Senior / Principal Firmware Engineer

ZipRecruiter; Luton; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

A global leader in the Defence Industry is seeking a Senior / Principal Firmware Engineer to design and develop firmware for avionics systems. The role involves collaboration with various teams, innovative VHDL-based designs, and ensuring configuration management. Candidates must have proven expertise in VHDL or Verilog and an honours degree in Electronics Engineering or a related field. This position is based in Luton or Edinburgh, and UK residency is required due to security protocols.

Qualifications

• Proven expertise in developing firmware with VHDL or Verilog.
• Honours degree or equivalent in Electronics Engineering or a STEM-related field.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop firmware using VHDL.
• Collaborate with teams to provide firmware solutions.
• Document and verify firmware designs.

Skills

VHDL

Verilog

Linux

Communication

Education

Honours degree in Electronics Engineering

Tools

Mentor Graphics FPGA development tools

ModelSim

Questa

Precision

ISE

Vivado

Quartus

Job description

Job Description

Senior / Principal Firmware Engineer

Our client, a global leader in the Defence Industry, is seeking a Senior / Principal Firmware Engineer to work on avionics systems.

Role Overview:

The Senior / Principal Firmware Engineer will be responsible for designing and developing firmware using VHDL and verifying designs with VHDL or SystemVerilog.

Responsibilities:

• Collaborate with Systems, Hardware, and Software teams to provide firmware solutions and address integration issues on complex systems.
• Create innovative and robust VHDL-based designs.
• Document and record deliverables.
• Verify firmware designs.
• Ensure configuration management and maintain revision control of designs.
• Provide progress reports.

Skills, Qualifications, and Experience:

• Mandatory: Proven expertise in developing firmware with VHDL or Verilog.
• Experience with Mentor Graphics FPGA development tools such as HDL Designer, ModelSim/Questa, and Precision.
• Familiarity with FPGA design flows from Xilinx, Intel (Altera), or Microsemi (Actel), including ISE, Vivado, Quartus.
• Experience in specifying timing and area constraints for FPGA place and route.
• Ability to analyze system and hardware requirements to derive detailed firmware specifications.
• Experience with independent verification using VHDL.
• Experience in firmware requirements capture and management tools.
• Proficiency in debugging firmware and supporting integration and verification at hardware and system levels.
• Understanding of firmware and revision control software.
• Experience making technical decisions and mitigating risks in firmware design activities.
• Knowledge of high-speed serial protocols and implementations.
• Ability to coordinate technical activities and liaise with project leads and other disciplines.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, both oral and written.
• Linux and scripting experience.
• Ability to write technical reports and documentation.

Desirable:

• Experience in developing real-time, embedded, safety-critical firmware, preferably aligned with RTCA/DO-254 DAL D.
• Independent verification experience using SystemVerilog/UVM.
• Relevant aerospace or defence industry experience.
• Experience with embedded processor cores (e.g., ARM) in FPGA designs.
• Familiarity with the latest FPGA device families.

Qualifications:

Honours degree or equivalent in Electronics Engineering or a STEM-related field.

This role can be based in Luton or Edinburgh. Due to security requirements, only UK residents are eligible.