Datalink Integration & Test Engineer – Communications / MANET (all genders)

About the Position

Datalink Integration & Test Engineer – Communications / MANET (all genders)

Berlin

Full-time

Permanent employee

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About Us

STARK is a new kind of defence technology company revolutionizing the way autonomous systems are deployed across multiple domains. We design, develop, and manufacture high-performance unmanned systems that are software-defined, mass-scalable, and cost-effective. This provides our operators with a decisive edge in highly contested environments.

We’re focused on delivering deployable, high-performance systems-not future promises. In a time of rising threats, STARK is bolstering the technological edge of NATO Allies and their Partners to deter aggression and defend Europe-today.

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About the Team

As a Datalink Integration & Test Engineer, you will play a key role in bringing together complex software systems that power our next generation of autonomous platforms.

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Your Mission

Your mission is to take established, proven MANET (mobile ad-hoc network) radio systems and make them work - reliably, repeatably, and under real-world constraints - inside our unmanned platforms. In this role you focus on the datalinks for our close- and short-range loitering effector and ISR systems, where the link has to stay solid through fast-moving, time-critical mission profiles in contested airspace. You own the path from "commercial radio in a box" to "integrated, tested, mission-ready datalink."

This is a hands-on integration and test role at the boundary of RF hardware, networking, and platform architecture. You own two connections that have to hold up when it counts: the command-and-control link between UAV and ground control station (GCS), and the mesh that lets multiple effectors operate as a coordinated swarm. You aren't just wiring in a radio; you are certifying that command and control survives contact with the real world, and giving the engineering team the hard data to trust it.

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Responsibilities

Integration

• Integrate established MANET / mesh radio systems (e.g., Silvus StreamCaster, Persistent Systems Wave Relay, Rajant, Radionor) into STARK's platform architecture across the mechanical, power, RF, and network/software interfaces.
• Define and implement the integration approach for each datalink - antenna placement, RF front-end, IP networking, and interfacing with the autopilot and payload stack.
• Integrate and configure the UAV-to-GCS command-and-control link, ensuring reliable telemetry, control, and video across the full mission profile through to the terminal phase.
• Set up and tune multi-node mesh topologies that enable UAV-to-UAV connectivity and coordinated swarm operation of multiple effectors, including relay and self-healing behaviour.
• Work closely with hardware, autopilot, and systems engineering to ensure the communication subsystem is correctly matched to the platform and its constraints.

Test & Validation

• Design and execute structured test campaigns - bench, hardware-in-the-loop, and field trials - to validate datalink behaviour.
• Characterise link performance across throughput, latency, range, mesh routing behaviour, and resilience under interference and degraded conditions.
• Validate swarm behaviour at the network level - multi-node mesh scaling, UAV-to-UAV and UAV-to-GCS connectivity, relay hops, and graceful degradation as nodes join, move, or drop out.
• Build up repeatable test procedures and instrumentation, and produce clear, traceable documentation of setups, methods, and results.

Collaboration & Continuous Improvement

• Translate field and test findings into concrete integration and configuration improvements.
• Support trade-offs and selection decisions between candidate datalink systems with measured, defensible data.
• Contribute to the evolution of STARK's communication integration standards and test methodology.

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Qualifications

Experience & Certifications

• Professional background in Electronics / Communications Engineering or a comparable technical field.
• Hands-on experience integrating MANET / mesh radio or tactical datalink systems into a larger platform or system.
• Practical test and measurement experience (spectrum analysers, RF link testing, network diagnostics).
• Must be a citizen of a NATO member state (due to export control and security regulations).

Technical Background

• Solid grounding in RF fundamentals and antenna/propagation basics.
• Strong understanding of IP networking, routing, and the OSI model as it applies to mesh and point-to-point links.
• Comfortable working in Linux networking environments and debugging at the hardware/software boundary.
• Structured, disciplined approach to test design, execution, and documentation.

Profile

• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English.
• Analytical, thorough, and outcome-oriented - you want the integration to be clean and the results to hold up, not just to work once.

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Nice to Have

• Hands-on experience with specific MANET vendor ecosystems and their management/config tooling.
• Knowledge of tactical datalink bands, waveforms, FHSS, and encryption.
• Familiarity with military communication standards and secure over-the-air transmission.
• Scripting / embedded experience (Python, C++) for test automation and instrumentation.

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We Offer

• Opportunity to work in a cutting-edge defence technology company.
• Be part of a team that is revolutionizing autonomous systems.
• Competitive compensation package.

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About Us

SECURITY CLEARANCE

Due to the nature of our work in the defence sector, candidates must be eligible to obtain and maintain the appropriate security clearance required for this position. Details will be provided during the recruitment process.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

We are an equal-opportunity employer committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

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For more details please reach out to

Sally Grütte-Pad, Interim Lead TA Partner via [email protected]