Naval Communication Systems Engineer
at Thales Canada Inc., Defence and Security

Job Description

Location: Ottawa, Canada

In fast changing markets, customers worldwide rely on Thales. Thales is a business where brilliant people from all over the world come together to share ideas and inspire each other. In aerospace, transportation, defence, security and space, our architects design innovative solutions that make our tomorrow's possible.

For decades, Ottawa has been a global technology leader. Today, Canada's capital holds one of the brightest and most diverse technological ecosystems in North America. Voted as Canada's best place to live 2017 by Maclean's, Ottawa offers a low cost of living with a high quality of life. The Thales Ottawa office has been a major supplier and long-term trusted partner to DND, enabling the Canadian Armed Forces and the Canadian Coast Guard to achieve mission success.

This is for a hybrid role in Ottawa, ON. Role can be located also in Nova Scotia (east) or British Columbia (west) or New Brunswick.

Position Summary

We have a current vacancy for a Naval Communication Systems Engineer to join our Team in Ottawa, ON.

Thales Canada Defence and Security has been engaged by the Canadian Department of National Defence for the In-Service Support (ISS) of the VICTORIA Class Submarine AJU Integrated Communications Mast in close collaboration with the OEM, Thales UK Ltd.  This 10-year contract was signed in 2025 with several options for extension and includes the provision of engineering services, modernization, maintenance, and sustainment of the system for the life of the AJU Integrated Communications Mast and ancillaries.

You will join the Systems Engineering team at one of our locations within Canada (Victoria, Ottawa, Fredericton, or Halifax) to provide engineering support to the upgrade of the existing systems in a multidisciplinary and collaborative environment.  Given the long-term nature of the contract, day-to-day work is driven through a Task Authorization model and will require collaboration with Thales personnel both within Canada and abroad. This job carries the potential for limited travel to the customer's facilities on the east coast as well as to the Technical Lead (Thales UK) for collaboration, installation/repair, and other duties as required.

Key Areas of Responsibility

In their efforts to develop and sustain naval systems, Systems Engineers are called upon to integrate a variety of sensors, software, firmware, and apps on commercial and military platforms. The essential functions and responsibilities of a Systems Engineer include:

• Tailor the system engineering process, practices and tools;

• Provide timely and accurate status updates;

• Develop the preliminary and detailed designs for system and subsystem elements;

• Identify, characterize, and describe issues in the system or its design through problem reports and document and design reviews;

• Author technical documentation to capture the system and subsystem designs including the architecture, interfaces, and installation elements;

• Collaborate with stakeholders to ensure the designs are consistent with needs, desires, and concerns of the end-users;

• Collaborate with other functions during the implementation and integration of the system and subsystem designs;

• Resolution of technical issues arising during the implementation, integration and testing of the system and subsystem elements; and/or

• Support the installation and/or integration testing of the systems remotely or on customer site.

For this specific project, typical duties will include:

• System Design & Modernization: Designing, upgrading, and maintaining radio equipment, including antennas, receivers and transmitters;

• Integration & Testing: Integrating radio equipment with submarine subsystems (matching\tuning units, amplifiers, antennas) and conducting testing to verify performance;

• RF and Data Analysis: Analyzing radio frequency data, troubleshooting electronic and electro-mechanical systems, and diagnosing communication failures;

• Modeling & Simulation: Using Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) to analyze potential impacts of changes to the submarine's communication architecture;

• Security & Compliance: Ensuring systems meet high-security standards for the transmission of sensitive or secret information;

• Documentation: Produce or review engineering artefacts including Technical Data Packages (TDPs), Interface Control Documents (ICDs), Interface Specification (IFS) documents, diagrams, plans, schedules, use cases and reports regarding the information systems being developed;

• Root Cause / Failure Analysis for customer-discovered issues in communication systems;

• Generating/contributing to work estimates and progress reviews for contract tasks;

• Identification & proposal of new work (Task Definition);

• Join Mobile Repair Parties as needed by the customer;

• Coordinating and collaborating with a multi-disciplinary dispersed team.

