FPGA Firmware Engineer

Scientific Research Corporation; North Charleston (SC); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision plans

401(k) with company match

Vacation and sick leave accruals

11 paid holidays

Tuition reimbursement

Collaborative, excellence‑driven work

Job summary

Scientific Research Corporation is seeking an FPGA Firmware Engineer to advance SDRS software and FPGA firmware on Navy NIWC Atlantic systems in Charleston, SC. You will contribute to HDL development, embedded Linux drivers, and SoC integration across cross‑functional teams.

The role requires FPGA firmware expertise, VHDL proficiency, and experience with Linux, SDLC, and embedded systems. Travel and secret clearance may be involved depending on program needs.

Qualifications

• 5-8 years experience
• Experienced in developing and maintaining FPGA firmware components
• Proficient in VHDL and familiar with high‑level programming languages (e.g., C/C++)
• Comfortable developing in a Linux operating environment
• Highly motivated and able to work both independently and in a team
• Effective complex problem solving skills
• Effective communication and analysis skills
• In‑depth knowledge of software development life cycles
• Formal education or equivalent experience in a systems or software engineering discipline

Responsibilities

• Work alongside industry experts in SDR, software development, tactical communications, and electronic warfare
• Emphasize HDL and SoC hardware platform development; broader embedded software responsibilities
• Architect software/firmware systems for embedded SoC platforms
• Design, develop, and maintain FPGA logic components
• Design communications between distributed software components
• Develop embedded Linux applications and drivers to integrate FPGAs with other software
• Package and use IP components in FPGA block diagrams
• Design and develop testbenches and test tools
• Develop for and integrate with DSPs
• Design for partial reconfiguration
• Use containers to dynamically program FPGAs
• Automate software with scripts
• Perform system demonstrations

Skills

FPGA firmware development

VHDL

C/C++

Linux

Teamwork

SDLC

Education

Formal education in systems/software engineering

Tools

Xilinx Vivado/Vitis

Yocto/Buildroot/PetaLinux

MATLAB

Bash

TCL

Kubernetes

Docker

Job description

FPGA Firmware Engineer

Location: US-SC-North Charleston

ID: 2026-10968

Category: Software Engineer

Position Type: Regular Full-Time

Application Open Date: 2/25/2026

Description

Filling the technical position of Field-programmable Gate Array (FPGA) Firmware Engineer on the Software Defined Radio Systems (SDRS) program at the Navy Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic in Charleston, SC.

• Working alongside industry experts in the fields of SDR, software development, tactical communications, and electronic warfare
• Emphasizing hardware description language (HDL) and application development for system‑on‑chip (SoC) hardware platforms but will span other aspects of embedded software development including documentation, design, implementation, integration, verification, review, toolchain automation, maintenance, etc.
• Architecting software/firmware systems for embedded SoC hardware platforms
• Designing, developing, and maintaining new and legacy logic components for use on FPGAs
• Designing communications between distributed software components
• Developing embedded Linux applications and drivers to integrate FPGAs with other software components
• Packaging and using IP components in FPGA block diagram design
• Designing and developing testbenches and test tools
• Developing for and integrating with digital signal processors (DSPs)
• Designing for partial reconfiguration
• Using containers to dynamically program FPGAs
• Automating software with scripts
• Performing system demonstrations

Requirements

• 5-8 years experience
• Experienced in developing and maintaining FPGA firmware components
• Proficient in VHDL and familiar with high‑level programming languages (e.g., C/C++)
• Comfortable developing in a Linux operating environment
• Highly motivated and able to work both independently and in a team
• Effective complex problem solving skills
• Effective communication and analysis skills
• In‑depth knowledge of software development life cycles
• Formal education or equivalent experience in a systems or software engineering discipline

Desired Skills

• Experience in software development for embedded general purpose processors (GPPs) and/or DSPs
• Experience with embedded software development including embedded Linux and SoC-based architectures
• Experience with Xilinx FPGAs and Vivado/Vitis toolchain
• Experience with embedded OS development such as Yocto, Buildroot, or PetaLinux
• Experience with SDR platforms, frameworks, and software
• Experience in scripting languages such as Bash and TCL
• Familiar with use of MATLAB for signal processing and modeling
• Familiar with containerization and virtualization (e.g., Kubernetes, Docker, Vagrant, Ansible, etc.)
• Familiar with using modular open systems architectures such as CMOSS, SOSA, MORA, VICTORY, OpenVPX, etc. to achieve interoperability

Clearance Information

SRC IS A CONTRACTOR FOR THE U.S. GOVERNMENT, THIS POSITION WILL REQUIRE U.S. CITIZENSHIP AS WELL AS A U.S. GOVERNMENT SECURITY CLEARANCE AT THE SECRET LEVEL.

Travel Requirements

• Occasional CONUS travel (<10%) to support stakeholder meetings and systems integration and demonstration may be required

Benefits

SRC offers a generous benefit package, including medical, dental, and vision plans, 401(k) with a company match, life insurance, vacation and sick paid time off accruals starting at 10 days of vacation and 5 days of sick leave annually, 11 paid holidays, tuition reimbursement, and a work environment that encourages excellence.

EEO

Scientific Research Corporation is an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate in employment.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other protected characteristic under federal, state or local law.

Scientific Research Corporation endeavors to make www.scires.com accessible to any and all users. If you would like to contact us regarding the accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the application process, please contact [e-mail] for assistance. This contact information is for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.