Principal Firmware/FPGA Engineer (Onsite)

globalhr; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 108,000 - 205,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation Assistance available

Onsite at Cambridge

Job summary

RTX BBN Technologies in Cambridge, MA seeks engineers with strong background in real-time embedded systems, FPGA development, and HDL design. You will contribute to multi-domain architectures and high-speed interfaces while working toward advanced sensor and quantum information applications.

The role requires a STEM degree with substantial experience (8+ years) or an advanced degree with 5+ years, and the ability to obtain/maintain U.S. government clearance. Onsite at Cambridge headquarters.

Qualifications

• STEM degree and extensive experience in FPGA development.
• RTL design, timing analysis, board bring-up and validation.
• DSP fundamentals and FPGA implementation knowledge.

Responsibilities

• Design, analyze and prototype multi-domain real-time embedded systems.
• Develop real-time control architectures for physical systems.
• Create and evaluate DCLT algorithms for high-noise environments.
• Support testbeds for real-time sensor processing and quantum info systems.

Skills

FPGA development

RTL design

HDL

Digital Signal Processing

Scripting

Security clearance

Education

STEM degree +8y or advanced degree +5y

Tools

Petalinux

BlueSpec System Verilog

Job description

Date Posted: 2026-05-14

Country: United States of America

Location: US-MA-CAMBRIDGE-BBN01 ~ 10 & 50 Moulton St ~ MOULTON B2

Position Role Type: Onsite

U.S. Citizen, U.S. Person, or Immigration Status Requirements: The ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government issued security clearance is required. U.S. citizenship is required, as only U.S. citizens are eligible for a security clearance

Security Clearance Type: DoD Clearance: Secret

Security Clearance Status: Active and existing security clearance required after day 1

RTX Corporation is an Aerospace and Defense company that provides advanced systems and services for commercial, military and government customers worldwide. It comprises three industry-leading businesses – Collins Aerospace Systems, Pratt & Whitney, and Raytheon. Its 185,000 employees enable the company to operate at the edge of known science as they imagine and deliver solutions that push the boundaries in quantum physics, electric propulsion, directed energy, hypersonics, avionics and cybersecurity. The company, formed in 2020 through the combination of Raytheon Company and the United Technologies Corporation aerospace businesses, is headquartered in Arlington, VA.

At RTX BBN Technologies, we invent new science by applying radical cross-disciplinary techniques to prototype systems in order to prove concept viability. This is especially evident in our Physical Systems and Sciences group, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where scientists and engineers anticipate the future in both very large and very small-scale scientific systems that often need to survive challenging operational environments.

What You Will Do

We are seeking qualified candidates who have good knowledge in digital systems, HDL, signal processing, and hands-on experience with development of real-time embedded systems. Your knowledge of high-speed interfaces and experience developing in multiple programming domains, including RTL, VHDL, Verilog, and scripting languages will be leveraged to create custom R&D hardware. You will join a project team designing, analyzing, and prototyping innovative multi-domain system architectures, solving challenging real-world problems like:

• Developing real-time control system architectures to affect the performance of physical systems
• Developing sophisticated detection, classification, localization, and tracking (DCLT) algorithms against state-of-the-art threats in high-noise environments
• Support development and testing of experimental testbeds for real-time sensor processing systems, quantum information systems, integrated photonic systems, and other physical sciences pursuits
• Supporting implementation and evaluation of real time systems in realistic mission scenarios and conducting operational analysis

Qualifications You Must Have

• Typically requires a degree in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) and minimum 8 years prior relevant experience or an Advanced Degree in a related field and minimum 5 years of experience
• Professional experience in FPGA development processes: RTL design, verification, timing analysis, board bring up, and validation
• Understanding of Digital Signal Processing fundamentals and their implementation on FPGAs
• Professional experience in high-speed interfaces, including experience in Ethernet, serial point to point communication (sFPDP, SPI), and high-speed memory interfaces (HBM2, DDR)
• Scripting development experience (bash, Tcl, etc.)
• The ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government issued security clearance is required

Qualifications We Prefer

• Experience with SoC boards running bare metal code as well as configuring and deploying embedded Linux (e.g. Petalinux)
• Experience with RFSoC boards and/or high-speed analog signal generation and digitization
• Familiarity with building Linux drivers for FPGA peripherals
• Experience with high level synthesis tools, including BlueSpec System Verilog
• Software development experience in C/C++, and Python

What We Offer

Whether you’re just starting out on your career journey or are an experienced professional, we offer a robust total rewards package with compensation; healthcare, wellness, retirement, and work/life benefits; career development and recognition programs. Some of the benefits we offer include parental (including paternal) leave, flexible work schedules, achievement awards, educational assistance and child/adult backup care.

• Relocation Assistance available
• This position is Onsite at our Cambridge, Mass headquarters

To help you achieve your goals, BBN will provide:

• A strong leadership team well-versed in government R&D.
• A collaborative and collegial environment to push state-of-the-art research.
• Technically competent pool of research scientists who are willing to mentor, listen, and help you refine your research vision and goals.
• Business development, programmatic, contracting, finance, and HR support.
• Access, through RTX, to opportunities that help transition your research and ultimately see it fielded.

As part of our commitment to maintaining a secure hiring process, candidates may be asked to attendselect steps of the interview process in-person at one of our office locations, regardless of whether the role is designated as on-site, hybrid or remote.

The salary range for this role is 107,500 USD - 204,500 USD. The salary range provided is a good faith estimate representative of all experience levels. RTX considers several factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to, the role, function and associated responsibilities, a candidate’s work experience, location, education/training, and key skills.Hired applicants may be eligible for benefits, including but not limited to, medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short-term disability, long-term disability, 401(k) match, flexible spending accounts, flexible work schedules, employee assistance program, Employee Scholar Program, parental leave, paid time off, and holidays. Specific benefits are dependent upon the specific business unit as well as whether or not the position is covered by a collective-bargaining agreement.Hired applicants may be eligible for annual short-term and/or long-term incentive compensation programs depending on the level of the position and whether or not it is covered by a collective-bargaining agreement. Payments under these annual programs are not guaranteed and are dependent upon a variety of factors including, but not limited to, individual performance, business unit performance, and/or the company’s performance.This role is a U.S.-based role. If the successful candidate resides in a U.S. territory, the appropriate pay structure and benefits will apply.RTX anticipates the application window closing approximately 40 days from the date the notice was posted. However, factors such as candidate flow and business necessity may require RTX to shorten or extend the application window.

RTX is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability or veteran status, or any other applicable state or federal protected class. RTX provides affirmative action in employment for qualified Individuals with a Disability and Protected Veterans in compliance with Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act.

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