Senior DSP / Radar Signal Processing Engineer

Job description

Our client is a European deep-tech startup developing next-generation radar systems for the detection and tracking of small, low-flying drones. The team works across radar architecture, RF hardware, signal processing, embedded systems and data-processing software. Engineers have real ownership of technical decisions and a direct impact on system performance and product capabilities. This is a hands-on R&D environment for specialists who want to solve complex engineering problems and contribute to defence technology designed for real-world deployment. **About the role** The platform is a radar / SDR / AI-DSP system (prototype). The backend core handles data intake, memory, database, API and UI. You own the signal and algorithm side — the part everything else depends on: turning a raw I/Q stream into clean, correct, detectable targets, and feeding it to the AI core with minimal latency. **Your priority:** build and validate a radar signal pipeline on real or synthetic I/Q data, and define the data contract handed to the AI core (frames, dtypes, timestamps, metadata). You work hand in hand with the backend engineer on buffers, timing and latency. **What you'll do** - **SDR —** Select, configure and run SDR platforms (USRP / UHD); build and validate GNU Radio flows; acquire, record and analyse I/Q; FPGA programming; diagnose clipping, ADC saturation, aliasing, clock drift and sample loss. - **DSP —** FFT and spectral analysis, FIR/IIR filtering, decimation/interpolation, DDC/DUC, STFT and time-frequency analysis, SNR estimation, detection in noise. - **Radar —** Matched filtering and pulse compression, Doppler processing, coherent integration with phase coherence, range-Doppler maps, CFAR (desired), phase compensation, micro-Doppler for small-target detection. - **AI integration —** Define the AI-core input contract, provide reference DSP functions, validate AI output against classic DSP, and set quality metrics (SNR, Pd/Pfa, Doppler resolution, phase stability). - **Backend collaboration —** Agree the I/Q contract over shared memory, define frame sizes, CPI length and buffering, and trace where latency comes from (acquisition, copy, DSP, inference, write). **What we're looking for** - Hands-on with SDR and I/Q streams; fluent with USRP / UHD (device config, sample rate, gain, clock, channels, RX/TX streaming). - GNU Radio — build, test, debug signal flows. - Proficiency in working with Ettus/NI USRP B210 and X410 SDRs, including hardware configuration, RF front-end tuning, and troubleshooting. - Strong DSP fundamentals: FFT, spectral analysis, FIR/IIR, decimation/interpolation, DDC/DUC. - Radar processing: matched filtering, pulse compression, Doppler, coherent integration, phase coherence, range-Doppler. - Time-frequency analysis: STFT, spectrograms, micro-Doppler. - Signal detection in noise, SNR estimation, detection-theory basics. - Python scientific stack (NumPy, SciPy, matplotlib / Plotly); able to design experiments and write clear technical reports. **Nice to have** - Active / passive radar (reflected-signal analysis, clutter, interference). - Small / low-observable target detection; micro-Doppler (rotating parts, harmonic structure). - CFAR variants (CA-CFAR, OS-CFAR); MATLAB / Octave modelling. - Work with real measurements, not only synthetic data; GPU acceleration (CuPy, Numba, PyTorch). - Integration experience with backend, embedded, RF-hardware or ML teams. ### What We Offer **Impact** Own the core signal-detection system. Your work directly shapes what the product can detect, understand, and act on. **Engineering Challenges Worth Solving** Work on complex radar, DSP, and signal-processing problems that are typically found only in large R&D organizations or deep-tech companies. You'll tackle hard technical challenges with direct influence on outcomes. **A Team You'll Learn From** Collaborate closely with scientists, engineers, and operators who combine deep technical expertise with a strong product mindset. No layers of bureaucracy—just smart people solving meaningful problems together. **Ownership & Autonomy** We're looking for builders, not executors. You'll have the freedom to make decisions, take responsibility, and drive critical parts of the technology forward.