Radar Signal Processing Engineer III

Summary

This position has the possibility of being located in Ann Arbor, Michigan or Dayton, Ohio.

At Michigan Tech Research Institute (MTRI), we develop advanced technologies that help our nation better understand, sense, and operate within complex natural and human-made environments. Our work spans multidisciplinary research and applied development, advancing ideas from foundational concepts to mission-relevant prototypes. We are seeking a Radar Signal Processing Engineer III to lead development of advanced radar sensing capabilities supporting national security missions. This role focuses on designing and evaluating radar signal processing algorithms, developing sensing architectures, and advancing radar technologies through applied research, development, and evaluation. The successful candidate will serve as a technical leader within research programs, contributing to proposal development, mentoring junior staff, and delivering innovative sensing solutions aligned with sponsor needs.

Responsibilities and Essential Duties

1. Lead development of radar signal processing algorithms for detection, estimation, tracking, classification, and SAR imaging.
2. Design and evaluate radar signal processing chains for sensing applications, including RF and electronic warfare environments.
3. Develop modeling and simulation frameworks to evaluate radar system performance and sensing concepts.
4. Incorporate radar phenomenology and propagation effects into modeling and algorithm development.
5. Design and execute experiments using radar datasets and prototype sensing systems.
6. Collaborate with hardware, RF, and systems engineering teams to integrate algorithms into prototype platforms.
7. Serve as task lead on research projects and mentor junior engineers.
8. Lead development of technical approaches for proposals and contribute to capture strategy.
9. Present technical results to sponsors and external stakeholders.
10. Contribute to publications, conference presentations, and technical reports.
11. Commit to learning about continuous improvement strategies and applying them to everyday work. Actively engage in University continuous improvement initiatives.
12. Apply safety-related knowledge, skills, and practices to everyday work.

Required Education, Certifications, Licensures

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Applied Mathematics, or related field.

Required Experience

1. 8–12 years relevant experience
2. Experience developing radar algorithms using MATLAB, Python, or C++.
3. Experience with radar modeling, simulation, and data analysis.
4. Demonstrated ability to lead technical tasks or projects.

Desirable Education and/or Experience

1. MS or PhD Electrical Engineering, Physics, Applied Mathematics, or related field.
2. 12+ years relevant experience
3. Experience as Principal Investigator (PI) on research projects.
4. Previously lead the execution of research projects, including technical scope, schedule, and deliverables.
5. Ability to provide technical direction for radar sensing approaches within research efforts.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and/or Abilities

1. Ability to obtain a U.S. Department of Defense security clearance, which requires United States citizenship. Obtaining a national security clearance while holding a dual citizenship will not be possible when the foreign country poses a risk to the national security of the United States.
2. Strong expertise in radar signal processing and statistical signal processing.
3. Strong written and verbal communication skills.
4. Experience with at least one of the following: radar phenomenology and propagation effects, SAR image formation and radar imaging techniques, electronic warfare or RF signal exploitation, radar/RF classification and feature extraction, software defined radio or prototype radar systems, GPU/FPGA acceleration or high-performance computing.

Desirable Knowledge, Skills, and/or Abilities

1. Active government security clearance at Secret level or higher.
2. Demonstrated success in, or potential future contributions to, working with persons with a wide variety of backgrounds and viewpoints.
3. Experience with two or more of the following: radar phenomenology and propagation effects, SAR image formation and radar imaging techniques, electronic warfare or RF signal exploitation, radar/RF classification and feature extraction, software defined radio or prototype radar systems, GPU/FPGA acceleration or high-performance computing.

Work Environment and/or Physical Demands

WORK ENVIRONMENT: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The noise level in the work environment is usually low to moderate.

Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) % (1=100%): 1.0

FLSA Status: Exempt

Appointment Term: 12 months

Pay Rate/Salary: Salary is commensurate with experience and qualifications.

Title of Position Supervisor: Research Engineer III

Posting Type: Internal and External

Dependent on Funding: Yes. This position is contingent upon the continued availability of external funding.