Senior Principal Digital Engineer - FPGA & Firmware (Secret)

Northrop Grumman; Middle River (MD); On-site; USD 149,000 - 224,000; Full time

Job summary

Northrop Grumman is seeking a Sr. Principal Digital Engineer to design, verify, simulate, and test FPGAs using VHDL and firmware development within the SWDT Technologies Organization. This role supports DoD projects and requires collaboration across teams to meet stringent timing, power, and security requirements.

The position may be based in Linthicum, MD or Morrisville, NC, with clearance required for start and ongoing employment. A Secret clearance and U.S. citizenship are mandatory.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's in computer or electrical engineering with 7 years of related experience.
• Must be a U.S. citizen and able to obtain Secret clearance.
• 5 years of VHDL programming and firmware development experience.
• Experience with schematic and programmable logic tools.

Responsibilities

• Design, verification, simulation and testing of FPGAs.
• Develop test plans and rigorous validation for digital designs.
• Adhere to coding standards and revision control; perform peer reviews.
• Conduct tests with high‑speed instruments and FPGA debugging tools.
• Provide support for Systems Integration and Test operations.
• Lead on‑site testing and manage timing/power constraints.
• Collaborate to understand system interdependencies affecting design.
• Perform static timing analysis to meet performance targets.

Skills

VHDL programming

Firmware development

Independent work

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Computer or Electrical Engineering

Master’s Degree in Computer or Electrical Engineering

Tools

AMD/Xilinx Vivado

Altera/Quartus

Job description

Northrop Grumman is seeking a Sr. Principal Digital Engineer to design, verify, simulate, and test FPGAs using VHDL and firmware development within the SWDT Technologies Organization. This role supports DoD projects and requires collaboration across teams to meet stringent timing, power, and security requirements.

The position may be based in Linthicum, MD or Morrisville, NC, with clearance required for start and ongoing employment. A Secret clearance and U.S. citizenship are mandatory.