As one of Leidos' oldest and largest programs supporting the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the NAS Integration Support Contract (NISC) Program is seeking a qualified professional to support the FAA's Brand-New Air Traffic Control System (BNATCS) initiative-specifically the Radar Surveillance Replacement (RSR) Program Office (AJM-41)-by serving as an RSR Radar Optimization Engineer. The selected candidate will support radar configuration, testing, calibration, troubleshooting, and optimization activities for the RSR PO at some of the nation's busiest and most critical airports.
Primary Responsibilities
Represent the PO at RSR sites, executing to an aggressive multi-site schedule.
Serve as an RSR subject matter expert (SME) to the RSR program office's project, optimization, and engineering leads.
Support the integration, configuration, testing, calibration, troubleshooting, and optimization of radar and associated electronic systems.
Configure radar tracking parameters, target-classification software, network interfaces, and integration middleware as required.
Perform advanced field troubleshooting and root-cause analysis to isolate signal interference, hardware faults, communications failures, and data-packet loss.
Support antenna alignment and mechanical tilt and azimuth verification, as well as the evaluation of equipment mounting, environmental enclosures, and thermal-management considerations affecting radar performance.
Use spectrum analyzers, oscilloscopes, power meters, and specialized radar diagnostic software to tune system gain, filter clutter, establish detection thresholds, and verify system performance.
Evaluate system interfaces, including Ethernet, serial, Controller Area Network (CAN), fiber-optic communications, power distribution, grounding, bonding, and surge-protection systems.
Analyze radar performance data and make necessary system adjustments to achieve required detection, tracking, accuracy, and reliability standards.
Document test results, system configurations, identified deficiencies, corrective actions, and final optimization settings.
Coordinate with FAA personnel, system engineers, vendors, and other technical stakeholders to resolve system-performance issues.
Ensure field activities comply with applicable FAA requirements, and site-specific safety procedures.
Travel Expectations
Travel is expected to be high-50% to 75% of the time.
Basic Qualifications
Bachelor's Degree with 12 years of relevant experience, or additional years of relevant experience that may be considered or accepted in lieu of a degree.
A degree, formal certification, or equivalent technical training in Electrical Engineering, Electronics Technology, Military Radar Systems, or a closely related discipline.
Experience with research, design, development, integration, maintenance, testing, calibration, or optimization of electrical and electronic equipment and systems.
Completion of formal radar training at the FAA Academy, a military technical school, or another recognized radar training program.
Prior radar certification authority at one or more airports or operational radar facilities.
Several years of hands-on field experience with one or more radar systems in the active National Airspace System (NAS) or a comparable operational environment.
In-depth knowledge of radio-frequency (RF) propagation, microwave transceivers, signal processing, antenna alignment, and waveguide systems.
Demonstrated knowledge of system-integration interfaces, including Ethernet, serial, CAN, and fiber-optic communications; network protocols; power distribution; grounding and bonding; and surge protection.
Proficiency using spectrum analyzers, oscilloscopes, power meters, and specialized radar diagnostic software.
Ability to perform radar testing, calibration, and optimization activities, including adjusting gain, filtering clutter, establishing detection thresholds, and verifying system performance.
Understanding of mechanical tilt and azimuth alignment, environmental enclosures, equipment mounting, and thermal-management requirements as they relate to radar performance.
Ability to configure radar tracking parameters, target-classification software, network interfaces, and integration middleware.
Advanced troubleshooting and root-cause-analysis skills for isolating RF interference, hardware faults, communications failures, and data-packet loss.
Ability to analyze radar performance data, document test results, and recommend or perform corrective adjustments.
Comprehensive understanding of FAA operational risk-management practices.
Ability to perform at a high level independently and as part of a small team while meeting an aggressive radar optimization schedule.
Demonstrated commitment to high-quality radar maintenance, testing, calibration, and optimization practices.
Professionalism when representing Leidos to FAA customers, consistent with delivering "best of the best" support.
Demonstrated knowledge of applicable FAA technical, safety, and radar-system requirements.
Ability to obtain and maintain an FAA Public Trust clearance.
Preferred Qualifications
The ideal candidate is a former FAA radar specialist, engineer, or technician with multi-year responsibility for radar systems in the operational NAS.
Experience with FAA surveillance radar systems and associated communications.
Familiarity with FAA safety requirements, grounding and bonding requirements, radar-performance standards, and site-specific work procedures.
If you're looking for comfort, keep scrolling. At Leidos, we outthink, outbuild, and outpace the status quo - because the mission demands it. We're not hiring followers. We're recruiting the ones who disrupt, provoke, and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. We're already at step 30 - and moving faster than anyone else dares.
Original Posting: September 16, 2026
For U.S. Positions: While subject to change based on business needs, Leidos reasonably anticipates that this job requisition will remain open for at least 3 days with an anticipated close date of no earlier than 3 days after the original posting date as listed above.
