Senior RFAntenna Engineer

The Defense Systems Group at Leidos has an immediate opening for a Senior RF / Antenna Engineer at our St. Petersburg FL facility. This position supports the development integration and testing of advanced RF and phased array antenna systems for mission-critical defense applications.

In this role you will contribute to the architecture design analysis and integration of complex RF antenna systems supporting Department of Defense and national security customers. You will collaborate with multidisciplinary engineering teams and interface with systems engineering program leadership and customers to deliver innovative solutions for challenging operational environments.

The St. Petersburg facility specializes in the design modeling and simulation prototyping integration and testing of advanced electronic systems with a focus on embedded communications systems Software Defined Radios (SDR) phased array antenna systems and secure RF architectures operating in contested and denied environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Design analyze and optimize RF and antenna subsystems.
• Perform electromagnetic simulations and validate performance through laboratory and field testing.
• Support system architecture development and RF link analysis.
• Develop antenna concepts and perform trade studies for performance size weight and power constraints.
• Conduct RF measurements debugging and performance characterization.
• Support integration of RF hardware into larger system architectures.
• Prepare technical documentation test reports and engineering presentations.
• Collaborate with systems mechanical digital and software engineering teams.
• Participate in design reviews and technical assessments.
• Support proposal efforts and customer technical discussions as needed.

Clearance Qualifications

• U.S. Citizenship required.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Secret Security Clearance.
• Willingness to work in classified laboratory environments and support secure development integration and test activities.
• Ability to comply with all program-specific security requirements including handling of classified materials and controlled technical data (ITAR/EAR).

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering Electromagnetics Physics or related technical discipline with 48 years of relevant experience; OR
• Masters degree in Electrical Engineering Electromagnetics Physics or related technical discipline with 26 years of relevant experience.
• Strong understanding of RF and microwave engineering fundamentals.
• Experience with antenna design analysis and testing.
• Familiarity with electromagnetic simulation and modeling tools such as HFSS CST FEKO ADS or similar.
• Experience with RF test equipment including VNAs spectrum analyzers signal generators power meters and oscilloscopes.
• Knowledge of RF propagation impedance matching link budgets and system-level RF performance.
• Ability to analyze technical data and troubleshoot RF system issues.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work effectively in a collaborative engineering environment.
• U.S. citizenship required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting DoD aerospace defense or government programs.
• Experience supporting phased array or advanced antenna system development efforts.
• Familiarity with planar or conformal array architectures and beamforming concepts.
• Familiarity with antenna measurement techniques including near-field and far-field testing.
• Proficiency with electromagnetic simulation and modeling tools such as HFSS FEKO CST or equivalent and familiarity with MATLAB or similar analysis tools.
• Experience with phased arrays beamforming EW systems radar systems SATCOM or tactical communications.
• Familiarity with mutual coupling effects scan performance sidelobe control and array calibration principles.
• Experience designing wideband multi-band or conformal antennas.
• Knowledge of EMI/EMC principles and testing.
• Experience with MATLAB Python or other scripting/analysis tools.
• Familiarity with RF PCB design and microwave components.
• Active Secret or Top Secret clearance preferred.

If youre looking for comfort keep scrolling. At Leidos we outthink outbuild and outpace the status quo because the mission demands it. Were not hiring followers. Were recruiting the ones who disrupt provoke and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. Were already at step 30 and moving faster than anyone else dares.

Original Posting:

Pay Range:

The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline onlyand not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job education experience knowledge skills and abilities as well as internal equity alignment with market data applicable bargaining agreement (if any) or other law.