FPGA Firmware Engineer III; Hardware Design

Are you ready to unleash your technical creativity? Dream, Innovate, Inspire and Empower the next generation to transform humanity through technology and imagination! Firmware engineers at Sierra Nevada Company research, design, develop, test, certify, deploy and improve cutting‑edge products and services.

We are looking for a talented Firmware Design Engineer to design, develop, document, integrate, test, and debug FPGA and SoC architectures for Department of Defense (DoD) systems. The role involves creating firmware for small form‑factor security devices and network systems. Key responsibilities include FPGA/SoC design, simulation and verification, generating design documentation, and firmware integration and testing. Required skills include experience in firmware design for FPGAs and SoCs, with knowledge of PCB hardware design being a plus.

The Mission Solutions and Technologies (MST) business area provides affordable, turn‑key command/control, communications, integrated ISR, force protection and security solutions worldwide. The MST team has a long legacy of supporting the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, commercial and international customers with years of experience in platform operations, engineering and full lifecycle management across domains – air, land, sea, space and cyber.

• Implement advanced firmware designs (FPGA, SoCs, SOMs)
• Test and verification of FPGA/SoC firmware designs through simulations and during hardware/software integration
• Create detailed firmware design documentation and prepare for and conduct internal and external design reviews
• Initiate problem‑solving for new and existing product designs, addressing and resolving difficult design issues on challenging projects
• Quick prototype solutions for complex and risky design elements
• Understand, plan, and execute technical activities in accordance with SNC policies, procedures, and specific customer requirements, while ensuring engineering design and development activities meet customer quality, cost, and schedule requirements
• Develop specifications, control documents, verification and validation plans, procedures, reports, and other documentation to support design and development activities
• Maintain logs and manuals to document integration and testing
• Responsible for tracking firmware tasks within the Integrated Master Schedule and provide regular updates to the Project Engineer
• Responsible for the design and development of units from concept through qualification testing

• Bachelor's of Science degree in Electrical Engineering or other related discipline and typically 6 or more years of relevant experience
• Higher education may substitute for relevant experience
• Demonstrated knowledge of engineering principles and practices
• Understanding of Computer Aided Engineering tools
• Experience working in multi-disciplinary design & development teams
• Basic understanding of digital circuit concepts
• Experience with FPGA HDL development, simulation and analysis, utilizing the VHDL language
• Average to Advanced experience with Microsoft Office Applications (Word, Excel, Power point and Visio)
• FPGA Design Experience using VHDL, with proficiency in Xilinx FPGAs/SoCs (Ultrascale+) and development tools (Vivado, Vitis). Experience with Altera, Micro Semi, or Cypress FPGAs is also desired. Skilled in state machine design and high-speed digital bus design, including PCIe, Ethernet, USB, SPI, uSD, I2C, and serial interfaces
• Proficient with static timing analysis for FPGA/SoC designs
• Proficient with scripting (Python, Tcl)
• Understanding of C/C++
• Hands‑on experience in the lab with hardware bring‑up and unit testing of FPGA/SoC design using standard test equipment
• Experience with integration/debug tools such as digital multi‑meters, power supplies, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, protocol analyzers for serial/USB/I2C/Ethernet, impedance analyzers, and FPGA debug tools (Chip Scope)
• Knowledge of interface and design documentation such as Functional block diagrams, Hardware Design Specifications, Hardware Design Descriptions, test procedures, and built‑in‑test methodologies
• Collaborative Teamwork:
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