Job Details

Job Title

Lead, Firmware (FPGA) Engineer

Job Code

30614

Job Location

San Diego, CA

Job Schedule

9/80 (Every other Friday off!)

Job Description

As a Senior Specialist FPGA Engineer, you will play a critical role in the design, development, and implementation of high-performance Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) for cutting‑edge communications applications. Leveraging your extensive expertise in digital design for RF and FPGA development, you will lead complex projects, guiding the design process from initial concept through to final deployment. Your responsibilities include defining architecture, developing VHDL/Verilog code, optimizing FPGA designs for performance and resource utilization, and conducting thorough testing and validation. You will collaborate closely with cross‑functional teams—hardware, software, and systems engineering—to ensure seamless integration of FPGA solutions into larger system architectures. Your role also involves troubleshooting and resolving design issues, performing code reviews, and optimizing existing FPGA designs for enhanced performance and reliability. As a technical leader and mentor, you will provide guidance and support to junior engineers, fostering continuous learning and innovation. You will also ensure compliance with relevant industry standards, participate in design reviews and technical discussions, and contribute to the overall success of engineering projects. The position may require travel up to 10% of the time.

Essential Functions

• Support proposal efforts in the estimation and planning of end‑to‑end FPGA development.
• Decompose and allocate system and box‑level requirements to FPGA requirements and specifications.
• Collaborate with RF engineers to integrate FPGA designs with RF front‑end components and ensure seamless system performance.
• Develop and optimize FPGA designs for RF communication systems, including filtering, mixing, signal conversion, and error correction coding.
• Design, implement, and verify FPGA‑based digital signal processing (DSP) algorithms for modulation and demodulation.
• Assist in architecting solutions against requirements and implement those solutions in various FPGA technologies or platforms.
• Follow, enforce, and refine consistent firmware development processes across FPGA designs, including peer reviews.
• Synthesize designs to targeted technologies and perform constraint‑driven place and route and analysis.
• Generate design review and deliverable documentation including review packages, block diagrams, interface control documents, and test plans/procedures.
• Ensure FPGA simulations verify performance, then integrate and test the FPGA on the circuit card assembly.

Qualifications

• Active Secret Security Clearance.
• Bachelor's Degree with a minimum of 9 years of prior relevant experience, or Graduate Degree with a minimum of 7 years of relevant experience, or 13 years of experience in lieu of a degree.
• 9+ years of experience with VHDL, the FPGA design process, the tools used to generate FPGA designs, and high‑speed digital design and timing analysis.
• 9 years of experience with FPGA development tools such as Xilinx Vivado, Altera Quartus, or similar.
• 5 years of experience with RF principles, including filtering, mixing, and signal conversion.
• 5 years of experience with digital signal processing (DSP) algorithms and their implementation on FPGAs.
• 5 years of experience with debugging tools such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and signal generators.
• 3 years of experience with system‑level simulation tools such as MATLAB/Simulink.

Preferred Additional Skills

• Experience with embedded systems and microcontroller interfacing.
• Knowledge of cryptographic algorithms and ability to implement them in targeted FPGA devices.
• Designing for space environments.
• Experience with 1553B, SpaceWire, I2C, and SPI interfaces.
• An active Top Secret or TS/SCI clearance.
• Exceptional communication skills with ability to clearly document and present designs and implementations.

Salary Range (California)

In compliance with pay transparency requirements, the salary range for this role in California is $125,000 – $232,000. This is not a guarantee of compensation or salary; final offer may vary based on factors including experience and location.

Benefits

• Health and disability insurance
• 401(k) match
• Flexible spending accounts
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Education assistance
• Parental leave
• Paid time off
• Company‑paid holidays

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement

L3Harris Technologies is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. L3Harris is committed to treating all employees and applicants for employment with respect and dignity and maintaining a workplace that is free from unlawful discrimination. All applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding or other related medical conditions), gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, disability, genetic information, citizenship status, characteristic or membership in any other group protected by federal, state or local laws. L3Harris maintains a drug‑free workplace and performs pre‑employment substance abuse testing and background checks, where permitted by law. Please be aware many of our positions require the ability to obtain a security clearance. In addition, applicants who accept a conditional offer of employment may be subject to government security investigation(s) and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information. By submitting your resume for this position, you understand and agree that L3Harris Technologies may share your resume, as well as any other related personal information or documentation you provide, with its subsidiaries and affiliated companies for the purpose of considering you for other available positions.

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