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Spectrum Testing and Operations Manager 26-049
Position Number:26-049
College or Other:OFFICE OF ENTERPRISE RESEARCH & INNOVATION (OERI)
Department:CENTER FOR SECURE & INTELLIGENT CRITICAL SYSTEMS (
FT/PT Status:Full Time
  
Summary
This position provides technical and operational leadership for the Spectrum Advanced Technology Test Laboratory (SATTL), overseeing spectrum testing, laboratory operations, and advanced RF capabilities in support of sponsor and mission requirements. The role manages the full testing lifecycle, including requirements review, test planning, execution, data collection, analysis, independent verification and validation (IV&V), and reporting, while ensuring testing is rigorous, repeatable, secure, and operationally relevant. Responsibilities include maintaining laboratory readiness, equipment, configuration control, calibration, inventory, security, and compliance with applicable DoD policies and industry standards. The position also supports the development of realistic electromagnetic spectrum environments, RF emulation, digital twins, hardware-in-the-loop testing, and emerging spectrum-dependent technologies. Additionally, the role leads and mentors technical staff, coordinates laboratory use with sponsors and external partners, identifies capability gaps and technical risks, recommends future investments, and communicates technical status, results, resource requirements, and recommendations to SATTL leadership and stakeholders.
Job Responsibilities:
Plan, coordinate, execute, monitor, and document spectrum testing activities to ensure sponsor requirements, schedules, technical objectives, and deliverables are met. Support test planning from intake through final reporting, including requirements review, test design, resource allocation, readiness reviews, execution, issue resolution, data collection, and after-action reporting. Support the test team in developing test procedures, evaluation criteria, test cards, and safety plans. Oversee open-loop and closed-loop RF testing while maintaining the appropriate balance of operational realism, repeatability, reproducibility, and measurement rigor. Support the SATTL test team in independent verification and validation (IV&V) of spectrum-dependent systems, EMSO technologies, and associated software.

Manage daily SATTL laboratory operations, including facility scheduling, visitor access, workspace readiness, equipment utilization, maintenance, calibration, inventory, lifecycle planning, and procurement recommendations. Maintain the operational readiness of RF sensing, signal-generation, emulation, networking, computing, and data-collection equipment, and manage and configure RF test assets including spectrum sensors, software-defined radios (SDRs), signal emulators, dynamic spectrum environment emulators, antennas, test instrumentation, and associated software. Working with the SATTL Configuration Manager, maintain a secure repository for all tested and verified software to ensure appropriate access and version control, and establish and maintain equipment configuration-control processes covering hardware and software baselines, asset records, maintenance logs, calibration status, and test configuration documentation. Identify equipment obsolescence, capacity gaps, technical risks, and sustainment needs and recommend upgrades that advance SATTL testing and sponsor-support capabilities. Review, maintain, and update laboratory processes and standard operating procedures, and ensure that all laboratory operations comply with relevant DoD policies, security protocols, and industry standards. Maintain strict confidentiality and integrity of data and software being tested, ensuring compliance with security clearances and classification levels as required.

Create, maintain, and continuously improve realistic and representative DoW electromagnetic spectrum operations virtual environments for testing, training, demonstrations, experimentation, and third-party integration. Develop scenarios that model contested, congested, and operationally relevant RF conditions, including interference, spectrum sharing, signal degradation, path loss, fading, multipath, shadowing, Doppler, and terrain effects. Employ RF emulation and digital-twin capabilities to support communications, radar, electronic warfare, assured positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT), mesh networking, cognitive radio, 5G/LTE, low-probability-of-intercept/low-probability-of-detection (LPI/LPD) communications, and other spectrum-dependent use cases. Integrate physical and virtual nodes in real-time hardware-in-the-loop environments and support the transition of testing from controlled laboratory settings to outdoor or MIL-SPEC-capable environments. Support the IT team in maintaining secure and adaptable network and firewall configurations for both isolated or offline testing and approved connected operations. Support the Technical Director in developing new and modified laboratory capabilities and concepts of operation associated with the integration and testing of new spectrum projects and training efforts.

Direct, mentor, and schedule RF engineers, test engineers, technicians, analysts, interns, and contracted support personnel as required to execute laboratory operations. Serve as the primary laboratory-use point of contact for integration and test customers, technical partners, vendors, and approved third-party users. Coordinate laboratory use by external organizations, ensuring that access, safety, security, test objectives, resource requirements, and deliverables are defined before execution. Communicate technical status, risks, test results, and resource requirements to SATTL leadership and sponsors in clear written and verbal formats.

Minimum Requirements:

A bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, RF engineering, computer engineering, systems engineering, or physics.

Requires a minimum of 10 years of experience in electromagnetic spectrum operations, RF engineering, spectrum management, electronic warfare, communications, radar, or other spectrum-dependent systems.

U.S. citizen, qualify for Tier 2, National Security Clearance for Secret Information.

This position is being filled through the Research Foundation, which is a separate entity from Old Dominion University (ODU). While we work in support of ODU, the Research Foundation operates independently and is a not-for-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization.

To apply: click Job Browsing; and follow the link for position #26-049.  Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled

The organization is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer (AA/EOE/M/F/Disability/VETS/Drug-Free Workplace). We are committed to providing equal employment opportunity to all individuals in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Employment decisions — including recruitment, hiring, training, compensation, and promotion — are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, physical or mental disability, genetic information, age, protected veteran status, or any other protected characteristic. Affirmative action efforts are conducted consistent with applicable laws to promote equal opportunity in employment and advancement.

As part of our commitment to pay transparency and compliance with applicable laws, the Research Foundation includes a good-faith salary range in all job postings. These ranges represent the expected hiring range for the position, not the full compensation band.

Final salary offers may vary depending on factors such as experience, qualifications, skills, internal equity, and budget availability.

Expected range $120,000 to $150,000