Senior Firmware Engineer

Location: Herndon, VA

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

Essential Job Duties


• Lead and contribute to firmware architecture and implementation for space-based electro-optical payloads and laser systems


• Perform end-to-end firmware development lifecycle: from requirements analysis through design, coding, simulation, verification, and validation


• Collaborate closely with hardware, systems, software, and optical engineers in cross-functional teams to define interfaces, resolve design issues, and ensure seamless system integration


• Participate in task-based iterative development cycles, incorporating rapid feedback, frequent integration points, and incremental testing to meet mission reliability goals


• Conduct lab-based debugging, hardware-in-the-loop testing, and system-level validation using diagnostic tools and protocols


• Support peer code reviews, knowledge sharing, and continuous improvement of development processes and best practices


• Apply high-reliability and space-grade techniques (e.g., fault tolerance, radiation mitigation) in a collaborative, team-oriented environment


• Contribute to documentation, design reviews, and risk identification throughout the product lifecycle


Job Requirements
Experience and Expertise Required


• 7+ years relevant experience


• BS/MS in EE or equivalent


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


• Expertise with Digital Signal Processing, precision timing, optical comms (modems), LIDAR


• Experience with Xilinx, Microchip, and Lattice 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 design


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


• Experience in standard peripheral interfaces: SPI, I2C, UART, LVDS, etc.


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


• Experience with GitHub, CI/CD for FPGA flows, code reviews, automated linting, synthesis, regression testing, timing closure, bitstream generation, release tagging

Bonus Areas


• Experience in Python for build/testing automation and data analysis


• Experience with Linux, scripting, Docker containers, and automation


• Experience developing Hi-Rel/Space programs and TMR coding


• Experience developing code (C, C++) for microcontrollers


• Experience with VS Code

We are 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.