RFI Subject Matter Expert

Science Systems and Applications, Inc. (SSAI) is seeking an experienced Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) Subject Matter Expert (SME) to lead and support RFI-focused remote sensing science and engineering work in collaboration with government and research partners (e.g., NASA centers and NOAA programs). The selected candidate will provide day-to-day technical leadership across RFI requirements, algorithm development, simulation/assessment, and mission/instrument support to ensure high-quality delivery and actionable stakeholder outcomes.

This is an onsite position. The candidate must live within commuting distance to NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD.

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Develop and apply end-to-end RFI simulation/assessment tools to quantify performance impacts across current and future microwave radiometers/sounders.
• Lead RFI detection requirements development, documentation, and validation for next-gen microwave remote sensing instruments.
• Assess 5G and other emerging-emitter impacts on microwave observations and recommend mitigation strategies.
• Develop and validate RFI detection/characterization algorithms (cyclic-feature methods and ML/data-driven approaches) using real-world measured datasets.
• Monitor RFI environment and trends, identify anomalous patterns (seasonal/geopolitical/human-driven), and generate operational products (e.g., automated weekly RFI tables).
• Provide mission/instrument support and technical leadership for RFI investigations, including detector performance evaluation, threshold tuning, detector-combination assessment, stakeholder reporting, and mentoring.

Required Qualifications:

• Ph.D. in Physics (remote sensing emphasis) or a closely related field (e.g., Remote Sensing, Earth Science, Atmospheric Science, Oceanography, Geoscience, Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, Computer Science).
• Minimum of 8 years of experience in microwave remote sensing and signal/data processing with substantial focus on RFI detection, analysis, and mitigation for satellite microwave radiometry and/or sounding applications.
• Demonstrated technical leadership in developing RFI requirements, algorithms, and end-to-end analysis tools to assess and mitigate RFI impacts (including emerging signal types such as 5G).
• Demonstrated experience supporting government/research missions and instrument teams, including collaboration with multi-agency partners (e.g., NASA and NOAA) and participation in mission/instrument science and cal/val activities.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, including experience producing technical documentation and presenting results to stakeholders.
• US Citizenship or Permanent Residence

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience as a mission science team member and/or contributor to missions/programs such as NASA SMAP, CYGNSS, NISAR and NOAA JPSS/ATMS and NOAA NEON.
• Experience developing automated monitoring products and operational reporting workflows for RFI environment awareness and stakeholder action.
• Experience with Machine Learning approaches applied to RFI characterization and residual RFI detection.
• Professional service in the RFI community (e.g., organizing committee leadership for RFI conferences; session chair roles) and peer-review experience (e.g., IEEE TGRS/GRSL).
• Ability to work onsite as needed (preferred), based on project/customer requirements.