Firmware Engineer for Phased Array Communication Ground Systems

AV; Albuquerque (NM); On-site; USD 89,000 - 135,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401K with company matching

9/80 work schedule

Paid holidays

Job summary

AV is seeking an early-career Firmware Engineer in Albuquerque to contribute to challenging, leading-edge designs. You will apply MATLAB for algorithmic modeling and fixed-point conversion, and AMD/Xilinx Vivado for RTL synthesis, place-and-route, timing closure, and hardware debugging.

Mentors will support your growth within the team in Albuquerque. The role emphasizes hands-on firmware and FPGA work, collaboration with cross-functional teams, and the opportunity to work with RFSoC

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
• Hands-on experience in firmware and FPGA engineering.
• Working knowledge in FPGA/ASIC design, analysis, and simulation.
• Expertise in optimizing AMD/Xilinx FPGA architecture, including primitives for pipelined arithmetic, block RAM, and IP Catalog cores (FIR Compiler, DDS Compiler, FFT) for high-throughput pipelines.
• Excellent communication skills to convey complex concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Innovative mindset with a passion for new firmware technologies and methodologies.
• Experience using MATLAB System Generator to bridge math algorithms with hardware logic; HDL Coder for RTL generation; integrating subsystems into Xilinx RFSoC architectures with high-speed ADCs/DACs.
• Expertise with 100Gb Ethernet using Virtex UltraScale+ and Xilinx stack silicon interconnect technology.

Responsibilities

• Assist in the design, development, and implementation of cutting-edge firmware and digital design technologies.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to optimize firmware designs for performance, cost-effectiveness, and manufacturability.
• Identify and mitigate technical risks in firmware and programmable logic systems.
• Model, simulate, and implement complex firmware concepts enabling next-generation digital beamformed phased array antennas.
• Other duties as assigned.

Skills

Firmware engineering

FPGA design

HDL design

RTL synthesis

Timing closure

Communication skills

Analytical thinking

Problem solving

MATLAB System Generator

Xilinx RFSoC

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering

Tools

MATLAB

MATLAB System Generator

HDL Coder

AMD/Xilinx Vivado

Xilinx RFSoC

Virtex UltraScale+

Job description

Job Description

AV is seeking an early-career Firmware Engineer in Albuquerque to work on challenging, leading-edge designs for immediate openings. Qualified candidates will have demonstrated expertise using MATLAB for algorithmic modeling, fixed-point conversion, and bit‑true simulation, alongside AMD/Xilinx Vivado for RTL synthesis, place‑and‑route, timing closure, and hardware debugging. The selected candidate joining our team will work in Albuquerque side‑by‑side with our existing engineering team. All senior firmware team members will serve as mentors to the successful candidate.

Worker Type

Regular

Summary

AV is seeking an early-career Firmware Engineer in Albuquerque to work on challenging, leading-edge designs for immediate openings. Qualified candidates will have demonstrated expertise using MATLAB for algorithmic modeling, fixed-point conversion, and bit‑true simulation, alongside AMD/Xilinx Vivado for RTL synthesis, place‑and‑route, timing closure, and hardware debugging. The selected candidate joining our team will work in Albuquerque side‑by‑side with our existing engineering team. All senior firmware team members will serve as mentors to the successful candidate.

Position Responsibilities

• Assist in the design, development, and implementation of cutting‑edge firmware and digital design technologies
• Collaborate with cross‑functional teams to optimize firmware designs for performance, cost‑effectiveness, and manufacturability
• Identify and mitigate technical risks associated with firmware and programmable logic systems
• Responsible for the modeling, simulation, and implementation of complex firmware concepts and techniques enabling next‑generation digital beamformed phased array antennas
• Other duties as assigned.

Basic Qualifications (Required Skills & Experience)

• Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field
• Hands‑on experience in firmware and FPGA engineering
• Working knowledge in FPGA/ASIC design, analysis, and simulation
• Expertise in optimizing AMD/Xilinx FPGA architecture, including the structural configuration of primitives for pipelined arithmetic operations, block RAM utilization, and the integration of IP Catalog cores (such as FIR Compiler, DDS Compiler, and Fast Fourier Transform) to construct high‑throughput digital logic pipelines
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to convey complex technical concepts to both technical and non‑technical stakeholders
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills
• Innovative mindset with a passion for exploring new firmware technologies and methodologies
• Experience utilizing MATLAB System Generator to bridge mathematical algorithms with hardware logic, leveraging HDL Coder for automated, timing‑optimized RTL generation, and integrating these subsystems into Xilinx RFSoC architectures utilizing high‑speed data converters (ADCs/DACs) is a plus
• Expertise with 100Gb Ethernet using Virtex UltraScale+ and Xilinx stack silicon interconnect technology

Physical Demands

Ability to work in an office and manufacturing environment (Constant)

Regularly required to stand, sit, talk, hear, and use hands and fingers to operate a computer and telephone keyboard (Frequent)

Clearance Level

No Clearance

The Salary Range For This Role Is

$88,500 - $135,000

ITAR Requirement

This position requires access to information that is subject to compliance with the International Traffic Arms Regulations (“ITAR”) and/or the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”). In order to comply with the requirements of the ITAR and/or the EAR, applicants must qualify as a U.S. person under the ITAR and the EAR, or a person to be approved for an export license by the governing agency whose technology comes under its jurisdiction. Please understand that any job offer that requires approval of an export license will be conditional on AeroVironment’s determination that it will be able to obtain an export license in a time frame consistent with AeroVironment’s business requirements. A “U.S. person” according to the ITAR definition is a U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident (green card holder), or protected individual such as a refugee or asylee. See 22 CFR

• 120.15. Some positions will require current U.S. Citizenship due to contract requirements.

Benefits

• AV offers an excellent benefits package including medical, dental vision, 401K with company matching, a 9/80 work schedule and a paid holiday shutdown.
• For more information about our company benefit offerings please visit: http://www.avinc.com/myavbenefits.
• We also encourage you to review our company website at http://www.avinc.com to learn more about us.

About AV

AV isn’t for everyone. We hire the curious, the relentless, the mission‑obsessed. The best of the best.

We don’t just build defense technology—we redefine what’s possible. As the premier autonomous systems company in the U.S., AV delivers breakthrough capabilities across air, land, sea, space, and cyber. From AI‑powered drones and loitering munitions to integrated autonomy and space resilience, our technologies shape the future of warfare and protect those who serve.

Founded by legendary innovator Dr. Paul MacCready, AV has spent over 50 years pushing the boundaries of what unmanned systems can do. Our heritage includes seven platforms in the Smithsonian—but we’re not building history, we’re building what’s next.

If you're ready to build technology that matters—with speed, scale, and purpose—there’s no better place to do it than AV.

EEO/AA Equal Opportunity Employer Statement

We are proud to be an EEO/AA Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability/veterans. AeroVironment, Inc. is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer and welcomes all qualified applicants. Qualified applicants will receive fair and impartial consideration without regard to race, sex, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, genetic data, sexual orientation, gender identity or other legally protected status.

ITAR

U.S. Citizenship required