Early Career Software/Embedded Engineer - RF Communication Systems Onsite

About Sandia:

Sandia National Laboratories is the nation's premier science and engineering lab for national security and technology innovation, with teams of specialists focused on cutting-edge work in a broad array of areas. Some of the main reasons we love our jobs:

Challenging work with amazing impact that contributes to security, peace, and freedom worldwide

Extraordinary co-workers

Some of the best tools, equipment, and research facilities in the world

Career advancement and enrichment opportunities

Flexible work arrangements for many positions include 9/80 (work 80 hours every two weeks, with every other Friday off) and 4/10 (work 4 ten-hour days each week) compressed workweeks, part-time work, and telecommuting (a mix of onsite work and working from home)

Generous vacations, strong medical and other benefits, competitive 401k, learning opportunities, relocation assistance and amenities aimed at creating a solid work/life balance*

World-changing technologies. Life-changing careers. Learn more about Sandia at: /sandia.gov*These benefits vary by job classification.

What Your Job Will Be Like:

We seek an early career Software/Embedded Engineer to join the Advanced RF Applications department and contribute to research, development, troubleshooting, field testing, production, and delivery of advanced RF/microwave systems. The systems we build are utilized in high impact, high consequence national security applications.

This position's primary focus will be the development of embedded software for specialized RF communication systems.

Job duties include conceptualization, requirements development, software programming, design definition documentation, qualification/acceptance testing process development and execution, system deployment support, and system sustainment activities.

Additional focus will be assisting signal processing engineers with visualization, data processing, and transitioning MATLAB based algorithms to C+ (or equivalent) focusing on runtime efficiency.

Successful candidates will become part of a multi-discipline, success oriented, high-performance, project team delivering systems that impact our National Security. Projects range from very fast paced, quick reaction requests in response to real-world driven needs to longer term, life-critical efforts with rigorous development requirements. This position requires occasional travel.

On any given day you may be called upon to:

Work independently with little oversight or collaboratively with a team to develop software systems

Evaluate new technologies and prototype, architect, design, and develop strategic software solutions that balance customer needs, business constraints, and technological realities to produce successful mission enabling software systems

Use creativity to innovate on existing systems and capabilities while balancing size, weight, and power (SWaP) constraints

Modify, improve, and fix existing embedded software solutions

Report on progress and advances to peers, management, and stakeholders and interact effectively in a collaborative environment with designers, researchers, engineers, product managers, and other team members

Develop test plans and perform laboratory and field testing

Contribute to deeply rewarding missions through engagement with diverse computer science specialties.

Salary Range:

$95,400 - $185,700
• Salary range is estimated, and actual salary will be determined after consideration of the selected candidate's experience and qualifications, and application of any approved geographic salary differential.

Qualifications We Require:

Bachelor's degree in relevant STEM discipline from an accredited undergraduate program

Experience in developing software and firmware (C, C+)

Ability to translate MATLAB (or equivalent) algorithms into C or C+

Experience with Machine Learning, particularly AI/ML training models and schemes

Interest to learn embedded software/hardware troubleshooting techniques using measurement equipment (oscilloscopes, logic analyzers) and RF test equipment (spectrum/network analyzers)

Ability to acquire and maintain DOE Q security clearance.

Qualifications We Desire:

Ideally, we would like to see your background include some of the following:

Knowledge and experience with implementation of the full software development process from requirements definition through verification and validation to delivery

Experience with C, C+ for embedded systems

Experience with version control systems like Git or Subversion

Experience or interest in radio frequency/wireless systems

Experience or interest in time-sensitive control of electronics and sensors

Ability to develop and present ideas and results in oral and written form

Critical thinking, synthesis and problem-solving; ability to deal with ambiguity and adapt to fast-paced, customer-focused operations; teaming; self-starting.

Active DOE Q or DOD TS security clearance.

About Our Team:

The Advanced Radio Frequency Applications department researches, develops, evaluates and deploys specialized RF systems for a number of national security applications including space based, airborne, and terrestrial RF communications, Command and Control (C2), remote sensing, nontraditional Electronic Counter Measures / Electronic Warfare (ECM/EW), and specialized Tagging, Tracking, and Locating (TTL) systems. Members of the department have broadly varying skills including RF/microwave circuit and system design, antenna design, digital signal processing, embedded system hardware and software, digital system design, operational field-testing development/support, and program/project management. Design challenges include highly miniaturized electronic system design, communication system architecture, ultra-low size, weight, and power (SWaP) hardware, ultra-low-noise receivers, and signal extraction/classification techniques in low Signal-to-Noise-Ratio environments. We are tightly integrated with other departments in the Advanced RF Applications business area and regularly partner across organizational boundaries internal and external to SNL, to include working closely with Government/Military partners to consistently deliver high-impact solutions to some of our nation's most difficult national security problems.

Posting Duration:

This posting will be open for application submissions for a minimum of seven (7) calendar days, including the 'posting date'. Sandia reserves the right to extend the posting date at any time.

Security Clearance:

Sandia is required by DOE to conduct a pre-employment drug test and background review that includes checks of personal references, credit, law enforcement records, and employment/education verifications. Applicants for employment need to be able to obtain and maintain a DOE Q-level security clearance, which requires U.S. citizenship. If you hold more than one citizenship (i.e., of the U.S. and another country), your ability to obtain a security clearance may be impacted.

Applicants offered employment with Sandia are subject to a federal background investigation to meet the requirements for acc.