Drones announce themselves over radio before they are ever seen or heard. Your job is to catch that signal, identify it, and separate it from everything else on the air, in real time, on a low-power node sitting outdoors in a Canadian winter.

You will own the RF detection layer end to end: architecture, software-defined radio integration, signal detection and protocol identification, and the pipeline that feeds RF tracks into our on-node sensor fusion engine. You will take this from bench prototype to field-deployed hardware on real customer sites within your first year.

What you will do

Design and build the RF sensing subsystem for our distributed detection nodes, from antenna selection through SDR integration to real-time signal processing software

Develop detection and classification for drone control and video links, including common commercial protocols, Wi‑Fi based links, and custom or nonstandard emitters

Build robust performance in dense RF environments: urban clutter, industrial sites, and event settings where thousands of benign emitters compete with the signal you care about

Optimize for edge deployment: real-time processing on embedded compute, low power budgets, and operation without cloud connectivity

Work with our vendor partners on SDR hardware selection and integration

Take your subsystem into the field: bench testing, outdoor range testing, cold‑weather characterization, and installation on customer sites

Collaborate closely with the founding team on sensor fusion,



helping define how RF tracks combine with acoustic and visual detections

Help shape the engineering culture, tooling, and hiring of a team that will grow around you

What we are looking for

5+ years of hands‑on RF or wireless systems engineering, or equivalent depth from research, defense, or reliable personal work

Strong software‑defined radio experience: GNU Radio, custom DSP pipelines, or equivalent frameworks on platforms such as USRP, Per Vices, or similar

Solid digital signal processing fundamentals: detection theory, filtering, spectral analysis, and working in low SNR conditions

Proficiency in C++ and Python for real‑time signal processing

Experience with at least one of: drone RF protocols, wireless protocol reverse engineering, spectrum monitoring, electronic warfare, or radar

Comfort with hardware: you can work with antennas, front ends, and test equipment, and you are willing to stand in a field in February to prove your system works

Eligibility to work in Canada and ability to obtain Canadian security clearance and Controlled Goods Program registration

Nice to have

Experience with embedded Linux and edge compute platforms (NVIDIA Jetson or similar)

Direction finding, TDOA, or multi‑sensor geolocation experience

Background in counter‑UAS, EW, SIGINT, or spectrum sensing

Familiarity with FPV drone ecosystems and their radio links (ExpressLRS, analog video, digital video links)

Machine learning applied to RF signal classification

Prior experience at an early‑stage startup or on a small team shipping hardware

📌 RF Engineer (Toronto)
🏢 Dawn Recruiting Agency
📍 Toronto