Communications Engineer – LMR Systems Specialist - Contract - Onsite - 3-6 Months

Market RatesOnsite Columbia, MD 3 - 6 months Justification: Must have operational and technical expertise with Motorola, L3Harris, and Kenwood systems to support ongoing SFMTA integration and testing.Experience Level: 5-10 years Job Responsibilities: Provide technical leadership and hands-on support for the integration, configuration, testing, and maintenance of Land Mobile Radio (LMR) systems, including Motorola, L3Harris, and Kenwood platforms. Collaborate with internal teams and vendor partners to plan and execute system integration activities, ensuring seamless interoperability between disparate radio systems. Perform detailed system analysis, coverage assessments, and troubleshooting of RF and LMR infrastructure components, including base stations, repeaters, antennas, combiners, and network interfaces. Support acceptance testing, validation, and certification of LMR systems for operational deployment within transit and public safety environments. Develop and execute test plans, document test results, and provide recommendations for system optimizations and issue resolution. Interface with software engineers, network engineers, and field technicians to resolve complex system integration challenges. Conduct root cause analysis of system faults and develop effective mitigation strategies to ensure system reliability and availability. Maintain accurate documentation of system configurations, design changes, test reports, and integration procedures. Provide ongoing technical support, preventive maintenance, and system upgrades as part of the LMR system lifecycle management. Technical Skills & Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Telecommunications Engineering, or related field. 5-10 years of hands-on experience with integration, and maintenance of Land Mobile Radio systems, including Motorola (ASTRO, P25), L3Harris, and Kenwood platforms. In-depth knowledge of P25 standards, trunked radio systems, simulcast, and interoperability frameworks. Strong understanding of IP-based backhaul networks supporting modern LMR systems. Solid understanding of FCC regulations, licensing, and spectrum management applicable to LMR systems. Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to analyze, diagnose, and resolve complex system-level issues. Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to produce clear technical documentation and reports. Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively in multidisciplinary teams. Strong knowledge of the use of digital, analog, and virtual measuring instruments: spectrum analyzers, oscilloscopes, random signal generators, vector analyzers, antenna analyzers, network analyzers, RF power meters. Knowledge of installing and programming cellular router Job SummaryWe are seeking a highly motivated and technically skilled Communications Engineer specializing in Land Mobile Radio (LMR) systems to join our team on a contract basis for a duration of 3 to 6 months. This onsite role offers an exciting opportunity to lead the design, deployment, and support of critical telecommunication infrastructure, ensuring seamless and secure communication networks. The ideal candidate will bring a strong background in network engineering, telecommunication systems, and cybersecurity, with a focus on LMR systems integration within complex IT environments. Your expertise will directly contribute to maintaining high availability, robust security, and efficient operation of our mission-critical communication systems. Responsibilities Lead the installation, configuration, and troubleshooting of LMR systems, ensuring optimal performance and reliability. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to integrate LMR solutions with existing IT infrastructure, including LAN/WAN networks, data centers, and cloud platforms such as AWS. Manage network security protocols related to telecommunication systems, including VPNs, firewalls (Cisco ASA), IDS/IPS (Intrusion Detection/Prevention Systems), and PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) for authentication and encryption. Implement and support network protocols such as IPsec, OSPF, BGP, EIGRP, TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, and MPLS to ensure secure and efficient data transmission. Conduct vulnerability assessments and system audits using tools like Splunk and SolarWinds to identify potential security risks or system weaknesses. Support network installation projects involving Cisco Meraki, Juniper routers/switches, Cisco ISE for network access control, and SAN/NFS storage solutions for high availability data management. Maintain comprehensive documentation of system configurations, network architecture diagrams, and operational procedures aligned with ITIL best practices. Provide ongoing network support including remote access solutions via SSH, VPNs, remote desktop software; monitor network health using PRTG or SolarWinds; and respond swiftly to network incidents or outages. Assist in scripting automation tasks using Bash shell scripting or PowerShell to streamline system administration processes. Participate in SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle) activities for system upgrades or deployments following Agile methodologies. Experience Proven experience in telecommunications engineering with a focus on LMR systems within enterprise or government environments. Extensive knowledge of computer networking concepts including LAN/WAN design, routing protocols (OSPF, BGP), VLANs, Ethernet switching, and high availability architectures. Hands-on experience with Cisco IOS/IOS-XE platforms (including Cisco ASA firewalls), Juniper devices, Meraki cloud-managed networking solutions, and open-source Linux distributions such as Debian, CentOS, Ubuntu, openSUSE or Solaris. Strong background in network security practices involving VPNs (IPsec), SSO integrations, LDAP/Active Directory authentication methods; familiarity with cloud security principles on AWS or Azure is advantageous. Familiarity with virtualization platforms like VMware vSphere or Citrix; experience managing SAN/NFS storage environments is preferred. Knowledge of scripting languages such as Python or Bash for automation; experience with DevOps tools like Ansible is a plus. Ability to perform vulnerability assessments using tools like Splunk or SolarWinds; experience supporting network monitoring with PRTG or SolarWinds is desirable. Prior involvement in telecommunication projects requiring precise coordination of hardware/software installation and configuration in high-stakes environments. Excellent problem-solving skills combined with strong communication abilities to effectively support technical teams and end-users alike. Join us to leverage your expertise in telecommunications infrastructure while working on impactful projects that keep critical communication channels operational! Job Types: Full-time, Contract Pay: $45.00 - $65.00 per hour Application Question(s): Do you have operational and technical expertise with Motorola, L3Harris, and Kenwood systems to support ongoing SFMTA integration and testing? This is Required Do you have experience with Interface with software engineers, network engineers, and field technicians to resolve complex system integration challenges? Do you have Strong knowledge of the use of digital, analog, and virtual measuring instruments: spectrum analyzers, oscilloscopes, random signal generators, vector analyzers, antenna analyzers, network analyzers, RF power meters. Knowledge of installing and programming cellular router Education: Bachelor's (Preferred) Experience: radio systems: 5 years (Required) Location: Columbia, MD 21046 (Preferred) Ability to Commute: Columbia, MD 21046 (Required) Work Location: In person