Electrical Engineer (RF / Embedded Systems)

Electrical Engineer (RF / Embedded Systems)

Company: Name disclosed upon mutual interest · Location: Herndon, VA (four days/week in office) · Travel: Periodic field work; occasional forward deployment (Ukraine and CONUS) · Comp: $130K to $140K base, $160K to $180K on-target, plus meaningful early-stage equity

About the Client

The client builds low-cost, long-range precision strike systems. Their flagship platform launches from high-altitude balloons above 80,000 feet, glides up to 1,000 km, and delivers GPS-independent precision effects at a fraction of the cost of a traditional munition. The system has been evaluated by the U.S. Army and is in operational use with allied forces today. We win on mass and affordability, and we are now taking a proven prototype to a product at scale.

About the Role

We are hiring an electrical engineer to help turn our stabilized prototype (V1) into a manufacturable, scalable product (V2). This is a key hire. Getting something to work is one thing; getting it to a repeatable, producible design is where many hardware startups stall, and it is exactly the problem we are solving next. You will own real RF and embedded work on hardware that flies through the stratosphere and operates in temperatures down to roughly minus 60 degrees Celsius.

We want someone who has taken the AI red pill. The engineers who thrive here reach for tools like Claude or Gemini first and run them side by side with their PCB and radio design software. If your default is to move fast with modern tooling, you will fit in.

Responsibilities

• Design and iterate RF and radio systems and the embedded electronics around them.
• Lead the shift from prototype to product: design for manufacturability, repeatability, and scale.
• Build hardware that survives high altitude and extreme cold, with an embedded-systems approach built for a demanding environment.
• Work hands-on across PCB design, power, firmware, and protocols such as I2C.
• Use modern AI tooling to move faster across design, review, and problem-solving.
• Collaborate with a small, senior team and get to the field when it helps the product.

Requirements

Must-Haves

• A solid electrical engineer at the mid-to-upper level: past the junior stage, on the path to senior. Not a principal, not a first-job engineer.
• Strong RF and radio design experience, plus embedded systems and firmware.
• Hands-on skill across PCB design, power electronics, and protocols like I2C.
• A track record of moving a design from prototype toward a manufacturable product.
• Fluency with modern AI tooling as part of how you work.
• Willingness to be in the Herndon office about four days a week and to travel to the field or deploy forward on occasion.
• U.S. person status and eligibility for relevant clearances may be required.

Why This Role

The person in this seat helps decide whether the company scales. You will not be maintaining someone else's design; you will be building the product foundation the company grows on, with room to grow into a senior role as you do it.

The client is an equal opportunity employer. This role supports defense work.