Principal FPGA Design Engineer - Defense & EW Leader

Northrop Grumman; Rolling Meadows (IL); On-site; USD 119,600 - 179,400; Full time

Job summary

Northrop Grumman in Rolling Meadows, IL, seeks a Principal FPGA Design Engineer to own full lifecycle hardware development from concept to production and field support. You will work on digital subsystems, test, and production processes, using FPGA architectures across major vendors and interfaces.

The role requires hands-on prototyping, leadership of small teams, and translating system requirements into hardware specs, with a current Secret clearance and willingness to obtain additional

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering with 5+ years digital electronics design experience (or 3 years with a Master’s).
• Digital circuit design experience including simulation and schematic capture through test/integration.
• Hands-on prototyping and debugging of complex digital subsystems with FPGAs/embedded processors/high-speed interfaces.
• Ability to lead projects with small teams (2 or fewer).
• Familiarity with DOORS/ClearCase/ClearQuest for documentation control.

Responsibilities

• Lead full lifecycle hardware development from concept to production and field support.
• Design FPGA hardware using major vendors and high-speed interfaces.
• Research, design, and develop digital hardware, including radar and EO/DM equipment.
• Translate system specs into hardware requirements and test specifications.
• Collaborate with engineering, manufacturing and program management teams.

Skills

Digital circuit design

FPGA design

Schematic capture

Embedded processing

Leadership

Documentation control

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical or Computer Engineering

Master’s degree in technical field (preferred)

Tools

Cadence Concept

Allegro

Mentor DxDesigner

Expedition

Job description

Northrop Grumman in Rolling Meadows, IL, seeks a Principal FPGA Design Engineer to own full lifecycle hardware development from concept to production and field support. You will work on digital subsystems, test, and production processes, using FPGA architectures across major vendors and interfaces.

The role requires hands-on prototyping, leadership of small teams, and translating system requirements into hardware specs, with a current Secret clearance and willingness to obtain additional