Pay Range: Pay Range $131,300.00 - $237,350.00
The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.
About Leidos
Leidos is an industry and technology leader serving government and commercial customers with smarter, more efficient digital and mission innovations. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with 47,000 global employees, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $16.7 billion for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2025. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com.
Pay and Benefits
Pay and benefits are fundamental to any career decision. That's why we craft compensation packages that reflect the importance of the work we do for our customers. Employment benefits include competitive compensation, Health and Wellness programs, Income Protection, Paid Leave and Retirement. More details are available at www.leidos.com/careers/pay-benefits.
Securing Your Data
Beware of fake employment opportunities using Leidos' name. Leidos will never ask you to provide payment-related information during any part of the employment application process (i.e., ask you for money), nor will Leidos ever advance money as part of the hiring process (i.e., send you a check or money order before doing any work). Further, Leidos will only communicate with you through emails that are generated by the Leidos.com automated system - never from free commercial services (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail) or via WhatsApp, Telegram, etc. If you received an email purporting to be from Leidos that asks for payment-related information or any other personal information (e.g., about you or your previous employer), and you are concerned about its legitimacy, please make us aware immediately by emailing us at LeidosCareersFraud@leidos.com.
If you believe you are the victim of a scam, contact your local law enforcement and report the incident to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
Commitment to Non-Discrimination
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, ethnicity, age, national origin, citizenship, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, pregnancy, family structure, marital status, ancestry, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran or military status, or any other basis prohibited by law. Leidos will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with relevant laws.
You apply on The Muse or on the employer's page; AtiveSite does not receive or process applications and is not affiliated with The Muse. The description above is shown as the source published it.
We could not match this job title to one occupation in the official wage statistics, so no pay estimate is shown. Pay is not in the source listing; ask the employer for the range and compare in the 240 job niches.
How to prepare and behave
This is editorial guidance, not information from the employer.
Read the whole description and match your examples to its requirements; use the same words the posting uses where they are true for you.
Research the employer before the interview: what it does, who its customers are and recent news; prepare two or three questions about the work.
Arrive early (or log in early for a video call), dress one step above the daily dress code, and test your camera and audio beforehand.
Answer with short stories: the situation, what you did and the result. Give numbers when you have them and never invent them.
Be honest about gaps; say what you did to learn and how fast you can close them.
Ask about the team, the first 90 days, how success is measured and the schedule; do not open with salary and time off.
When pay comes up, know the market range for the occupation and your lowest acceptable offer before you answer; ask for the full package in writing.
Send a short thank-you message within a day, mentioning one thing you discussed.
The listing mentions a remote or flexible location. Confirm with the employer whether remote work applies to your state: taxes, licensing and benefits can depend on where you live.
The listing is remote or has no US state we could identify. Read the country guide for pay, taxes, law and cost of living by state.
Where to live
The job city has no coordinates we can place on the map, so no housing comparison is shown. Use the 250 largest cities table to compare rent and income.
Career paths
We could not match this title to one occupation, so here are the other sub-niches in Engineering, Construction and Energy, where your skills may carry over:
This job has no single city we can place on the map (remote, flexible or unmatched location), so no distance table is shown. Browse all Engineering, Construction and Energy jobs with distances from any of the 20 largest cities.
Company description (from The Muse): Leidos is a Fortune 500® innovation company rapidly addressing the world’s most vexing challenges in national security and health.
size: Large Size; industries: Information Technology; locations on The Muse: Reston, VA.
These links go to official sources and open in a new window. The first one is the government's or company's own site as listed in Wikidata (property "official website"); check it before relying on it.
What it is like to work at a company (culture, schedules, benefits) is not in the source data, so we do not describe it. Read the description and ask the questions under "How to prepare".
What is the Sr Radar Optimization Engineer job at Leidos?
A senior level role in engineering, construction and energy (manufacturing and hardware engineering) listed 2 days ago. The full description is on this page and on The Muse.
Where is this job?
Remote / flexible (United States). A remote or flexible location is listed; confirm with the employer which states are accepted.
How do I apply?
Use the "View this job and apply on The Muse" button. AtiveSite does not receive applications.
How much does it pay?
The listing does not publish pay, and we could not match the title to one official occupation.
What is the cost of living there?
See the state or country guide for rent, income and taxes.
How old is this listing?
It was posted on 2026-11-06 (2 days ago). Jobs older than 90 days are not shown.
Are there similar jobs?
Yes: browse manufacturing and hardware engineering jobs in the United States.
Sources and terms
Job data: The Muse public API (listing dated 2026-11-06). The job disappears from this site when it disappears from the source.
Wages and projections: BLS OEWS (May 2025) and Employment Projections 2025–35.
City and county figures: Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024, BEA, BLS QCEW and LAUS, NASA POWER climatology; distances from Census Gazetteer coordinates.
AtiveSite is not affiliated with or endorsed by The Muse, the employer or any government agency, and does not process applications. Verify every detail with the employer before acting.