Senior Principal Photonics Engineer

Date Posted:

2025-03-24

Country:

United States of America

Location:

MD721: HS Columbia MD 7100 Columbia Gateway Dr Suite 160, Columbia, MD, 21046 USA

Position Role Type:

Onsite

At Raytheon, the foundation of everything we do is rooted in our values and a higher calling – to help our nation and allies defend freedoms and deter aggression.  We bring the strength of more than 100 years of experience and renowned engineering expertise to meet the needs of today’s mission and stay ahead of tomorrow’s threat.  Our team solves tough, meaningful problems that create a safer, more secure world. 

Raytheon’s Photonics Systems group delivers solutions that help our military and government customers complete their most complex missions — whatever and wherever they may be. Our customers depend on us for intelligent and secure communications, missionized systems for specialized aircraft and spacecraft and collaborative space solutions. By joining our team, you’ll have your own critical part to play in ensuring our customer succeeds today while anticipating their needs for tomorrow.  

We are actively searching for a Senior Principal Photonics Engineer to join our team in Columbia, Maryland, in the development of advanced RF photonic engineering solutions for internal, DoD and external customers. The ideal candidate will possess a broad skillset including design, practical implementation and testing of complex RF photonic processing systems, as well as a comprehensive understanding of the devices driving their performance. They will also identify opportunities and lead efforts to capture customer funded R&D programs. In addition, the successful candidate will successfully engage the customer community (both internal and external) to help craft photonics technology solutions to support next-generation customer applications.

What You Will Do

• Design RF Photonic systems and model performance based on constituent device performance and system operating parameters.

• Build and demonstrate RF Photonic systems needed to execute U.S. Government research and development contracts.

• Write reports detailing test results to stakeholders, including government sponsors.

• Perform forward looking company sponsored research and development projects.

• Contribute to proposal efforts and external customer funding opportunities.

• This 1st shift role will be 100% on-site and based in Columbia, MD.

Qualifications You Must Have

• Typically requires a Bachelor’s degree in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) and a minimum of 10 years of prior work experience, or an Advanced Degree in a related field and minimum 7 years of prior work experience.

• Experience designing and modeling RF photonic systems to frequencies >5 GHz.

• Experience in the assembly and characterization of RF photonic systems.

• Experience with RF and photonic signals including design, measurement, and modification of spectrum and patterns.

• The ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government issued Top Secret security clearance post-start is required. U.S. citizenship is required, as only U.S. citizens are eligible for a security clearance.

Qualifications We Prefer

• Coherent photonic signal processing experience.

• Experience with the design, assembly, and characterization of optical fiber-based components and sub-systems.

• Written and oral communication abilities, along with presentation skills.

• Experience working in a collaborative group environment including engineers, technicians, and support personnel.

What We Offer

• Our values drive our actions, behaviors, and performance with a vision for a safer, more connected world. At RTX we value: Safety, Trust, Respect, Accountability, Collaboration, and Innovation.

• This position offers relocation based on candidate eligibility.

Learn More & Apply Now!

• Please consider the following role type definition as you apply for this role. Onsite: Employees who are working in Onsite roles will work primarily onsite.

• Clearance Information: This position requires a security clearance. DCSA Consolidated Adjudication Services (DCSA CAS), an agency of the Department of Defense, handles and adjudicates the security clearance process. More information about Security Clearances can be found on the US De