FPGA Firmware Engineer

fpga firmware engineer

location: us-sc-north charleston

:

category: software engineer

position type: regular full-time

application open date: 2/25/2026

filling the technical position of field-programmable gate array (fpga) firmware engineer on the software defined radio systems (sdrs) program at the navy information warfare center (niwc) atlantic in charleston, sc.

• working alongside industry experts in the fields of sdr, software development, tactical communications, and electronic warfare
• emphasizing hardware description language (hdl) and application development for system‑on‑chip (soc) hardware platforms but will span other aspects of embedded software development including documentation, design, implementation, integration, verification, review, toolchain automation, maintenance, etc.
• architecting software/firmware systems for embedded soc hardware platforms
• designing, developing, and maintaining new and legacy logic components for use on fpgas
• designing communications between distributed software components
• developing embedded linux applications and drivers to integrate fpgas with other software components
• packaging and using ip components in fpga block diagram design
• designing and developing test benches and test tools
• developing for and integrating with digital signal processors (dsps)
• designing for partial reconfiguration
• using containers to dynamically program fpgas
• automating software with scripts
• performing system demonstrations

• 5-8 years experience
• experienced in developing and maintaining fpga firmware components
• proficient in vhdl and familiar with high‑level programming languages (e.g., c/c++)
• comfortable developing in a linux operating environment
• highly motivated and able to work both independently and in a team
• effective complex problem solving skills
• effective communication and analysis skills
• in‑depth knowledge of software development life cycles
• formal education or equivalent experience in a systems or software engineering discipline

• experience in software development for embedded general purpose processors (gpps) and/or dsps
• experience with embedded software development including embedded linux and soc-based architectures
• experience with xilinx fpgas and vivado/vitis toolchain
• experience with embedded os development such as yocto, buildroot, or petalinux
• experience with sdr platforms, frameworks, and software
• experience in scripting languages such as bash and tcl
• familiar with use of matlab for signal processing and modeling
• familiar with containerization and virtualization (e.g., kubernetes, docker, vagrant, ansible, etc.)
• familiar with using modular open systems architectures such as cmoss, sosa, mora, victory, openvpx, etc. To achieve interoperability

src is a contractor for the u.s. Government, this position will require u.s. Citizenship as well as a u.s. Government security clearance at the secret level.

• occasional conus travel (