Skills and Abilities:

• Professional Engineer designation OR eligibility to acquire such a designation.

• Minimum of 5 years of professional experience in the design and integration of complex systems in commercial and/or military domains.

• Minimum of 3 years of professional experience with RF-based communication systems, preferably in a naval\submarine context.

• Ability to succeed in cross-functional/multidisciplinary teams.

• Ability to obtain clearances as specified under the Regulatory Compliance section, below
   

Education:

• University or college degree in engineering or a related discipline.
   

Preferred Qualifications

In addition to the minimum professional experience specified above, experience in any of the following areas would be considered an asset:

• HF Automatic Link Establishment (ALE);

• STANAG 4444 advanced, slow-frequency hopping High Frequency (HF) Electronic Counter-Countermeasures (ECCM) communication systems;

• Software-Defined Radios;

• High data rate satellite communications (SATCOM) and Mobile User Objective System (MUOS);

• UHF / VHF / HF Radios;

• Experience in delivering in-service support of operational assets in a defence context; and/or

• Technical management of subcontractors.
   

What We Offer

• Thales provides an extensive benefits program for all full-time employees working 24 or more hours per week and their eligible dependents, including the following:

• Company paid Extended Health, Dental, HSA, Life, AD&D, Short-term Disability, Cancer Care Program, travel insurance, Employee Assistance Plan and Well-Being program.

• Retirement Savings Plans (RRSP, DCPP, TFSA) with a company contribution and a match to a DCPP, with no vesting period.

• Company paid holidays, vacation days, and paid sick leave.

• Voluntary Life, AD&D, Critical Illness, Long-Term Disability.

• Employee Discounts on home, auto, and gym membership.

Why Join Us?

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The reference Total Target Compensation(TTC) market range for this position, inclusive of annual base salary and the variable compensation target, is between Total Target Cash (TTC) 98,283.24 – 122,854.05 CAD Annual. 
 

This reflects how companies in a similar industry and geographic region generally pay for similar jobs. This range helps the Company make pay decisions as one data point among many. Where a position falls within this range is also dependent on other factors including – but not limited to – the employee's career path history, competencies, skills and performance, as well as the company's annual salary budget, the customer's program requirements, and the company's internal equity. Thales may offer additional benefits and other compensation, depending on circumstances not related to an applicant's status protected by local, state, or federal law. 
 

We use artificial intelligence–enabled tools as part of our recruitment process to support activities such as candidate discovery, résumé matching, and interview scheduling. These tools may help screen and assess applications and recommend potential matches based on the requirements within the job description.  All hiring decisions, including candidate evaluation, selection, and disposition, are made by human recruiters. Artificial intelligence does not make hiring decisions on our behalf.

Thales provides an extensive benefits program for all full-time employees working 24 or more hours per week and their eligible dependents, including the following: 

• Company paid Extended Health, Dental, HSA, Life, AD&D, Short-term Disability, Cancer Care Program, travel insurance, Employee Assistance Plan and Well-Being program.

• Retirement Savings Plans (RRSP, DCPP, TFSA) with a company contribution and a match to a DCPP, with no vesting period.

• Company paid holidays, vacation days, and paid sick leave. 

• Voluntary Life, AD&D, Critical Illness, Long-Term Disability.

• Employee Discounts on home, auto, and gym membership.

Thales is an equal opportunity employer which values diversity and inclusivity in the workplace. Thales is committed to providing accommodations in all parts of the interview process. Applicants selected for an interview who require accommodation are asked to advise accordingly upon the invitation for an interview. We will work with you to meet your needs. All accommodation information provided will be treated as confidential and used only for the purpose of providing an accessible candidate experience.

This position requires direct or indirect access to hardware, software or technical information controlled under the Canadian Export Control List, the Canadian Controlled Goods Program, the Canadian Industrial Security Program, the US International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and/or the US Export Administration Regulations (EAR). All applicants must be eligible or able to obtain authorization for such access including eligibility to the Canadian Controlled Goods Program and able to obtain a Canadian NATO Secret clearance.