Senior Firmware & FPGA Architect – Avionics Surveillance

Medium; Grand Rapids (MI); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Acron Aviation seeks a Lead Firmware & FPGA Engineer – Surveillance to provide technical leadership for airborne avionics across FPGA, firmware, and CEH domains. You will own hardware requirements, drive DO-254 compliance, and coordinate with external partners to deliver certified surveillance solutions.

The role oversees architecture, performance trade studies, and AI-enabled engineering tools to improve productivity, with emphasis on safety-critical certification and lifecycle management.

Qualifications

• 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.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership across firmware, FPGA, and hardware for airborne products from concept to certification and production.
• Define system architecture and allocate requirements across FPGA, firmware, CEH, RF, analog, digital, mixed-signal, software, mechanical, and systems disciplines.
• Serve as technical lead for surveillance, communications, and collision avoidance products including Mode S, ADS-B, TCAS.
• Mentor multidisciplinary teams and align on roadmaps and technology initiatives.
• Coordinate validation, lab bring-up, and system integration across firmware, hardware, software, and systems.

Skills

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 comms

Ability to influence direction

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field

Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related discipline

Tools

DOORS

Job description

Acron Aviation seeks a Lead Firmware & FPGA Engineer – Surveillance to provide technical leadership for airborne avionics across FPGA, firmware, and CEH domains. You will own hardware requirements, drive DO-254 compliance, and coordinate with external partners to deliver certified surveillance solutions.

The role oversees architecture, performance trade studies, and AI-enabled engineering tools to improve productivity, with emphasis on safety-critical certification and lifecycle management.