If it is technology (including coding), you don't need - nor is that appropriate - years of experience and you really should learn/relearn the tech/language/system.
Whether or not you've work on similar technology in the past is more appropriate. Libraries, methods, versions, and features are changing all the time.
If you have managed an Identity and Access Management system 5 years ago and a company is looking for someone to manage an IAM system, that's perfectly fine. You'll learn the new products and features. The concepts will still be relevant. And you had better brush up on best practices when you take the job.
If you're a coder, you obviously would familiarize yourself with new libraries, methods, features as they are released. You had better do it. And if you're rusty in that language, you had better brush up on it.
In this case, it's a specialized hardware language that I've never used. Is the employer going to wait for me to learn VHDL and Verilog? No.
I would. It shouldn't take more than a couple of weeks to start being effective and 2 months to be productive.
Never used C# and got thrown on a project that required coding in C#. It was similar enough to Java (but still different enough that I had to do a lot of reading, copying, and pasting in the beginning). Created a secure print service firmware. Took me a couple of weeks. That was in addition to other projects. Similar story for the Apple Watch when it came out: NFC to open badge readers. A new tech that no one developed, ever. We wanted to be "latest and greatest." And we did it. Took 2 months. Had a working prototype (that was shitty) in 2 weeks. I don't do any of this shit anymore but this was par for the course: new shit all the time that none of us had ever done before. You just do it. It's the willingness to do the work, research, and dig in that hiring management should look for.
Nothing crazy or extreme about learning IEEE content. Make a list. Document current state. Document target state. Document gaps. And formalize efforts around those gaps to hit the requirements/target state. Stand up a test group/test process. Have acceptance testing in place after passing. Have a clear set of UI/UX requirements from right out the gate. If it helps, create a persona and walk the persona through the features to ensure the persona needs are met with the product. To make things easier, define with your sponsor/client what a minimum viable product looks like and work towards that (goes a long way to have an MVP - makes your clients very happy).
Basically, if you've done any work even remotely in the same area, you're qualified if you have a willingness to get work done. That can come out in your interview and references.
Edit - I've talked with you about some stuff on this site. You have a good brain. You're selling yourself short.
Saying I'm selling myself short on one point is kind of unfair, so let me give you the rest of the job:
RF knowledge at a product to market level. Implies knowledge of PCB for RF design, codes, standards, and practices for consumer devices. Probably means you're required to know BT and WiFi stacks, as well as all of the standards that dictate that.
FPGA/VHDL/Verilog/C# at a single point of contact / knowledge base level, with product to market experience. This person is the senior engineer and is over others working with the same devices.
Military contract product to market knowledge. This is a military contractor, and as the person is the lead, implies knowledge of all of the standards that entails, and that's a nightmare in itself. You need a person just for this point.
Test engineering, Product development, Project management, every aspect of electrical design knowledge from Cables to Packaging.
Will "Wear Many Hats"
PMP needed.
Clearance required.
edit: There's some software packages listed, I'm familiar with it and rejected it at a previous employer as "overly complex, too expensive, and doesn't do it better than what we have now." Did I mention this person is the top guy and is a manager over other engineers? They want someone that's coming in and hitting the ground running.
This is literally the top person. And I bet you they don't pay shit for Boston. There's no fucking way I'm qualified for this - My engineering manager who is the top dude at my current place would probably look at this and go "Wow..."
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