FAST Labs Hardware Engineering Lead

Location: Merrimack, New Hampshire

Job Description FAST Labs™ is a world-class research and microelectronics production organization. Our vision, we secure the future through fearless innovation, fuels our curiosity, and propels our teams to take on ‘never been done before’ challenges. We believe how we work is just as important as what we work on, and we are guided by three key principles: We are one team who embraces the power of learning and collaboration; We innovate for impact; and Our innovation is multidimensional.

Sitting at the heart of BAE Systems Electronic Systems (ES), FAST Labs provides the next generation of technology across ES’s defense and commercial portfolios. We seek to turn groundbreaking research and partnerships into real-life impact for our customers, as we develop advanced capabilities in advanced electronics, EW, sensors and processing, AI, autonomy, RF, EO/IR, cyber, and more. We value internal and external partnerships and collaborate across a broad innovation ecosystem that includes DOW and research teams, universities, small businesses, and venture firms/accelerators - all in service of developing advanced technologies to enable our nation’s warfighting mission needs.

To help drive even greater impact for our business and our customers, FAST Labs has embarked on a strategy of Mission Campaigning. Mission Campaigning is a holistic mindset and approach to technology/product conceptualization and prioritization. It involves a continuous focus on a definitive path to drive from early science to end‑user capability to solve a war fighter problem and deliver a product/capability as quickly as possible to fielding and scaling. Campaigns include the creation of new markets and business models, if necessary to deliver the product/capability. It is similar to what entrepreneurs call a “go to market strategy”.

As part of this pivot to Mission Campaigning, FAST Labs Sensing Technologies (ST) is seeking project hardware engineering leads who understand how lead a team of project engineers through the dynamics of research and development (R&D) programs, and transition technology to the business. As a hardware engineering lead, you’ll have opportunity to own the engineering technical, cost, and schedule aspects of our projects with the freedom to lead and shape teams consisting of talented electrical, mechanical, optical, as well as firmware engineers and designers. You will lead teams on research, development, and consulting projects requiring deep expertise in hardware engineering principles and practices to achieve project goals.

The FAST Labs Sensing Technologies (ST) product line develops next-generation lasers, precision optical pointers, advanced multi-model (RF & EO/IR) seekers, expendables and underwater sensors. ST has established itself as a market leader in the development of EO/IR, RF and Acoustic technologies applicable to Army, Navy, Air Force and Space Force missions.

In this role you will be the senior technical leader on research and development projects within our FAST Labs organization. You will support business capture by contributing to bid and proposal activities, as well as providing hardware‑engineering technical‑architecture expertise, and driving project‑level hardware engineering execution.

• Ensure designs follow best‑practice engineering methods
• Provide hardware‑engineering input for new‑business capture - influence technical baselines, develop cost estimates, identify technical risks, and suggest mitigation strategies
• Serve as the hardware subject‑matter expert on proposal teams, helping shape technical scopes and pricing models
• Partner with Product Engineering Management (PEM), and Functional Managers (FMs), to identify, prioritize, and fill staffing requirements on your hardware development projects
• Ensure all hardware R&D activities adhere to an appropriate level or research and development processes and are well matched to the scope of the efforts
• Drive agile process refinements, capture lessons learned, and champion “One‑Team” culture across your project

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering discipline and 10+ years of progressive experience in a related field.
• Active DoW Secret clearance
• 8+ years of hands-on experience in hardware design, including laboratory troubleshooting, technical problem-solving, and field testing.
• 2+ years of experience leading hardware engineering teams on development programs, including responsibility as a Lead Hardware Engineer and Control Account Manager (CAM).
• Experience supporting business development activities, including proposal development and generation of hardware engineering cost and schedule estimates.
• Proven ability to build, lead, and motivate high-performing project technical teams.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to clearly present complex technical information both verbally and in writing.
• Proficient in cross-functional collaboration and customer engagement.
• Commitment to continuous learning, innovation, and thought leadership.

• Experience with cutting-edge engineering techniques, including Model-Based Engineering, Agile, and Digital Engineering, to solve complex challenges with efficiency.
• Bring your expertise in one or more of these critical areas:
  • RF Systems: Design and analyze RF front-ends, including antennas, LNAs, mixers, and ADCs.
  • Signal Processing: Master spectrum management, modulation/demodulation, and RF signal characterization.
  • Algorithm Implementation: Translate algorithms into high-performance, low-latency hardware pipelines.
  • Advanced Computing: Leverage heterogeneous computing platforms (GPU, FPGA, ASIC, neuromorphic chips).
  • EO/IR Imaging: Design, integration, and calibrate state-of-the-art EO/IR cameras, hyperspectral imagers, and LiDAR.
  • Optical Engineering: Optomechanical and Electrical architectures, detector physics, radiometry and image quality metrics.
  • Laser Systems: Knowledge of Laser system hardware components, subsystems, building blocks and architectures.