Radar Signal Processing Engineer III

Sub Department: Michigan Tech Research Institute (MTRI)

 

Michigan Technological University is an R1 technological research university founded in 1885 in Houghton. Our rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's scenic Upper Peninsula and is home to nearly 7,500 students from more than 60 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 185 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Research focus areas include defense, health, energy, automotive, environment, and aerospace.

The area’s waters, forests, and snowfall support year-round recreation, including skiing, snowboarding, hiking, biking, and paddling. The University is an integral part of the region, supported by a friendly and welcoming community that takes pride in being a true college town. We embrace our size, climate, sense of adventure, and originality.

Summary

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