DSP Engineer

Job Description

DSP Engineer | Northwood

The Tone:
This is a full-time role at Northwood. Northwood is on a mission to transform connectivity between Earth and space, bringing the benefits of space to the masses through innovations in space communications technologies. This role is critical for building the ground station network of the future, requiring ownership of the full RF stack. The ability to deliver mission-critical data ultimately rests on the waveforms and physical layer that this role will design and implement.

The TL;DR
• Role: Full Time
• Mission: Own the full lifecycle of signal processing algorithms, from concept and modeling through fixed-point implementation and field validation, to deliver a reliable communication link.
• Tech Stack: Python, Rust, C++, GNU Radio, CCSDS, DVB-S2X

What You’ll Actually Do
• Design, validate, and test physical layer algorithms for demodulation and beamforming applications.
• Develop and maintain floating-point and fixed-point algorithm models using Python and Rust.
• Collaborate with FPGA engineers to validate fixed-point implementations appropriate for RTL, ensuring high fidelity between model and hardware.
• Contribute to RF systems analysis and dynamic link budgeting for phased array systems.
• Take ownership of customer waveform requirements and end-to-end delivery of the communication link.

The Must-Haves
• Background: Bachelor’s degree with relevant experience, or a Master’s degree, in a field involving numerical algorithm development.
• Experience: Minimum of 2 years of relevant experience with a Bachelor’s degree, or a Master’s degree. Demonstrated ownership of an algorithmic outcome, including building, deploying, and validating its performance.
• Skills: Strong programming skills in Python; exposure to lower-level languages such as C++ or Rust; solid end-to-end understanding of digital communications, including modulation, pulse shaping, synchronization, and demodulation.
• Bonus: Familiarity with SDR frameworks like GNU Radio; experience with fixed-point algorithm development; knowledge of satellite communications standards such as CCSDS or DVB-S2X; experience with FPGA development or close collaboration with FPGA engineers; experience modeling physical systems to inform adaptive algorithm design; experience building or contributing to high-performance numerical libraries or frameworks.