Senior Principal RF Antenna System Engineer

About the role

The Defense Systems Group at Leidos has an immediate opening for a Senior Principal RF Antenna Systems Engineer at our St. Petersburg, FL facility. This position serves as a senior technical authority and system architect supporting the development of advanced phased array antenna systems for mission-critical defense applications.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the technical lead and subject matter expert for the architecture, design, analysis, integration, and production of advanced phased array antenna systems supporting mission-critical defense applications.
• Lead and mentor a multi-disciplinary engineering team (RF, antenna, digital, mechanical, thermal, software) through concept development, modeling and simulation, hardware implementation, integration, and qualification testing.
• Develop antenna system concepts in collaboration with customers and program leadership, translating mission needs into clear, traceable system requirements and performance specifications.
• Lead requirements development, decomposition, allocation, and traceability to ensure system-level objectives are achieved across antenna, RF front-end, and supporting subsystems.
• Conduct and oversee trade studies evaluating performance, cost, risk, manufacturability, scalability, and lifecycle supportability.
• Provide technical oversight throughout design reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR), integration, verification and validation (V&V), and transition to production.
• Guide electromagnetic modeling, array simulation, beamforming architecture development, and performance validation activities.
• Develop and review technical documentation including system architectures, interface control documents, verification plans, test procedures, and qualification reports.
• Identify emerging antenna and RF technologies, industry trends, and modernization opportunities to inform program strategy and innovation.
• Support business development and capture efforts through white papers, technical proposals, RFI responses, and customer technical engagements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Electromagnetics, RF Engineering, or related discipline with 12–15+ years of relevant experience, or Master’s degree with 10–13+ years of relevant experience in phased array or advanced antenna systems.
• Extensive experience in the design, analysis, fabrication, integration, and test of complex phased array antenna systems, including planar, conformal (cylindrical/spherical), and other non-planar array geometries.
• Deep understanding of array theory, beamforming techniques (analog, digital, hybrid), mutual coupling effects, scan loss, grating lobes, sidelobe control, and calibration methodologies.
• Experience conducting near-field and far-field antenna measurements, including near-field to far-field transformation techniques and associated signal processing algorithms.
• Proficiency with full-wave electromagnetic modeling and simulation tools such as HFSS, FEKO, CST, or equivalent, along with analytical and data processing tools such as MATLAB.
• Demonstrated experience leading multi-disciplinary engineering teams (RF, digital, mechanical, thermal, manufacturing) and conducting formal technical design reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR, TIMs) with government customers.
• Experience transitioning antenna designs from prototype through qualification and production, including manufacturability and integration considerations.
• Working knowledge of system-level trade studies considering performance, cost, schedule, risk, and lifecycle supportability.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with demonstrated experience presenting complex technical material to customers and senior leadership.

Pay

Pay Range $131,300.00 - $237,350.00