Electrical Engineer Optical Communications
Protingent, San Carlos, CA, United States
Job Description
Position Title: Electrical Engineer Optical Communications
Position Description: Protingent Staffing has an exciting direct-hire Electrical Engineer Optical Communications opportunity.
Job Responsibilities:
Design, develop, and integrate communication PCBAs, modulators, and devices for airborne or space-based platforms
Architect and implement SDR-based communication pipelines (modulation, encoding, synchronization, and signal processing)
Develop high-speed optical communication links (free-space optics / laser comms), including link budgeting, pointing and tracking, and alignment strategies with intelligent failover and redundancy
Perform system-level trade studies from high-speed optical links
Design and validate end-to-end communication chains, from data streams, through communication PCBAs, and to optical front-ends
Collaborate closely with avionics, firmware, and compute teams to integrate comms systems into flight hardware
Develop test infrastructure for lab and field validation, including over-the-air testing and optical link validation setups
Analyze performance under real-world conditions (noise, interference, Doppler, atmospheric turbulence, pointing loss) and iterate rapidly
Own documentation, interface definitions, and system performance metrics for communication subsystems
Job Qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Physics, or related field
3+ years of experience in RF systems, communications engineering, or related domain
Strong fundamentals in communication theory (modulation, coding, synchronization, signal propagation)
Experience in designing PCBA’s for communication systems
Experience with software-defined radio platforms
Hands-on experience with RF lab equipment (spectrum analyzers, signal generators, VNAs, oscilloscopes)
Familiarity with link budgeting and system-level performance analysis
Experience working across hardware and software boundaries
Preferred Job Qualifications:
Experience designing or deploying high-speed optical communication systems (free-space optics, laser communications, coherent optical links, or photonics)
Background in avionics, aerospace systems, or other mission-critical embedded environments
Experience with real-time DSP implementation on embedded systems, FPGAs, or GPUs
Familiarity with SDR frameworks and low-level radio hardware (e.g., USRPs or custom RF front-ends)
Understanding of atmospheric effects on both RF and optical propagation (scattering, absorption, turbulence)
Experience with pointing, acquisition, and tracking (PAT) systems for optical links
Knowledge of antenna systems, phased arrays, or optical beam steering technologies
Experience with high-throughput data systems and low-latency communication architectures
Experience working within SWaP (size, weight, and power) constraints for flight systems
Strong debugging skills across the full stack: RF front-end, optical systems, firmware, and software
Job Details:
Job Type: Direct Hire
Salary Range: Market Rate
Location: San Carlos, CA (Onsite)
ITAR obligations are associated with this role, U.S. citizenship, U.S. legal permanent resident status, or protected person status under 8 U.S.C.
1324b(a) (1), (3) is required
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Position Title: Electrical Engineer Optical Communications
Position Description: Protingent Staffing has an exciting direct-hire Electrical Engineer Optical Communications opportunity.
Job Responsibilities:
Design, develop, and integrate communication PCBAs, modulators, and devices for airborne or space-based platforms
Architect and implement SDR-based communication pipelines (modulation, encoding, synchronization, and signal processing)
Develop high-speed optical communication links (free-space optics / laser comms), including link budgeting, pointing and tracking, and alignment strategies with intelligent failover and redundancy
Perform system-level trade studies from high-speed optical links
Design and validate end-to-end communication chains, from data streams, through communication PCBAs, and to optical front-ends
Collaborate closely with avionics, firmware, and compute teams to integrate comms systems into flight hardware
Develop test infrastructure for lab and field validation, including over-the-air testing and optical link validation setups
Analyze performance under real-world conditions (noise, interference, Doppler, atmospheric turbulence, pointing loss) and iterate rapidly
Own documentation, interface definitions, and system performance metrics for communication subsystems
Job Qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Physics, or related field
3+ years of experience in RF systems, communications engineering, or related domain
Strong fundamentals in communication theory (modulation, coding, synchronization, signal propagation)
Experience in designing PCBA’s for communication systems
Experience with software-defined radio platforms
Hands-on experience with RF lab equipment (spectrum analyzers, signal generators, VNAs, oscilloscopes)
Familiarity with link budgeting and system-level performance analysis
Experience working across hardware and software boundaries
Preferred Job Qualifications:
Experience designing or deploying high-speed optical communication systems (free-space optics, laser communications, coherent optical links, or photonics)
Background in avionics, aerospace systems, or other mission-critical embedded environments
Experience with real-time DSP implementation on embedded systems, FPGAs, or GPUs
Familiarity with SDR frameworks and low-level radio hardware (e.g., USRPs or custom RF front-ends)
Understanding of atmospheric effects on both RF and optical propagation (scattering, absorption, turbulence)
Experience with pointing, acquisition, and tracking (PAT) systems for optical links
Knowledge of antenna systems, phased arrays, or optical beam steering technologies
Experience with high-throughput data systems and low-latency communication architectures
Experience working within SWaP (size, weight, and power) constraints for flight systems
Strong debugging skills across the full stack: RF front-end, optical systems, firmware, and software
Job Details:
Job Type: Direct Hire
Salary Range: Market Rate
Location: San Carlos, CA (Onsite)
ITAR obligations are associated with this role, U.S. citizenship, U.S. legal permanent resident status, or protected person status under 8 U.S.C.
1324b(a) (1), (3) is required
#J-18808-Ljbffr