SATCOM Systems Engineer

About the role

KBR’s National Security Solutions team provides high-end engineering and advanced technology solutions to our customers in the intelligence and national security communities. In this position, your work will have a profound impact on the country’s most critical role – protecting our national security.

Responsibilities

• Support the architecture, analysis, integration, and technical oversight of advanced satellite communications systems.
• Work across RF, IF, baseband, and networking layers to evaluate and develop modem and terminal architectures for satellite communications systems.
• Analyze and define modem and RF subsystem architectures for SATCOM systems.
• Evaluate modulation and coding schemes (QPSK, 8PSK, APSK variants, LDPC, Turbo, etc.) under operational link conditions.
• Assess and support implementation of multiple access techniques.
• Develop and review link budgets, spectral efficiency analysis, and interference mitigation strategies.
• Support System-on-Chip (SoC) or FPGA-based modem implementations and hardware/software partitioning decisions.
• Define system and interface requirements across RF, IF, baseband, and Layer 2 interfaces.
• Support integration and test of modem and terminal subsystems in laboratory and field environments.
• Identify technical risks and performance trades across waveform, RF, and network layers.

Required Qualifications

• BS in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Applied Mathematics, or related field.
• 5+ years of progressively responsible experience in communications system development.
• Experience supporting modem, waveform, or RF subsystem design or integration.
• Experience supporting integration and system-level testing.
• Experience working in DoD or defense communications programs.
• Knowledge of RF engineering principles including non-linear effects, phase noise, filtering, frequency planning, and interference analysis.
• Understanding of digital communications theory including modulation, coding, synchronization, and detection.
• Experience evaluating or implementing ModCod strategies and adaptive coding and modulation.
• Experience with multiple access schemes.
• Experience performing link budget analysis and system performance modeling.
• Experience with modeling/simulation tools such as MATLAB or equivalent.
• Ability to translate waveform and RF performance analysis into actionable system requirements.
• Active DoD SECRET clearance.

Desired Qualifications

• MS in Electrical Engineering (Communications, RF, or Signal Processing concentration preferred).
• Experience with MILSATCOM (WGS, AEHF, MUOS) or Commercial SATCOM systems.
• Experience with protected waveforms and secure modem architectures.
• Active DoD Top Secret clearance.

Pay

Basic Compensation: $125–135k. The offered rate will be based on the selected candidate’s knowledge, skills, abilities and/or experience and in consideration of internal parity.