Firmware Engineer

We are looking for an experienced Firmware Engineer to contribute to the development of products on our client's Research and Development Division in Herndon VA. As part of our R&D division, the Firmware Engineer would join our firmware team to develop, integrate, and test our firmware products in our client's spaced-based, electro-optical systems.

Experience and Expertise Required:

5+ years relevant experience

BS/MS in EE, CE, or CS

Expertise with firmware, VHDL (RTL), System Verilog (Testing)

Experienced with Xilinx and Microchip FPGAs; and their associated development tools

Experience developing test benches and running simulations to exercise the design and to verify compliance

Experience interfacing and working with hardware designers during development, integration, and test phases

Experience using schematics and block diagrams as inputs for firmware development

Experience in high-speed serial links: GTY/GTM, JESD204B/C, Ethernet, SpaceWire

Experience in standard peripheral interfaces: SPI, I2C, UART, Ethernet MAC, LVDS

Experience in memory interfaces: DDR3/4, QDR, FRAM, etc.

Strong Python skills for build/test automation and data analysis

GitHub fluency, CI/CD for FPGA flows (GitHub Actions or equivalent): automated linting, synthesis, simulation regression, timing closure, bitstream generation, release tagging

Proficient with VS Code

Bonus Areas:

Proficient with Linux, Docker containers, and automation

Developing Hi-Rel/Space programs and TMR coding

Digital Signal Processing, precision timing, optical comms (modems)

Developing code (C, C++) for microcontrollers and embedded FPGA processors

Designing GUI-based (Python) test software to exercise firmware

Using lab instruments (oscilloscope, logic analyzer, etc.)

Our client is a leading developer of laser and electro-optic systems for the aerospace community, with key contributions to lasers for atmospheric sensing, laser communications, and lidar sensors for NASA, DoD, and commercial customers.