Communications Standards Engineer

About the role

The Marlin Alliance, Inc. is seeking a Communications Standards Engineer to work in San Diego, CA. The successful candidate will bring a solid technical foundation in communications systems, software engineering, or systems engineering, combined with hands-on proficiency in modern tools and technologies. This role is ideal for an engineer who thrives at the intersection of established DoD tactical communications practices and emerging technology areas, and who is eager to grow domain expertise while contributing meaningfully to complex interoperability and integration challenges across the joint force.

Responsibilities

• Support technical analysis and engineering efforts related to tactical communications standards, waveforms, software-defined radio (SDR) architectures, and systems integration.
• Aid in analyzing system-of-systems interoperability challenges, focusing on interfaces, data exchange formats, and network integration patterns, and contribute to the development of technical solutions and recommendations.
• Participate in technical working groups, industry consortia, and stakeholder engagements alongside senior team members.
• Support the development, review, and modernization of technical specifications, interface standards, and reference implementations, including applying modern data serialization and middleware technologies to update legacy interfaces and APIs.
• Contribute to technical analyses, architectural assessments, integration guides, and written recommendations that support government decision-making.
• Apply modern tools and technologies, including AI/ML, scripting and automation, model-based systems engineering (MBSE), and contemporary software development practices, to accelerate engineering analysis and improve team processes.
• Support technical collaboration among diverse government and industry stakeholders in a vendor-neutral capacity.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Systems Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical discipline.
• Four to seven years of experience in DoD communications, software engineering, or systems engineering, with exposure to one or more of the following: software-defined radios (SDRs), military communications waveforms, communications standards, or C4ISR systems.
• Familiarity with open architecture frameworks for communications systems.
• Ability to analyze technical integration challenges and contribute to effective solutions in a team environment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to convey technical concepts to diverse audiences.
• Must be a U.S. citizen and possess an active DoD Secret security clearance.

Qualifications

• Masters degree in a relevant technical discipline.
• Hands-on experience applying modern tools and technologies to engineering workflows, such as AI/ML for analysis or automation, scripting languages (e.g., Python), model-based systems engineering (MBSE), containerization, CI/CD pipelines, or modern data serialization formats (e.g., Protobuf, JSON, XML).
• Experience with or knowledge of Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) concepts and relevant industry standards or consortia (e.g., SOSA, CMOSS, FACE).
• Familiarity with emerging technology domains relevant to the joint force, such as Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2), artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI/ML), tactical data links, or communications for autonomous systems.
• Awareness of cybersecurity considerations for tactical communications systems.
• Experience participating in technical working groups or collaborative engineering efforts.
• INCOSE Associate Systems Engineering Professional (ASEP) or equivalent certification.
• Ability to obtain a Top Secret/SCI clearance.

Benefits

INCOSE Associate Systems Engineering Professional (ASEP) or equivalent certification.

Pay

$110,000 - $150,000

Schedule

Hybrid 3 days/week on-site