Radar Systems Engineer - Severe Weather Research

Overview PodRad is a new breed of radar — low-power, low-cost, vertically pointing FM-CW systems designed to capture first-of-their-kind measurements of vertical velocities inside tornadoes, supercells, and other hazardous storms. As FWI's PodRad Developer supporting NSSL, you'll provide the hardware and software expertise that gets these systems from the workbench to the field: assembling radar sub-systems, calibrating RF equipment, writing and modifying MATLAB/Python code to produce standard radar products, and refining the design based on real-world field testing. If you like radar fundamentals, hands-on hardware work, and seeing your code turn raw signal into a Doppler velocity spectrum, this role was built for you. Work Schedule and Location: Hybrid: This full-time hybrid position will work Monday through Friday, 8 AM CST to 5 PM CST, with 90% at National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL), National Weather Center, Norman, Oklahoma, or designated field deployment locations. FWI is expanding rapidly and has been recognized as a 2024, 2025 and 2026 Top Workplace, offering excellent growth opportunities in a collaborative environment. Responsibilities Hardware Assembly & Integration: Assemble radar sub-systems and components, cabling, and structural housing Calibration & Testing: Perform standardized test procedures on RF equipment to verify equipment performance baselines Refinement: Use experimental results in collaboration with NSSL scientists to refine the design Software Development: Modify existing MATLAB or Python-based code, or write new code, to produce standard radar products (e.g., Doppler velocity spectra plots) Product generation: Develop basic quality control methods for collected data, and investigate incorporation of additional radar products in collaboration with NSSL scientists to support data workflow and analysis Optimization and Field Testing: Perform field testing to evaluate equipment performance in real-world conditions and implement design improvements based on feedback from testing Validation: Collaborate with NSSL scientists, engineers, and external partners to validate against other operational and/or experimental observations. Assist NSSL staff in deploying other research systems, as appropriate. Documentation: Update technical schematics, maintain troubleshooting and testing logs, maintain code repositories, and draft test reports for work conducted Reporting: Prepare quarterly reports of status Dissimination: Write a brief report following AMS guidelines and prepare a conference-style presentation; present to project stakeholders and at a national or international conference if possible Qualifications Required: BA/BS in Electrical or Computer Engineering, or a related field 6+ years of full-time engineering experience Desired: Demonstrated experience in electromechanical assembly and RF hardware testing Familiarity with lab test equipment (multi-meter, oscilloscope,…