Firmware Engineer

Actalent; Tucson (AZ); Remote; USD 101,000 - 134,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental & vision

401(k) Retirement Plan

Life Insurance

Job summary

Actalent is seeking a Senior Firmware Engineer II to work on space, terrestrial, and airborne missions. Remote work with travel, crafting FPGA-based solutions using Xilinx technologies and VHDL.

You will design, simulate, and verify firmware while collaborating with hardware and software teams to deliver mission-critical results. The role emphasizes leadership in design approaches, automated testing, and domain knowledge in radiation environments.

Qualifications

• Bachelors degree in electrical or computer engineering or equivalent.
• At least 8 years of professional firmware engineering experience.
• 8+ years FPGA firmware design experience with VHDL.
• US Citizenship required (or equivalent) or as stated.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with hardware design to gather requirements.
• Complete FPGA logic design, coding, simulation, and testing.
• Support hardware/software teams in bring-up and testing.
• Provide SME in design and automated test procedures to customers and production teams.
• Conduct data analysis from datasheets and manuals to assess feasibility.
• Debug designs in lab, perform synthesis, implementation and timing analysis.

Skills

FPGA firmware design

VHDL

Linux development

C/C++

Xilinx Versal

Education

Bachelors in Electrical/Computer Engineering

Tools

Vivado

Altium Designer

Job description

Job Title: Firmware Engineer

Job Description

Join our team as a Senior Firmware Engineer II, where you will have the opportunity to work on innovative and novel designs for space, terrestrial, and airborne environments. You will support Tranche 3 of the U.S. Space Development Agency's Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture using the latest FPGA technologies, including Xilinx, to advance Electro-Optical (EO/IR) technology. This role is based in Long Beach, CA, and involves working with a team of experts in the field to achieve mission-critical objectives.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with the hardware design team to gather and define requirements.
• Complete FPGA logic design, coding, simulation, and testing.
• Support hardware and software development teams in product bring-up and testing.
• Provide subject-matter expertise in design and automated test development procedures to customers and production support teams.
• Conduct research and analysis of data, including customer specifications, datasheets, or manuals, to determine design feasibility and approach.
• Debug designs in the lab and perform synthesis, implementation, and timing analysis.

Essential Skills

• Minimum of 8 years of professional full-time Firmware engineering experience.
• Bachelors degree in computer engineering or electrical engineering or equivalent.
• At least 8 years of experience in FPGA firmware design with VHDL.
• Minimum of 3 years of experience in hand-coded implementation.
• Exposure to AI-assisted implementation in VHDL.
• Must be a U.S. Citizen (Dual Citizenship in allied countries).

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Experience with Linux development or familiarity.
• Knowledge of Yocto environments and communication protocols such as RS422/RS485, I²C, SPI, Ethernet/GigE, TCP/IP, UDP, CAN.
• Experience with high-speed interfaces, DDR, or multi-gigabit transceivers.
• Familiarity with Xilinx/AMD Versal architecture.
• Experience working with FPGAs and embedded systems in radiation environments, including SEU/SEL impact and mitigation.
• Experience in FPGA-based image processing algorithms.
• Ability to create IP from scratch.
• Familiarity with C, C++, Python, or MATLAB, and experience translating algorithms from scripted languages to HDL.
• Experience with software interfaces, including interrupts and DMA.
• Familiarity with DDR4, Aurora, and high-speed transceiver design and verification.
• Knowledge of AXI Stream and AXI Memory Mapped interfaces.
• Experience in PCB design and schematic capture and layout using tools such as Altium Designer.

Work Environment

This position is fully remote with potential travel required up to two weeks per quarter. You will work in a collaborative team environment where innovation and expertise are highly valued, and you will contribute to projects with significant impact in the space domain.

Job Type & Location

This is a Contract position based out of Tucson, AZ.

Pay And Benefits

The pay range for this position is $73.00 - $97.00/hr.

Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors.

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following:

• Medical, dental & vision
• Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital
• 401(k) Retirement Plan Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available
• Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents)
• Short and long-term disability
• Health Spending Account (HSA)
• Transportation benefits
• Employee Assistance Program
• Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Nov 5, 2026.

Workplace Type

This is a fully remote position.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email [e-mail] for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.