Firmware Engineer

About This Role

This engineering role involves designing, developing, and verifying FPGA firmware for advanced radar and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) payload electronics. The work supports next-generation Earth observation satellites within an innovative space technology company. The role suits an engineer who enjoys solving complex digital design challenges while contributing to cutting-edge aerospace technology, working closely with RF, Systems, Embedded Software, and Assembly, Integration & Test (AI&T) teams to develop flight-quality firmware for high-performance space hardware.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and verify FPGA firmware supporting radar signal generation, digital beamforming, and SAR data processing pipelines
• Develop and maintain RTL designs using VHDL and/or Verilog targeting Xilinx RFSoC and UltraScale+ FPGA platforms
• Architect modular and reusable FPGA frameworks that support multiple product configurations while reducing future development effort
• Integrate FPGA firmware with embedded software running on Linux and bare-metal ARM-based System-on-Chip (SoC) platforms
• Define and implement high-speed digital interfaces between FPGA fabric and RF/analog front-end hardware
• Perform timing closure, resource optimization, and power analysis for flight-grade FPGA designs
• Develop and execute FPGA verification strategies including simulation, hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing, flat-sat integration, and EGSE test environments
• Collaborate with RF and Systems Engineering teams to translate radar waveform and digital signal processing requirements into FPGA implementations
• Support Assembly, Integration & Test (AI&T) activities by providing firmware builds, diagnostic capabilities, and debugging support throughout payload integration and qualification
• Create and maintain configuration-controlled firmware baselines, release documentation, and design artifacts supporting engineering review milestones including PDR, CDR, and TRR
• Participate in design reviews, architecture trade studies, and technical risk assessments related to FPGA and digital subsystem development

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical discipline (Master's degree preferred)
• 5–8 years of professional experience designing FPGA firmware using VHDL and/or Verilog
• 3+ years of experience with Xilinx (AMD) FPGA development tools including Vivado, Vitis, and Vivado HLS
• 3–5 years of experience implementing digital signal processing algorithms in FPGA hardware, including filtering, FFTs, digital down-conversion, and waveform generation
• 3–5 years of hands-on experience developing firmware for System-on-Chip (SoC) architectures, including PS-PL integration on Zynq or Zynq UltraScale+ platforms