Tactical Communications & Networking Engineer

Tactical Communications & Networking Engineer – NODA AI

Location: Austin, TX (Hybrid on-site, with travel)

Travel: ~20% typical; may increase up to ~50% during exercises and field events

Clearance Requirement: U.S. Citizen with the ability to obtain a security clearance

About NODA

NODA is a veteran-owned, venture-backed technology company that is transforming how unmanned systems collaborate in complex, mission-critical environments. We are developing next-generation solutions that enable the autonomous orchestration of heterogeneous unmanned systems across air, sea, land, and space with vital applications in the defense, intelligence, and commercial sectors.

Tactical communications & networking engineer form the backbone of resilient autonomy. At NODA, our Tactical Communications & Networking Engineers ensure swarms of autonomous vehicles remain connected, adaptive, and mission-ready even in degraded or denied environments — from the software stack all the way down to the physical radio layer. Joining NODA means working on meaningful technology that pushes the boundaries of autonomy alongside a team that thrives on innovation, rapid iteration, and collaboration.

The Role

As a Tactical Communications & Networking Engineer, you will design and optimize the full communication stack that keeps fleets of unmanned systems coordinated in real time — spanning physical radio bring-up, RF link configuration, and mesh networking protocols through to distributed systems middleware and platform integration. You will physically configure and validate tactical radios, integrate communications hardware into unmanned platforms, and ensure reliable connectivity in constrained, intermittent, and adversarial environments. This role requires close collaboration with autonomy and AI engineers to ensure networking becomes a force multiplier for mission planning, dynamic task allocation, and swarm-level decision-making.

Key Responsibilities

• Perform physical bring-up, configuration, and validation of tactical radios (e.g., Silvus StreamCaster, Persistent Systems MPU5, or equivalent defense-grade MANET radios).
• Configure RF link parameters including channel selection, frequency planning, power settings, and antenna orientation to achieve reliable connectivity in field environments.
• Establish and validate radio-to-GCS and radio-to-vehicle communication links, including wired handoff (Ethernet/serial) from radio hardware to onboard compute.
• Design and implement software-defined networking features for constrained networks — including adaptive traffic management and prioritization under link degradation, not just static QoS configuration at deployment.
• Debug RF and physical layer issues including link quality degradation, interference, and connectivity loss across heterogeneous platforms and operating systems.
• Integrate tactical radios and communication hardware with mission orchestration and autonomy software systems.
• Build observability into the networking stack (telemetry, packet tracing, latency metrics) and maintain visibility into link state during live operations.
• Author and maintain field networking runbooks, IP reference documentation, and deployment guides for exercises and live events.
• Support field exercises and live demonstrations by validating system readiness and resolving issues under time pressure.

Required Qualifications

• 3+ years of professional experience in networking, communications engineering, or distributed systems.
• Expertise in OSI/TCP/IP stack, multicast/unicast, and routing protocols.
• Hands-on experience physically configuring and troubleshooting radios and RF links — not limited to software or API integration.
• Experience with wireless/RF networking (mesh, ad hoc, MANET) including behavior under degraded or contested conditions.
• Experience with satellite communications (Starlink, SATCOM) and cellular networks (LTE/5G) in field or operational environments.
• Familiarity with tactical data protocols and systems such as Cursor-on-Target (CoT), TAK (ATAK/WinTAK), and TAK Server — including setup, configuration, and integration with networked platforms.
• Ability to bring up a radio-to-host communication link from scratch, including hardware connections, IP configuration, and multi-device static routing across heterogeneous platforms.
• Working knowledge of pub-sub middleware internals — understanding what goes on the wire, why, and how to reason about routing decisions relative to network state.
• Proficiency in Python and/or C++ for protocol design, scripting, and field automation.
• U.S. Citizenship with the ability to obtain a clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Hands-on experience with Silvus StreamCaster, Persistent Systems MPU5, Doodle Labs, or similar tactical MANET radios.
• Familiarity with Zenoh or similar publish/subscribe middleware, including pub-sub internals and wire-level behavior.
• Background in MANET research, distributed consensus, swarm coordination, or multi-agent networking, academic or applied.
• Experience at the intersection of RF systems, real-time control, and constrained embedded environments.
• Prior work in defense, aerospace, or contested communication domains.
• Exposure to simulation-in-loop or hardware-in-loop validation environments.
• Awareness of secure comms practices (encryption, Zero Trust, or DoD IL4/IL5 environments).
• Experience with network observability frameworks (Grafana, Prometheus, ELK) applied to comms performance.

Skills & Attributes

• Operates across RF physics, distributed systems, and real-time constraints — not a specialist in one layer alone.

• Systems thinker: reasons about bandwidth, latency, reliability, and mission priorities simultaneously.

• Structured debugger: isolates problems across hardware, software, networking, and configuration layers methodically.

• Field-ready: comfortable physically setting up radios, antennas, and multi-platform networks in lab and live environments.

• Clear communicator: able to document complex network configurations in plain, executable runbooks for field teams.

• Collaborative: works across autonomy, AI, systems, and field operations without needing a clean handoff.

What We Offer

• Hybrid work environment
• Competitive pay
• Flexible time off and generous PTO
• Federal holidays
• 401(k)
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision benefits
• Free One Medical membership

Growth Path at NODA

Tactical Communications & Networking Engineer → Senior Tactical Communications & Networking Engineer → Staff Communications Systems Architect → Principal Systems Architect, Autonomous Networks

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and welcome applicants from all backgrounds. All qualified individuals will receive consideration for employment regardless of race, age, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status.