Lead Firmware & FPGA Engineer - Aircraft Surveillance Products

Real Time Consulting, LLC; Phoenix (AZ); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Real Time Consulting leads the search for a Lead Firmware & FPGA Engineer for Aircraft Surveillance Products in the North Phoenix area. The role drives architecture, development and lifecycle management of avionics hardware and firmware, including DO-254 considerations, FPGA design, and external partner oversight.

You will own requirements, verification, and certification support across product lifecycles, with emphasis on cross-functional collaboration and AI-assisted engineering to boost

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical or related engineering discipline.
• 10+ years in aerospace/avionics/safety-critical embedded product development.
• 5+ years of technical leadership in firmware/FPGA/embedded avionics.
• Experience in embedded firmware architecture, integration, verification for safety-critical systems.
• Experience managing external engineering partners or contract organizations.
• Experience developing and managing requirements documentation and traceability.
• Knowledge of RTCA DO-254 for airborne systems.
• Understanding firmware integration across FPGA, hardware, software, and system validation.
• Experience supporting certification and regulatory activities for avionics or similar products.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead firmware, FPGA, and hardware activities for airborne products.
• Define requirements and design documentation for firmware/hardware.
• Manage external design partners and contract developers.
• Oversee certification support and product lifecycle activities.
• Apply AI-enabled tools to improve productivity and automation.

Skills

Firmware architecture

FPGA

Embedded systems

Requirements management

DO-254

External partner management

Technical leadership

Communication

System integration

AI-enabled engineering

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or related

Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering or related

Tools

DOORS

Job description

Lead Firmware & FPGA Engineer - Aircraft Surveillance Products

• North Phoenix, Arizona

REAL TIME CONSULTING (An RTCo Company)—POSITION DESCRIPTION

JOB TITLE: Lead Firmware & FPGA Engineer - Aircraft Surveillance Products

ABOUT THE JOB: The Lead Firmware & FPGA Engineer is responsible for the technical leadership, architecture, development, certification support, and lifecycle management of advanced avionics systems spanning FPGA, firmware, and Complex Electronic Hardware (CEH) domains.

This role leads firmware, FPGA, and hardware engineering activities for airborne products including transponder, TCAS, surveillance, and communications systems while ensuring compliance with aerospace standards and customer requirements.

The position serves as the primary technical authority for firmware development, requirements definition, and design execution, including oversight of external engineering partners and contract design organizations. The successful candidate will lead firmware architecture and performance trade studies, leverage AI-enabled engineering tools to improve productivity and automation and own the development of product hardware requirements and design documentation throughout the product lifecycle.

Key Competencies

• Technical leadership
• Avionics systems thinking
• Requirements engineering
• Supplier management
• Product ownership
• Strategic planning
• Risk management
• Cross-functional collaboration
• AI-enabled engineering innovation
• Continuous improvement mindset
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to influence technical direction across organizations

REQUIRED SKILLS:

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related engineering discipline
• 10+ years of experience in aerospace, avionics, or safety-critical embedded product development
• 5+ years of technical leadership experience leading complex firmware, FPGA, or embedded avionics development programs
• Strong experience in embedded firmware architecture, design, integration, and verification for safety-critical electronic systems
• Experience managing and overseeing external engineering design partners or contract development organizations
• Experience developing and managing requirements documentation, traceability, and verification evidence for firmware or complex electronic hardware
• Proven knowledge of RTCA DO-254 certification expectations applicable to airborne systems
• Strong understanding of firmware integration challenges across FPGA, hardware, software, and system validation environments
• Experience supporting certification and regulatory compliance activities for avionics or other highly regulated products
• Effective written and verbal communication skills
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Accountable and takes ownership of assigned tasks
• Self-motivated and takes initiative to get things done

PREFERRED SKILLS:

• Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related discipline
• Experience leading firmware development for FAA, EASA, TSO, ETSO, or military avionics programs
• Familiarity with DO-178C, ARP4754A, and ARP4761 development and certification processes
• Experience with FPGA-based designs, programmable logic integration, and coordination across firmware and hardware boundaries
• Experience with embedded firmware supporting surveillance or communications technologies including Mode S Transponders, ADS-B, IFF, DME, TCAS, or ACAS
• Experience implementing AI-assisted engineering workflows and automation solutions
• Experience with DOORS or similar requirements management tools
• Experience reviewing outsourced firmware development deliverables, plans, and verification artifacts
• Project leadership or engineering management experience

ABOUT THE COMPANY:

Real Time Consulting (RTC) exists to partner outstanding engineering talent to support our clients’ success. Unsurpassed service is delivered to our clients by upholding responsibility, teamwork and quality. Our primary commitment is to help our clients. Since 1997, RTC has been protecting and enhancing lives with safe, reliable, innovative solutions, providing full life-cycle design, development and testing of EMBEDDED ENGINEERING SYSTEMS and SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS with Program Management and Consulting Services. Our employees average 20+ years of versatile and accomplished expertise to our clients, driving continuous innovation forward. Employee’s innovative and analytical ideas are cultivated while maintaining the big picture vision in a fast-paced, changing environment. Our corporate values are to Uphold Responsibility, Support People, Promote Teamwork and Deliver Quality!

This position may require exposure to software, source code or technology that is subject to US export control laws and regulations (i.e., International Traffic in Arms Regulations or the Export Administration Regulations). To comply with these requirements, you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Departments of State or Commerce, as applicable.

RTCo is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with RTCo is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

To qualify for all positions with Real Time Companies, applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States and should not require now, or in the future, sponsorship for employment visa status. Please be aware that Real Time Companies does not sponsor employment-based visas. Additionally, certain positions with Real Time Companies that involve work with government entities may have more restrictive employment status requirements, such as U.S. citizenship, based on security clearance requirements or other governmental requirements. Real Time Companies is an Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V.