Communications Engineer w C4 standards

You will use your expertise in the development and management of technical standards, which guide the interface requirements of systems, subsystems, and applications to achieve integrated, adaptable, and affordable capabilities. Technical standards deliver commercial, operational, and capability related organisational objectives at the strategic level.

Responsibilities

• The management of LNIC mandated C4 standards including development of standards profiles and standards roadmaps where appropriate.
• Facilitation of standards working groups for coalition C4 standards (ABCANZ, NATO etc) development as required.
• Support to multi-national standards projects and configuration management boards.
• Maintenance and development of specified Land Combat System Standards.
• Management of specified Land Combat System and external to the ADF Standards.
• Undertake the monitoring of specified Land Combat System and external to the ADF Standards.
• Enable the provision of expert advice to Defence staff on standards implementation options with a focus on capability outcomes.
• Provide expert advice to Land projects in both acquisition and sustainment through the LNIC Advice Team for Land Combat System Standards implementation.
• Participate in the development of test cases to support standards conformance testing.

Required

• Communications Engineering degree or relevant industry and defence standards management experience of more than 8 years.
• Demonstrated experience with the development and/or management of C4 standards.
• Demonstrated Experience with communications military networks, and tactical data links e.g. TCP/IP and/or Radio Frequency (RF) e.g HF, VHF and/or UHF tactical networks.
• Experience with report writing
• Ability to communicate standards concepts and designs to military customers and non-software vendor representatives.

If you are looking for an opportunity in which you can contribute to a high-profile Defence digital network upgrade project, essential for ensuring Australia’s ongoing security and prosperity, then we want to speak to you.

Apply now or call for a confidential conversation.







Scope of Task:
The Army is transitioning to an ‘Integrated Force’ capable of campaigning with partners and allies in a competitive strategic environment. The Army’s ability to contribute to the Integrated Force is reliant on standards based digital integration of capabilities across the Land domain and with other domains and coalition partners. The existing and emerging capabilities that interoperate at varying levels constitute the Land Combat System. The Land Network Integration Centre (LNIC) is Army’s lead to ensure these command, control, communication, computer and information systems are technically integrated and maximise their operational functions. The tasks undertaken by LNIC involve identifying, maintaining, and continuously reviewing integration and interoperability requirements. LNIC divides its work across three streams:

a. Advice: this involves integration advice from initial concept, risk mitigation, and requirement setting through to acquisition, sustainment, and disposal.

b. Verification and Validation: this involves compliance, gap analysis, and test and evaluation to assure that systems operate as intended.
c. Modelling and Standards Management: this involves system based modelling using a SYSML modelling tool to generate a library of digital model baselines and the management of C4 standards to support digital integration within the integrated force.

Modelling and Standards Management. The purpose of generating digital baselines is to test system capability design, identify issues and gaps, analyse complex systems, and consider all aspects of system capability that are digital in nature.

a. The aim of modelling at LNIC is to aggregate all of the digital activity within the Land Combat System into a model library to capture the digital design of the Force-In-Being. This will provide robust planning evidence for capability decision-making, accelerate the capability planning process and the achievement of robust and congruent integration for Army, and inform the development of the next baseline.

b. Coinciding with digital modelling is the management of technical standards, which guide the interface requirements of systems, subsystems, and applications to achieve integrated, adaptable, and affordable capabilities. Technical standards deliver commercial, operational, and capability related organisational objectives at the strategic-level for Army. Every standard aims to achieve consistency and reduce system integration time, cost, and the training burden that dissimilar interfaces cause across platforms. The management of standards within the LNIC includes but is not limited to the following:
i. the understanding of the application of a specific standard(s) within the force model
ii. on behalf of Army, develop standards roadmaps and tactical profiles.
iii. facilitating workshops with subject matter experts for developing or updating of standards, and
iv. contributing to multi-national development, configuration and change management of the designated standards.

c. Modelling and Standards Management guidance and direction is implemented, and advised through the Land Integration Framework and the Land Integration Board.

The Commonwealth seeks a Level 3 Standards Management Specialist to supplement existing LNIC workforce and become subject matter experts on maintenance, management and monitoring or standards used within the Land Combat System.

