RF/Comms Security Engineer

RF/Comms Security Engineer

Position: RF/Comms Security Engineer (1–2 roles)

Location: Aluva / Kochi, India (with travel to test ranges and defense partner sites)

Department: UAV AI Division, Canary Digital.ai

Role Overview

As an RF/Comms Security Engineer, you will design, implement, and secure communication systems for Canary Digital's UAV platforms. You will be responsible for encrypted telemetry/video links, anti-jamming measures, and cryptographic friend-or-foe (IFF) beacon integration. This role bridges radio engineering, cybersecurity, and UAV operations, ensuring mission-critical UAV systems remain secure, resilient, and compliant with defense requirements.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and implement secure UAV communication links (telemetry, command/control, video streaming).
• Integrate and test AES-256 or military-grade encryption on UAV links.
• Develop and deploy crypto beacon/IFF protocols for friend-or-foe identification.
• Build RF anomaly detection modules for GNSS spoofing/jamming awareness.
• Collaborate with UAV Systems Engineers on comms integration with PX4/ArduPilot.
• Support SOC/VMS integration by securing APIs, alert pipelines, and metadata streams.
• Conduct RF field tests (range, resilience, interference).
• Define key management systems for mission-based crypto rotation.
• Document security architectures, risk assessments, and compliance requirements.

Required Skills & Experience

• 4–8 years of experience in RF engineering / comms security / telecom / defense comms.
• Strong expertise in radio protocols (LoRa, UWB, SDR, COFDM, LTE/5G).
• Knowledge of encryption standards (AES, ECC, PKI) and secure key distribution.
• Experience with GNSS systems and spoofing/jamming detection.
• Familiarity with UAV telemetry protocols (MAVLink, RTSP/ONVIF for video).
• Hands-on with SDR platforms (HackRF, USRP, LimeSDR) for prototyping.
• Strong debugging skills in RF/noisy environments.

Preferred Background

• Prior work in defense, aerospace, or telecom secure comms projects.
• Familiarity with IFF Mode 4/5 concepts or tactical datalinks.
• Experience in penetration testing of wireless systems.
• Contributions to open-source RF/security projects (GNSS-SDR, gr-gsm, etc.).

What We Offer

• Chance to develop next-gen secure comms for UAV AI systems.
• Work on crypto IFF systems integrated with AI/ML payloads.
• Collaborate with cross-disciplinary experts (AI, UAV, defense).
• Competitive salary + incentives + ESOPs for strategic roles.