Wireless Communications Engineer (SDR)

SkySafe is the leader in drone detection and airspace intelligence, delivering unmatched visibility into drone activity. As the only company offering advanced drone detection, deep analytics, and forensics, SkySafe enables organizations to detect, analyze, and act on drone activity with precision in real-time. Its cloud-based SaaS platform provides comprehensive drone data, helping distinguish between authorized drones and potential threats. By transforming complex drone data into actionable insight, SkySafe empowers organizations to act with clarity and confidence and provides the intelligence needed for smarter decision-making and safer skies.

 

At SkySafe, we’re passionate about building innovative solutions that push boundaries and solve complex problems in the UAS space. We’re looking for an experienced SDR Wireless Communications / Modems Engineer to join our small, high-impact team. The ideal candidate has deep expertise in implementing L1/L2 (physical + MAC) layers of wireless communication systems using SDR techniques. In this role, a successful candidate will work alongside our reverse engineering team to implement demodulation and decoding for various wireless protocols, as well as to independently optimize and improve existing SDR modem code.

Improve and evolve SkySafe’s industry leading SDR-based systems for drone detection and tracking

Develop, optimize, and maintain signal detection, demodulation, and decoding algorithms

Build software modems, producing working solutions from information provided by reverse engineers

Optimize existing SDR modems, working alongside other engineers to improve processing performance and RF performance (sensitivity) for existing modems

Support operational requirements and participate in the on-call operations schedule

Work with the software and sensors team to monitor and improve field deployed modem performance 

5+ years of relevant experience

Strong background in signal processing, communication systems, information theory, and channel coding

Demonstrated ability to implement complex wireless systems, preferably including OFDM and MIMO

Proven track record of independently delivering solutions in research, development, or operational settings

Background in SDR modem implementation using C++ and Python

Proficient with Linux systems

Proficient in software development practices: Git, testing, automation, observability, metrics, issue tracking, code reviews, etc.

This position requires access to technology, materials, software or hardware that is controlled by US export laws. In order to be eligible for this position, you must be a US person under US export laws or, eligible for approval for a U.S. Government export license. A US Person includes a US citizen, lawful Permanent Resident, refugee or asylee.

Highly self-motivated and resourceful; able to take ownership and move projects forward independently

Strong communication and collaboration skills; comfortable working in a distributed team environment

Ability to manage time effectively and meet deadlines in a fast-paced setting

Experience with NI (Ettus) SDRs, covering the RF design, FPGA firmware, and intricacies of UHD and RFNoC

Familiarity with one or more modern wireless standards (LTE, 5G NR, WiFi, Bluetooth, GNSS, etc.)

Experience with signals analysis / reverse engineering

Familiarity with SDR processing offload techniques (FPGA, GPU, etc.)

Complete onboarding and gain a strong understanding of SkySafe’s mission, products, and technical architecture

Become familiar with existing SDR modem implementations and field-deployed systems

Set up your development environment and begin contributing to modem analysis or improvements

Contribute meaningful improvements to existing demodulation or decoding pipelines

Collaborate with reverse engineers to translate protocol insights into working modem components

Participate in performance optimization and validation of SDR systems using real-world data

Independently design and deploy enhancements to SDR modem performance or new protocol support

Integrate your work into production systems and support field validation efforts

Take ownership of specific modem components or signal processing pipelines

Lead the development and optimization of multiple SDR modem features used in production

Play a key role in shaping the technical direction of SkySafe’s wireless detection capabilities

Mentor teammates and contribute to improving engineering best practices and workflows