The candidate is expected to be skilled in communications engineering and able to understand the application of digital standards to support the various interfaces within the Land Combat System. This includes:

a. intra-platform integration such as military vehicles and other platforms such as a soldier’s equipment (military staff are available to provide context on case uses of vehicles); and

b. Inter-platform integration between the above platforms such as tactical data links and IP/TCP networks.

The successful candidate is able to identify and explain design trade-offs to military, business and technical stakeholders, and clearly document design and implementation of various defence related standards.

The candidate will also be expected to work with other LNIC teams, capability managers, acquisition agencies or external service providers to support maintenance, management and monitoring of the Land Combat Systems standards baseline. In the immediate term, this will include a focus on the development of Land Domain Standards roadmaps, and standards management.
The Land Combat System Standards Management team is headquartered at the LNIC in Symonston ACT. Fulltime on site facilities are made available by Defence for this position. Non-permanent WFH and remote working arrangements may be considered acceptable, and will be considered on a case-by-case basis. The preference is for daily attendance at the LNIC.
The duration of this contract is expected to be from 01 July 2026 to 30 June 2028. This includes a maximum of 460 days (230 day per financial year). Two additional,one year extensions of 230 days each out to a maximum of up to four years, may be considered under Clause 2.1 of the DSS Deed based on Commonwealth requirements.
It is expected that the majority of services delivered under this contract will be at the LNIC facility in Symonston, ACT. Some interstate travel may be required to support project stakeholder acquisition and sustainment activities, working groups, as well as field trials or exercises. International travel may be required to support coalition Army engagement priorities and exercises. These events will be forecasted by LNIC, booked by the vendor and reimbursed by the Commonwealth in accordance with Clause 5.5.1 of the DSS Deed

Location(s):
Land Networks Integration Centre, ACT

Deliverables:
The Contractor engaged under this RFQTS will be engaged on a time and materials basis of payment. Notwithstanding, the following tasks and required skills to achieve them for the duration of this engagement are:

a. The management of LNIC mandated C4 standards including development of standards profiles and standards roadmaps where appropriate.
b. Facilitation of standards working groups for coalition C4 standards (ABCANZ, NATO etc) development as required.
c. Support to multi-national standards projects and configuration management boards.
d. Maintenance and development of specified Land Combat System Standards.
e. Management of specified Land Combat System and external to the ADF Standards.
f. Undertake the monitoring of specified Land Combat System and external to the ADF Standards.
g. Enable the provision of expert advice to Defence staff on standards implementation options with a focus on capability outcomes.
h. Provide expert advice to Land projects in both acquisition and sustainment through the LNIC Advice Team for Land Combat System Standards implementation.
i. Participate in the development of test cases to support standards conformance testing.
j. Provide other ad hoc services as tasked by the LNIC Military Executive group.

Specified Personnel:
This RFQTS is for one Key Person to be employed for the duration of the contract. Shared services or multiple contractor proposals to fulfil the deliverables of this RFQTS will not be considered.
An arrangement where the contracted Key Person requires direct support from their parent company to achieve the deliverables is not suitable to meet the required deliverables of this contract.
A three (3) month period of probation is imposed as a condition of engagement for all new contracted Key Person.
The Key Person will report directly to the Standards Management Team Leader in order to achieve the required deliverables. The second level supervisor of the position is the Staff Officer Grade 2 LCS Design.

Qualifications and Experience:

It is a REQUIREMENT that the Key Person has:
Communications Engineering degree or relevant industry and defence standards management experience of more than 8 years.
It is HIGHLY DESIRABLE that the Key Person has the following experience
l. Demonstrated experience with the development and/or management of C4 standards.

ll. Demonstrated Experience with communications military networks, and tactical data links e.g. TCP/IP and/or Radio Frequency (RF) e.g HF, VHF and/or UHF tactical networks.

lll. Experience with report writing

lV. Ability to communicate standards concepts and designs to military customers and non-software vendor representatives.

It is a REQUIREMENT that the Key Person is primarily based in Canberra.
It is DESIRABLE that the Key Person has the following experience:
l. Tactical Data Links e.g. LINK 16 or VMF

ll. Coalition (NATO and ABCANZ) and Joint standards

lll. Experience in Defence engineering processes or with defence systems.