satellite, cellular, private wireless, tactical, or mission-critical communications systems.
- Experience using RF modeling, propagation, simulation, and network-planning tools.
- Familiarity with wireless standards, spectrum management, regulatory constraints, and RF test and measurement methods.
- Experience supporting field trials, system integration, verification, validation, or operational performance optimization.
Equal Pay Act
This is the projected compensation range for this position. There are differentiating factors that can impact a final salary/hourly rate, including, but not limited to, Contract Wage Determination, relevant work experience, skills and competencies that align to the specified role, geographic location (For Remote Opportunities), education and certifications as well as Federal Government Contract Labor categories. In addition, Arcfield invests in its employees beyond just compensation. Arcfield ’s benefits offerings include, dependent upon position, Health Insurance, Life Insurance, Paid Time Off, Holiday Pay, Short Term and Long-Term Disability, Retirement and Savings, Learning and Development opportunities, wellness programs as well as other optional benefit elections.
Min: $144,361.15 Max: $251,016.03 EEO Statement
We are an equal opportunity employer and federal government contractor. We do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment as protected by law.