Principal Spectrum Engineer

At MITRE, your passion fuels work that impacts our nation and improves lives. This is where your skills strengthen national security, cybersecurity, health, transportation, and citizen services. We’re a nonprofit engineering, applied research, and advanced technology organization working in the public interest. With objectivity and integrity at our core, we lead federally funded research and development centers for U.S. government agencies – collaborating with industry and academia to deliver integrated, high-impact solutions that advance our nation’s health, security, and prosperity. Our people tackle the toughest technical challenges, supported by competitive benefits, meaningful career development, and a culture of innovation, collaboration, and technical excellence. Choose MITRE for a career with purpose — and help shape the future.

MITRE operates six Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), including the Center for Enterprise Modernization (CEM), sponsored by our public sector partners including the Department of Commerce. In the CEM FFRDC, we help our sponsors advance critical national missions through objective technical analysis, systems engineering, spectrum engineering, advanced sensing, technology modernization, and acquisition support.

MITRE is seeking a technically strong Principal Spectrum Engineer to provide technical leadership and hands-on engineering support for critical weather and environmental sensing missions. The ideal candidate will possess deep expertise in spectrum engineering, RF systems, radar, antennas, propagation, interference and compatibility analysis, and spectrum-dependent systems, combined with the systems engineering judgment needed to support complex operational systems and acquisitions.

A major near-term focus of this position will be technical leadership for spectrum compatibility and band studies involving the 2.7-2.9 GHz band, including analysis of incumbent radar systems, interference protection between incumbent and commercial systems, and potential new spectrum uses. The engineer will also support the acquisition and modernization of spectrum-dependent systems and provide broader RF, spectrum, and systems engineering expertise to operational weather systems.

This position requires an engineer who can move comfortably between detailed technical analysis and senior-level sponsor engagement. The successful candidate will personally evaluate engineering assumptions, models, code, data, protection criteria, and conclusions while providing technical direction to multidisciplinary teams and translating complex engineering results into actionable recommendations.

Roles & Responsibilities:

• Spectrum Band Studies & Compatibility Analysis: Lead complex spectrum band studies and electromagnetic compatibility analyses, with an initial focus on the 2.7-2.9 GHz band. Develop and evaluate interference scenarios involving radar and other spectrum-dependent systems, including propagation, antenna characteristics, receiver performance, aggregate interference, deployment assumptions, operational scenarios, and applicable protection criteria.
• Hands-on Spectrum Engineering: Personally develop, execute, and review RF propagation, link-budget, interference, coexistence, and statistical analyses using MATLAB, Python, and specialized spectrum-engineering tools. Evaluate model validity, input-data pedigree, sensitivity, uncertainty, and limitations to ensure technically defensible and reproducible conclusions.
• Spectrum-Dependent System Acquisition: Provide spectrum engineering expertise throughout the acquisition and modernization lifecycle of spectrum-dependent systems. Support requirements development, architecture and design reviews, technical evaluations, trade studies, test planning, and risk assessments to ensure spectrum considerations are incorporated early and effectively into system decisions.
• Weather & Radar Systems Engineering: Apply RF, radar, spectrum, and systems engineering expertise to operational sensing and weather systems. Evaluate how interference, spectrum constraints, RF architectures, and system design choices affect end-to-end system performance and mission outcomes.
• Strategic Technical Leadership: Provide technical direction for multidisciplinary engineering teams addressing complex and high-visibility spectrum problems. Establish analytical approaches and quality standards, conduct technical peer reviews, challenge assumptions and conclusions, and bring together appropriate expertise from across MITRE and external organizations.
• Sponsor & Interagency Engagement: Serve as a trusted technical advisor to government spectrum, engineering, acquisition, and mission stakeholders. Represent technical analyses in interagency and industry discussions, explain complex results to both technical and executive audiences, and clearly communicate assumptions, uncertainties, tradeoffs, and mission implications.
• Work Shaping, Documentation & Mentorship: Identify emerging technical needs, help shape future engineering efforts, author and review high-quality technical reports and briefings, and mentor engineers to strengthen spectrum, RF, and systems engineering capabilities across the organization.

Basic Qualifications:

• Typically requires a minimum of 10 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 8 years and a Master’s degree; or a PhD with 5 years’ experience; or equivalent combination of related education and work experience.
• Master's Degree or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, Communications Engineering, Physics, Applied Mathematics, or a highly related technical discipline.
• Experience in spectrum engineering, RF systems engineering, radar engineering, electromagnetic compatibility, wireless systems, or a closely related technical field.
• Demonstrated experience conducting or leading spectrum compatibility, interference, coexistence, or band-study analyses involving complex spectrum-dependent systems.
• Deep technical understanding of RF systems, including transmitters, receivers, antennas, propagation, link budgets, interference mechanisms, radar or communications systems, and system-level performance.
• Demonstrated proficiency developing and evaluating RF propagation and interference analyses using MATLAB, Python, or comparable engineering tools, including experience assessing model assumptions, sensitivity, uncertainty, and technical limitations.
• Demonstrated experience leading technically complex engineering efforts, independently reviewing and challenging analytical methods and conclusions, and providing technical direction across multidisciplinary teams.
• Exceptional written, verbal, and briefing skills with demonstrated ability to communicate detailed engineering concepts, analytical assumptions, uncertainty, and mission implications to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Must have an active Top Secret/SCI U.S Government issued Security Clearance. Per the U.S. Government’s eligibility requirements, you must be a U.S Citizen to be considered for a security clearance.
• This position requires a minimum of 4 days a week on-site.

Preferred Qualifications:

• MS or PhD in electrical engineering, math, or physics
• Technical experience with radar systems operating in the 2.7-2.9 GHz band or comparable radar frequency bands.
• Experience analyzing spectrum sharing between incumbent federal systems and proposed commercial or other non-federal spectrum uses.
• Knowledge of federal spectrum management, including spectrum allocation, assignment, coordination, interference protection, and spectrum-sharing processes.
• Experience with weather radar, meteorological sensing, environmental sensing, or other mission-critical radar and remote-sensing systems.
• Experience supporting the acquisition, modernization, or lifecycle engineering of spectrum-dependent systems, including development or evaluation of spectrum-related system requirements.
• Experience applying deterministic and statistical/Monte Carlo methods to spectrum compatibility studies, including aggregate interference and geographically distributed system analyses.
• Experience validating analytical models through measurement, test and evaluation, or comparison with authoritative data.
• Demonstrated success building trusted technical relationships with government sponsors, working across multiple organizations or agencies, mentoring engineers, and shaping new technical work based on emerging mission needs.

This requisition requires the candidate to have a minimum of the following clearance(s):

Top Secret/SCI

This requisition requires the hired candidate to have or obtain, within one year from the date of hire, the following clearance(s):

Top Secret/SCI

Salary compensation range and midpoint:

$173,200 - $216,500 - $259,800 Annual

Work Location Type:

Onsite

Commitment to Non-Discrimination

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to disability, status as a protected veteran or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, local or international law.

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