RF Communications Engineer

Work with cutting edge AI technology, making the world a safer and more secure place. DroneShield (ASX:DRO) offers an opportunity to solve some of world's most challenging technical problems in the rapidly growing counterdrone sector. Our customers are militaries, government agencies, airports, critical infrastructure, law enforcement and many others.

With one of the largest listed defence company market capitalisations in Australia, part of the ASX200 index, and having raised approximately $250m in 2024 alone, DroneShield is undergoing hypergrowth stage, fuelled by rapidly increasing use of drones for nefarious applications, from battlefield, to terrorism, to contraband delivery and commercial espionage.

This role will be based within a new DroneShield facility based in the Adelaide CBD. Droneshield has approximately 390 staff based within its Sydney headquarters and is scheduled to grow to 500 staff in Australia by end of 2026. Overseas on the ground presence includes Virginia (USA), Denmark, Germany and Dubai, as well as distributors in over 70 countries globally.

About The Role
The ideal candidate has a strong background in digital signal processing, wireless communications, and transmission waveform/protocol analysis, with experience in physical layer algorithms development including packet and signal detection, synchronisation and channel decoding. Understanding of the multiple access techniques including FHSS, TDMA, OFDMA/SC-FDMA will be highly desired. The position will report to the Sensors and Effectors Principal Architect.

The Sensors and Effectors team at Droneshield is focused on providing fully operational and qualified modular devices to enable new product development of high-end RF based sensors and effectors. These modules are re-used across various product configurations including man-portable, vehicle mounted and fixed site. Key technical challenges for the electronics aspect of these modules include the design of complex wide-band RF circuitry, high speed digital interface and high-power radio frequency output. DroneShield designs and builds the full signal chain from signal generation to antenna.

The primary focus of the role is to research and develop DroneShield's next generation of Capabilities, working closely with ML/AI, Data Science, RF and infrastructure teams to innovate and enhance DroneShield's world leading Anti-Drone technology. It represents an exceptional opportunity for a result-driven individual in a new niche but exploding market.

Responsibilities, Duties And Expectations

• Analyse real-world wireless signals to identify modulation schemes (OFDM, QPSK, QAM, FSK, etc.), waveform/protocol parameters and packet structures.
• Analyse and decode physical layer MIMO signal waveforms for LTE, 5G NR, Wi-Fi, and other wireless technologies.
• Understand and analyse frequency-hopped TDMA, OFDMA and SC-FDMA packet structures, including frame layouts, signal transmission patterns, pilots and preambles, and control/data channels.
• Develop algorithms for signal demodulation, synchronisation, detection and decoding.
• Develop and maintain evaluation pipelines for validating PHY layer protocols against real-world over-the-air captures.
• Conduct detailed system testing, unit testing, and performance benchmarking to ensure the reliability and robustness of protocol decoding techniques.
• Collaborate with R&D teams to provide insights on protocol behaviour and anomalies.
• Document engineering analysis methodology and results clearly
• Profile and optimise engineering analysis workflows for computational and memory efficiency, particularly during data processing and decoding.
• Implement automated processes and CI/CD pipelines for waveform processing, engineering analysis, and protocol simulation workflows.
• Read, interpret, and analyse technical specifications and standards for wireless protocols (e.g., 3GPP, IEEE, proprietary specs) to aid in mapping or reconstruction.
• Stay up to date with emerging wireless technologies, engineering analysis tools, SDR platforms, and communication standards.

Qualifications, Experience And Skills

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Telecommunications Engineering, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience in RF, communication protocols, and digital signal processing, preferably in the context of counter-UAS or electronic warfare systems. Demonstrable in-depth hobbyist experience also considered.

• The following attributes would be essential:

• Strong knowledge of digital signal processing (DSP): Linear systems, Frequency domain analysis, Time-frequency spectrogram analysis, filtering techniques, multirate signal processing, phase/frequency estimation, correlation etc.

• Experience with detection and analysis of digitally modulated signals: OFDM, QPSK, QAM, FSK, and other common wireless modulations.
• Experience with MIMO space-time diversity and spatial multiplexing techniques using multiple antennas.
• Deep understanding of multiple access techniques like FHSS, TDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA based wireless protocols: frame structures, broadcast signals, control channels, and data channels.
• Understanding of large- and small-scale signal fading, wireless channel modelling and simulation.
• Proficient in signal processing algorithm development and software tools: MATLAB, Python (NumPy, SciPy), GNURadio, Simulink.
• Solid understanding of RF and baseband signal chains, including ADCs, digital down converters, filters and SNR, BER, and EVM based analysis.
• Ability to analyse signals in noisy and multipath environments.

• Experience with RF test equipment, including spectrum analysers, signal generators, VNAs, oscilloscopes, etc.

• The following attributes would be highly desirable:

• Experience with SDR platforms.

• Familiarity with real-time signal processing and embedded systems.
• Knowledge of cryptography in wireless protocols.
• MATLAB or Python programming experience for algorithm prototyping.
• Knowledge of electronic warfare (EW) systems and counter-UAS technologies.
• Knowledge of machine learning concepts and how they are applied to solve problems in RF sensing.

Note for recruitment agencies: We do not accept unsolicited candidates from external recruiters unless specifically instructed.