Senior Technical Director – Spectrum Dominance
Senior Technical Director – Spectrum Systems & Electromagnetic Dominance
United States (Hybrid / Clearance Eligible)
An advanced defense technology organization is seeking a Senior Technical Director to lead the technical vision and development of next-generation RF systems, electronic warfare capabilities, and spectrum sensing technologies.
This is a senior technical leadership position responsible for defining and executing the roadmap for advanced electromagnetic spectrum technologies. The successful candidate will guide multidisciplinary engineering teams across hardware, software, and algorithm development to deliver deployable capabilities supporting national security missions.
This role is ideal for a deeply technical leader with experience architecting end-to-end RF systems and transitioning advanced research concepts into operational systems.
Role Overview
The Senior Technical Director will serve as the technical authority for a portfolio of advanced RF and electromagnetic spectrum technologies. This individual will lead complex research and development programs spanning electronic warfare, sensing, radar, and advanced communications systems.
Working closely with engineering, product, and mission partners, the role will ensure emerging technologies evolve from early-stage research through prototype development and ultimately into fielded, mission-ready solutions.
Key Responsibilities
• Define and drive the long-term technical roadmap for advanced RF, electronic warfare, and sensing capabilities.
• Architect end-to-end RF systems spanning RF front-ends, digital signal processing, software-defined radios, and mission software.
• Lead multidisciplinary teams across RF engineering, FPGA development, software engineering, and algorithm development.
• Oversee advanced R&D programs from early concept development through prototype demonstration and operational deployment.
• Guide the transition of research technologies (TRL 3–6) into productized capabilities ready for manufacturing and operational use.
• Provide technical leadership supporting strategic capture efforts and government research programs.
• Mentor senior engineers and technical leaders while fostering a culture of innovation, experimentation, and engineering excellence.
• Collaborate closely with product, mission, and business development teams to align technology strategy with future operational needs.
Required Qualifications
• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, or a related technical discipline.
• 15+ years of experience designing and developing advanced RF or spectrum systems.
• Demonstrated experience architecting complex end-to-end RF systems.
• Expertise in one or more spectrum-related domains such as electronic warfare, SIGINT, radar, advanced communications, or spectrum sensing.
• Experience working with modern software-defined radio platforms and RF transceiver architectures.
• Strong background in digital signal processing, FPGA/SoC systems, or RF algorithm development.
• Proven leadership of multidisciplinary engineering teams across hardware, software, and signal processing disciplines.
• Experience delivering advanced R&D programs for government customers.
Preferred Qualifications
• Master’s or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, or a related field.
• Experience supporting or leading programs for organizations such as DARPA, AFRL, ONR, or other government research agencies.
• Experience applying modern compute techniques, including machine learning approaches, to RF or signal processing challenges.
• Background transitioning advanced research programs into fielded or commercially deployable systems.
• Experience contributing to successful government proposal development and technical strategy.
Security Requirements
Candidates must be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government security clearance. U.S. citizenship is required.
Why This Role
This position offers the opportunity to shape the next generation of spectrum technologies at a time when control of the electromagnetic domain is increasingly critical to national security. The role provides significant technical autonomy, access to advanced engineering resources, and the ability to influence mission-critical systems from concept through operational deployment.