About Careertakes

👉 Important disclosure: Careertakes is a third-party recruiting platform supporting this hiring process. If selected, you will be employed directly by our client, Engineering.

Applicants for this role may also receive access to additional matched opportunities through the Careertakes platform.

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What You’ll Do

This is an entry-level Associate Systems Engineer role supporting confidential client’s communications, navigation, and network systems work in San Diego, CA. You will join a multi-discipline team (hardware, software, cyber, systems) focused on developing next-generation communication and signal-processing systems for mission-critical platforms.

• Work within integrated product teams to design and implement network and communication subsystems.
• Take responsibility for a subsystem or feature — algorithm development, digital modeling, or hands-on integration & test in a lab environment.
• Support system integration, verification & validation, cost/risk analysis, and supportability studies across the product lifecycle.
• Perform functional analysis, requirements allocation, timeline and trade studies, and interface definition.
• Apply systems, RF, communications, and/or network modeling experience toward architecture definition and complex system problem solving.
• Contribute to concepts of operation and detailed design requirements for hardware/software/firmware and network deployment.
• Participate in lab integration, test, and documentation; collaborate with users, customers, and other developers.

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Minimum Qualifications

Candidates must meet ALL of the following:

• Bachelor’s degree completed or in final completion from an accredited institution.
• Major in a STEM field (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math).
• U.S. citizenship required and must be able to obtain U.S. Government security clearance.
• Willingness and ability to obtain Special Access Program (SAP) clearance within a reasonable period, as determined by the confidential client.

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Preferred Qualifications

• Cumulative GPA of 3.70/4.0 or higher.
• Internship, co-op, or relevant hands-on project experience; strong teamwork and communication skills.
• Experience with full life‑cycle engineering projects and working autonomously on complex tasks.
• Experience developing and delivering technical presentations; leading small groups.
• Familiarity with communication system and network modeling/simulation tools.
• Background in digital communications theory, commercial and military wireless networking.
• Experience developing communication waveform processing techniques and architectures.
• Model-Based Systems Engineering experience (especially Cameo).
• Linux & Windows system administration experience.
• Familiarity with Risk Management Framework (NIST SP 800-53) or CNSSI standards.
• Current or ability to obtain DoD 8570/8140 IA certification (Security+ CE or similar) within 6 months.
• Knowledge of AD/DNS, Patch Management, PKI, HBSS, ACAS, VMware products, Splunk, or similar tools.
• Agile development experience and familiarity with Atlassian toolset.

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Compensation & Location

• Location: San Diego, California (onsite at confidential client campus)
• Employment type: Full-time
• Estimated salary range (provided by source): $76,200 — $114,400 per year
• Travel: Up to ~10% (as needed)

Note: Salary range is provided for pay transparency and may vary by experience, qualifications, and location.

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Security & Eligibility

• This position requires U.S. citizenship and the ability to obtain a U.S. Government security clearance. Candidates who cannot meet these requirements should not apply.
• Selected candidates must be able to obtain any program-specific clearances (including Special Access Program clearance) as required by confidential client.

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Key Keywords (for applicants)

• Associate Systems Engineer
• Systems engineering
• RF / communications engineering
• Network modeling & simulation
• Entry-level systems engineer San Diego
• Security clearance required

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Equal Opportunity & Hiring Transparency

Careertakes and our client are Equal Opportunity Employers committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce. We prohibit discrimination or harassment of any kind. To support a fair and efficient hiring process, AI tools may be used to assist with application review or resume screening. These tools do not replace human decision-making. Final hiring decisions are made by people.

If you have questions about how your data is used, please contact us directly.