SkillBridge - Mission Operations Engineer

DS creates systems that power the next generation of radio spectrum intelligence. We collect radio data from all over the world, train neural networks to decipher it, and run them on the smallest chips we can. We’re solving a new, technically hard problem where nothing from other fields works out of the box, and along the way, we’ve built our own stack from scratch, including entirely new embedding model architectures, custom GPU kernels, and much more. Joining DS means owning major parts of a fast-growing AI research organization, joining a collaborative, talent-dense team with decades of experience in probabilistic ML, accelerated computing, embedded systems, and signal theory, and growing your career in the areas that interest you. You’ll fit in if you want to come to work for the problem itself and don’t want to choose between technical rigor, business value, and real-world impact. We work with high ownership and trust, and we do it together in the office 5 days/week. ABOUT THIS OPPORTUNITY Distributed Spectrum is seeking a transitioning active-duty service member for a DoD SkillBridge opportunity supporting Mission Operations. This is a structured training and internship pathway for service members who want civilian experience in field deployment support, technical integration, test and validation, customer mission execution, troubleshooting, and operator-to-engineering translation in a defense-technology environment. This opportunity is designed to capture a wider range of mission-facing technical profiles, not just a traditional Mission Ops candidate. We are open to candidates whose experience leans more toward mission support, systems integration, deployment engineering, test and evaluation, technical field support, or adjacent developer-enabled mission systems work, provided they have helped make real systems work in real environments. Participants in this program remain on active duty during the SkillBridge period and continue receiving military compensation and benefits from the Department of Defense. Participation is contingent on DoD SkillBridge eligibility, command approval, and alignment on program structure, location, and supervision. SkillBridge participation does not guarantee employment with Distributed Spectrum, though a separate conversation about future employment may occur based on performance, timing, and company needs. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN AND CONTRIBUTE TO - Support preparation and execution for field deployments, mission events, test activities, exercises, and customer-facing demonstrations - Assist with system setup, configuration, integration, readiness checks, and troubleshooting in lab and field environments - Learn how mission-user and customer feedback is captured, triaged, and translated into product, engineering, training, and workflow improvements - Help document issues, improve deployment procedures, and contribute to checklists, quick-reference guides, training materials, and after-action deliverables - Shadow and support personnel working with technical teams, customers, and operators across deployment, validation, and mission-support workflows - Gain exposure to fielded mission systems operating in RF, sensing, tactical communications, autonomy-adjacent, and mission-system environments - Contribute to the connective work between operators, customers, systems, and engineering teams that helps mission outcomes improve over time WHO IS THIS FOR This opportunity is best suited for transitioning service members who have experience in one or more of the following areas: - Mission systems, mission support, deployment engineering, or field engineering - Systems integration, test and evaluation, readiness, validation, or sustainment - SIGINT, EW, cyber, tactical communications, ISR, tactical sensing, or adjacent technical mission environments - UAS/C-UAS, mission planning, payload/sensor support, or operational technical support - Technical training, troubleshooting, user support, or operator-faci