Senior Embedded Firmware/Flight Software Engineer

Psionic, Inc; Hampton (VA); Hybrid; USD 160,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Psionic, Inc. in Hampton, VA, seeks a Senior Flight Software/Embedded Firmware Engineer to design, develop, and test high‑reliability microprocessor, microcontroller and FPGA systems for lidar sensors used in space and defense programs.

The role covers lab demos, field tests and full flight software delivery. You will mentor junior engineers and work with Systems, Software and Electrical/Firmware teams to allocate functions between software and hardware.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer or Electrical Engineering or equivalent
• Seven plus years of digital design experience with microprocessors/microcontrollers/FPGA
• Experience with high-speed topologies (1/10 GbE, PCIe, Fibre Channel, SRIO)
• Proficient with UART, SPI, I2C and related serial protocols
• Strong communication and collaboration skills
• Experience with source control management tools
• MS Office proficiency

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and test complex, high reliability microprocessor, microcontroller and FPGA based systems
• Deliver high quality design, documentation, and implementation meeting requirements throughout product life cycle
• Collaborate with Systems, Software, and Electrical/Firmware teams
• Architect, design, code, and test complex FPGAs as desired
• Mentor junior engineers and oversee day-to-day development activities

Skills

C/C++

Real-time embedded software

FPGA design/verification

Serial communications (UART/SPI/I2C)

Lab testing & debugging

Team mentoring / leadership

Communication skills

Export control compliance

Education

Bachelor's in Computer Engineering or Electrical Engineering

Master's degree is a plus

Tools

Verilog/VHDL HDL coding

Xilinx Ultrascale+ FPGA

HDL tools (Microsensi/Intel/Altera)

Source control (Git/SVN)

MS Office suite (Excel/Word/PowerPoint/Project/Visio)

Job description

Senior Embedded Firmware/Flight Software Engineer

Psionic, Inc. is a startup focused on lidar sensors for autonomous systems. We value our customer relationships, our diverse and dynamic work environment, and our employees' career satisfaction. We offer a competitive salary and attractive benefits package.

We would like to add a motivated, fast-paced Firmware/Software Development leader with a solid background in designing, developing and testing code for space flight and remote sensing. We value a diverse, hands- on background with integrated photonic circuits to complement our on-site team in Hampton, VA.

Job Description

The primary purpose of this position is to serve as a Senior Flight Software/Embedded Firmware Engineer to provide design and development support for our second generation lidar to support space and defense markets. The role will include lab demonstrations, field tests, prototypes, Engineering Development Units and the full range of space flight software (up to human-rated) to be supplied to potential customers for testing in their systems.

The work requires real time and offline algorithm adaptation and coding of complex algorithms, low level driver development and implementation, software and firmware design, integrated opto-electronic control and housekeeping management, inter-module communication protocol, high speed electronics and software testing and debugging, high reliability techniques, signal processing, and in-situ, full system testing of instrumentation systems and navigation algorithms. Ability to collaborate with Systems Engineering and hardware builds to define function allocation among software and hardware resources is a must. These systems will be used for detecting, recording, measuring, or controlling physical conditions, phenomena, and environments encountered in defense and aerospace development programs.

The successful candidate will also mentor junior engineers related to the study, development, and test of hardware, data system components, and associated equipment. As such, our applicant will oversee the day-to-day development activities of small design and development teams in support of the project manager's work plan.

• Design, develop, and test complex, high reliability micro-processor, micro-controller and FPGA based systems.
• Deliver high quality design, documentation, and implementation that meet defined requirements as well as support products throughout the life cycle
• Collaborate with team members across multiple engineering disciplines including Systems, Software, and Electrical/Firmware
• Ability to architect, design, code, and test complex FPGAs is desired

Education and Qualifications

• Must be eligible to work in the United States
• Must be able to pass a pre-employment background check
• Bachelors in Computer Engineering or Electrical Engineering (Master's degree is a plus)
• Seven plus years of overall digital design based electrical engineering experience
• Demonstrated knowledge/experience with designing and developing systems using microprocessors (single and/or multi-core), microcontrollers, and FPGAs
• Demonstrated experience with any of the standard high-speed topologies (1/10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE), PCIe, Fiber Channel, Serial Rapid IO or similar)
• Proficient with serial communications such as: UARTs, SPI, I2C and the like
• Strong interpersonal, verbal and written communication, and problem-solving skills required
• Ability to work alone or on a team setting
• Experience with source control management tools
• Fully skilled in MS programs such as Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Project, and Visio

Highly Desired Technical Skills:

• Experience developing software code for flight systems using C, C+ and C++
• Experience with Xilinx Ultrascale+ series of FPGAs
• Demonstrated HDL coding experience with Microsemi, Xilinx and/or Intel (Altera) FPGAs using either Verilog or VHDL.
• Familiarity with signal integrity tools
• Exposure to MATLAB and Simulink
• Image processing experience such as OpenCV, OpenCL or similar

Psionic, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. This position requires access to export-controlled technology or software source code and the position is subject to U.S. export control laws.

Psionic, Inc. is an affirmative action employer and is committed to creating and maintaining a workplace in which all employees have an opportunity to participate and contribute to the success of the business and are valued for their skills, experience, and unique perspectives.

Psionic, Inc. provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment, and expressly prohibits any form of unlawful harassment or discrimination based on race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, gender identification, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, genetic information or results of genetic testing, or service in the military.

This position requires access to export-controlled technology or software source code and is subject to U.S. Export Control Laws. This position requires eligibility to work in the United States and well as the ability to pass a pre-employment background check.