Firmware/FPGA Design Engineer

Unleash your potential at Leidos, where we deliver innovative solutions through the efforts of our diverse and talented people who are dedicated to our customer’s success. We empower our teams, contribute to our communities, and operate sustainably. Everything we do is built on an investment to do the right thing for our customers, our people, and our community. Our Mission, Vision, and Values guide the way we do business. The Space Division – Space Sensing & Security Branch at Leidos, within the space-based product line, is actively seeking a talented Firmware/FPGA Software Engineer to join a diverse team in San Diego, CA, to create unique solutions for complex problems.

Job Overview

This position is part of the Leidos Space Division – Space Sensing & Security engineering development team. As a Firmware/FPGA Design Engineer in Leidos, you will be an integral part of a team designing FPGA based solutions for space-based products. This role offers a unique opportunity to directly impact and contribute to Leidos’ current/future space-based sensor projects using your FPGA expertise, the opportunity to design and develop unique FPGA design solutions for various cutting edge hardware platforms, boards, and FPGAs. The FPGA/Firmware design engineer will work with a multi-disciplined design team (electrical engineers, systems engineers, scientists, etc) to design, develop, simulate, and integrate challenging and one-of-a kind FPGA designs and space-based sensor systems.

We are looking to advance your FPGA techniques to develop advanced board development FPGA technologies/techniques. In addition, the FPGA/Firmware design engineer will have the opportunity to collectively design, develop, and decompose customer specifications. Candidates will have a strong background in FPGA algorithms and their implementation in MATLAB and FPGAs in support of a fast paced, multi-disciplinary design team. This role will also support the integration, testing, and verification of the final products.

Primary Responsibilities

The FPGA/Firmware design engineer’s primary job functions include designing, implementing, and testing firmware solutions targeting unique high-speed FPGAs and their supporting circuitry. Additional skills consist of the following:

• Collaborate with a multidisciplinary design team (electrical engineers, systems engineers, and scientists) to implement and integrate FPGA designs and sensor systems.
• Analyze, design, simulate, and implement algorithms in hardware descriptor languages, HDL (VHDL, Verilog), based on MATLAB model(s).
• Analyze, design, and implement HDL test benches in hardware description languages, HDL (VHDL, Verilog), for code validation and validation against models.
• Analyze schematic diagrams for either custom or commercial-off-the shelf (COTS) electronic hardware involving high-speed digital and/or analog circuitry in associated FPGA-centric systems.
• Conduct experimental tests on latest FPGA and SoC evaluation boards, evaluate results, and then develop specifications for selecting next-generation components for deliverable systems.
• Work on problems of diverse scope, determining methods and procedures to be used on new assignments, and providing feedback and recommendations to other technical personnel.
• Develop project test plans and test procedures, provide test planning support, and assist in the execution of both lab testing and field testing.
• Develop and maintain requirements documents, functional specification documents, interface control documents, etc.

Basic Qualifications

We’re looking for FPGA/Firmware Software Engineers possessing the basic FPGA foundations such as:

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical or Computer Engineering with 4-8 years of relevant experience.
• Experience with, and understanding of, FPGA system design and test.
• Experience with embedded Software/Firmware design.
• Experience with C/C++, MATLAB.
• Understanding of multiple high-speed serial communication standards and interfaces (e.g. Aurora, 10Ge, PCIe, DDR4/3/2/1, JESD204B)
• Experienced with version control systems including SVN and Git.
• Hands-on laboratory experience with instrumentation, test equipment, and debug/test methods.
• Candidate must be a US Citizen and possess (and be able to maintain) a Final DoD Secret Clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

Some of the preferred qualities we’re looking for in FPGA/Firmware Software Engineers are:

• Familiarity with modern Xilinx FPGA families and design tools (7-series FPGAs, Ultrascale+, Vivado, Xilinx IP cores).
• Experience working with SoC designs such as Zynq and Zynq Ultrascale+ including architecting and interfacing with peripherals, interrupts, and related bus architectures.
• Experience developing and implementing FPGA-optimized versions of DSP algorithms (e.g., modulation/demodulation, PLLs, filters, image processing).
• Experience with standard internal interfaces such as AXI4, AXI4-Stream, and AXI4-Lite.
• Experience working with embedded operating systems (i.e., RTOS such as Green Hills).
• A Masters (MS) degree in Engineering discipline.

Original Posting:March 6, 2025

For U.S. Positions: While subject to change based on business needs, Leidos reasonably anticipates that this job requisition will remain open for at least 3 days with an anticipated close date of no earlier than 3 days after the original posting date as listed above.

Pay Range:Pay Range $85,150.00 - $153,925.00

The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.