Senior Embedded Systems Engineer

About the role

At FIRST RF, we are seeking a skilled Senior Embedded Systems Engineer to join our dynamic team. In this role, you will design and develop active RF systems for our cutting-edge products. Within your first year here, you will be expected to lead projects with small, multidisciplinary teams. This will require you to prepare and present technical material for your customers. You will interface directly with your customer to negotiate and verify specification compliance and guide the work of your team to ensure successful project completion. You will work with your customer and your team to strike a collectively agreeable balance among system-level considerations including performance, cost, schedule, etc.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design, implementation, and verification of embedded electronics for advanced active RF prototypes and products
• Architect, develop, and optimize embedded firmware to enable complex hardware functionality and system integration
• Direct and perform advanced characterization, validation, and performance optimization using oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, VNAs, logic analyzers, and other specialized electronic/RF test equipment
• Oversee schematic development, PCB architecture reviews, and board bring-up, providing technical guidance and design mentorship to junior engineers
• Partner strategically with RF and mechanical engineers and the production team to define cross-discipline interfaces and ensure cohesive product integration
• Drive complex troubleshooting and root-cause analysis efforts, leading iterative design improvements and guiding the team through critical technical decisions
• Produce and review high-quality technical documentation, including design rationales, verification reports, risk assessments, and customer-facing technical deliverables
• Own system-level architecture contributions, including active RF subsystem design, end-to-end performance analysis, and trade-space evaluations
• Lead and mentor junior engineers, providing technical guidance and expertise to support their professional development
• Lead projects, prepare and present technical materials for your customers

Qualifications

• Required:
• U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain a U.S. Security Clearance
• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or equivalent
• Experience architecting, developing, and deploying embedded products from inception to manufacturing
• Experience with embedded firmware development with RTOS or embedded Linux
• Proficient understanding of signal processing fundamentals
• Proficiency in a technical programming language such as Python
• Proficiency with common test equipment including multi-meters, oscilloscopes, and logic analyzers
• Strong written and verbal communication skills to effectively convey complex technical concepts to customers, peers, and management
• Up to date with advancements in embedded technology and industry trends, and incorporate relevant innovations into our design processes
• PREFERRED:
• Altium, LTSpice, Linux, RTOS, Xilinx, RFSoc, DO-178C
• Experience with RF test equipment including phase noise analyzer, spectrum analyzer, network analyzer, and power meters