Senior RF/EMC Engineer
Alarm.com is a rapidly expanding technology company developing innovative cloud and device solutions across a wide range of cutting-edge technologies that provide a unified, connected service to millions of residential and commercial properties in the US and abroad. We are looking for a talented and passionate senior RF/EMC engineer to join the Device Engineering team and help us define the future of the Internet-of-Things for residential and commercial properties by creating and integrating devices including security panels, networking gateways, and video cameras. You will be working with a team of talented engineers across a diverse set of technological backgrounds to design devices, build and manufacture hardware, architect and implement software, and collaborate in an agile and fast-paced environment.
You will own the RF design and EMC compliance of multi-radio devices at our Tysons, Virginia headquarters: cellular (LTE, Cat-M, NB-IoT, RedCap), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, LoRa, and sub-GHz radios in security cameras, panels, sensors, and life-safety devices, often in small plastic enclosures next to cameras and switching power supplies. You will also mentor junior RF/EMC engineers on the team.
Responsibilities
- Own the RF design and performance of assigned products, from requirements through certification and production.
- Design, select, and place antennas; design matching networks; and define RF layout, keepouts, and front-end circuits with the hardware and mechanical teams.
- Apply low-EMI design practices with the hardware team and lead RF/EMC schematic and layout reviews to catch risks before layout release.
- Evaluate and resolve receiver desense and coexistence between collocated radios and platform noise sources.
- Troubleshoot EMI and EMC failures to root cause and deliver fixes proven on hardware.
- Run antenna and EMI simulations to prevent failures and to debug them.
- Write RF performance and EMC compliance test plans; drive products through regulatory and carrier certification and work directly with test laboratories.
- Mentor junior RF/EMC engineers, review their results, and improve the team's design guidelines and test methods.
- Communicate effectively and collaborate with others to ensure the timely delivery of projects.
- Other duties as assigned.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or a related field, with a focus on RF, microwave, or electromagnetics.
- 5+ years of RF and EMC design experience on wireless products, including designs you owned that shipped and passed regulatory certification.
- RF front-end and antenna design for compact products: antenna selection or design, multi-band impedance matching, placement, keepouts, and RF PCB layout.
- Low-EMI hardware design: stackup, grounding, return paths, filtering, shielding, and high-speed and switching-supply layout practices.
- Diagnosed and fixed receiver desense from platform noise or collocated radios, with the sensitivity loss quantified before and after.
- Root-caused and fixed radiated and conducted emissions and immunity failures using near-field probes, current probes, and spectrum analysis.
- Electromagnetic simulation with Ansys HFSS, SIwave, or equivalent tools, used to drive design decisions.
- Working knowledge of FCC, ISED, and CE/RED requirements, and experience writing RF and EMC test plans.
- Understanding of the cellular, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and sub-GHz protocol stacks and how they affect RF testing and coexistence.
- Expert use of VNAs, spectrum analyzers, signal generators, cellular and Wi-Fi communication testers, and anechoic chamber OTA systems.
- Explains trade-offs clearly to hardware, mechanical, firmware, and program teams; has mentored or wants to mentor junior engineers.
Preferred Qualifications
- Master's degree in Electrical Engineering with an RF, microwave, or electromagnetics focus.
- Carrier and industry certification (PTCRB, operator OTA TRP/TIS requirements).
- Battery-powered or low-power wireless devices; cameras or other products with high-speed digital interfaces next to radios.