Senior Systems Architect Kirkland, WA Research and Development

Echodyne offers the world’s first compact solid-state true beam-steering radar for a wide range of industries and applications. Our high-performance radars work in all weather and are designed for autonomous vehicles, uncrewed aircraft & drones, and security of borders, critical infrastructure, and smart cities. The company combines the patented technology of metamaterials with powerful software to create a radar sensor with unprecedented performance at commercial price points. Echodyne offers its radars to companies working in Automotive, Transportation, Critical Infrastructure Protection, Border Security, Smart Cities, Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS), and Airspace Management including Urban Air Mobility (UTM).

Senior Systems Architect
Advanced Technology Development

ROLE OVERVIEW

Echodyne is seeking a Senior Systems Architect to join the Advanced Technology Development team, define system architectures for rapid radar prototypes and critical technologies, and guide cross-disciplinary technical decisions.

You will join a high-performing engineering team that gives senior engineers meaningful ownership and a direct role in shaping future radar products. You will work on prototype and advanced technology development, where you will connect sensing, calibration, compute, power, packaging, software, test, and field-demonstration needs into a coherent system approach.

The ideal candidate combines practical systems architecture experience with broad technical judgment, disciplined experimentation, and the ability to create enough structure for fast decisions without slowing prototype execution.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develop mission needs, concepts of operation, success criteria, and system objectives for radar prototypes and future Advanced Technology Development efforts
• Translate product goals, use cases, operating environments, research inputs, and business constraints into functional, logical, and physical architectures, requirements, interfaces, and technical budgets
• Lead trade studies across radar performance, RF and digital architecture, compute, calibration, power, thermal, mechanical packaging, software, test, cost, schedule, and manufacturability
• Define prototype experiments, integration plans, and verification evidence needed to retire the highest-impact technical risks before formal product development
• Maintain the technical integrity of architecture baselines, key assumptions, interfaces, margins, decisions, risks, and configuration-sensitive system information
• Collaborate with Product, Research, RF, electrical, FPGA, software, mechanical, PCB, test, manufacturing, suppliers, and key stakeholders to deliver mission-critical solutions
• Turn prototype results into clear architecture decisions, reusable system guidance, and transition packages that product-development teams can execute

REQUIRED SKILLS / EXPERIENCE

• Experience developing system architectures for complex hardware and software products, embedded systems, radar systems, sensing products, aerospace systems, or defense technology
• Demonstrated ability to translate mission needs, customer use cases, and operating environments into system requirements, architectures, interfaces, technical budgets, and verification intent
• Experience defining and managing performance budgets, error budgets, design margins, assumptions, interfaces, and technical baselines
• Experience leading cross-disciplinary trade studies and resolving decisions across RF, electrical, digital, mechanical, software or firmware, test, manufacturing, quality, and supplier constraints
• Experience planning prototypes, experiments, integration events, and verification activities that connect technical risk to objective evidence
• Ability to communicate complex system decisions, risks, and recommendations clearly to engineering and business stakeholders

DESIRED SKILLS / EXPERIENCE
(Looking for one or more as a complement to the core skills)

• Experience in advanced technology development, pathfinding, applied research, rapid prototyping, or technology readiness maturation
• Experience with radar, phased arrays, RF systems, signal processing, advanced sensing, autonomy, or other high-reliability and mission-critical products
• Experience with radar calibration, high-speed data interfaces, compute architectures, high-power subsystems, tiled apertures, or compact electronics packaging
• Experience using MATLAB, Simulink, Python, or equivalent tools for system analysis, budgets, modeling, test-data evaluation, or trade studies
• Familiarity with reliability, safety, EMI and EMC, environmental qualification, cybersecurity, design for manufacturing and assembly, supportability, and product assurance

QUALIFICATION

• BS in Systems, Electrical, Mechanical, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field and at least 8 years of relevant systems engineering or architecture experience, or equivalent experience
• Eligibility to handle export-controlled technical data, including ITAR- and EAR-controlled information

Echodyne’s technology is export controlled by the U.S. Government and we must evaluate an applicant’s eligibility to handle export-controlled information or obtain required Government authorizations. Therefore, we will ask you as part of the application process to identify whether you are a U.S. Citizen or green card holder, or have asylum/refugee status in the U.S.

WHAT WE OFFER

This is an exempt role.

The expected annual salary range for this role is

$137,196 — $205,382 USD

We offer competitive compensation and benefits to our full-time, US-based employees, including:

• RSU (Restricted Stock Units)
• Fully-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance premiums for you
• Choice of PPO or HDHP/HSA
• Virtual Care – 98Point6
• Employee Assistance Program
• Mental Health coverage through Springhealth & Talkspace (Premera)
• Travel Assistance Insurance
• Company Paid Life Insurance
• Company Paid Short & Long Term Disability
• Flexible PTO (exempt) / 15 days per year (non-exempt)
• 401(k) match
• Pet Insurance
• Prepaid Legal Program
• Paid Company Holidays

All qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, status as a protected veteran or any other characteristic protected by law.