Space-Systems FPGA Firmware Engineer (Radar/SAR)

EVONA; Irvine (CA); On-site; USD 145,000 - 175,000; Full time

Job summary

EVONA in Irvine, CA is hiring a Firmware Engineer to design, develop, and verify FPGA firmware for radar and SAR payload electronics used in Earth observation satellites. You will collaborate with RF, Systems, Embedded Software, and AI&T teams to deliver flight-grade firmware for space hardware.

The role focuses on HDL design with VHDL/Verilog on Xilinx RFSoC/UltraScale+, RTL frameworks, and integration with Linux or bare-metal SoCs.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical discipline; Master's degree preferred.
• 5–8 years of professional FPGA firmware design experience with VHDL/Verilog.
• 3+ years with Xilinx (AMD) FPGA development tools: Vivado, Vitis, Vivado HLS.
• 3–5 years implementing DSP algorithms in FPGA: filtering, FFTs, DDC, waveform generation.
• 3–5 years firmware for SoC architectures, PS-PL integration on Zynq / Zynq UltraScale+.
• Experience with high-speed serial interfaces and standard bus protocols.
• Strong analytical and debugging skills; optimize firmware performance, timing, and resources.
• Excellent communication and collaboration in multidisciplinary teams.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and verify FPGA firmware for radar signal generation and SAR data processing pipelines.
• Develop RTL designs using VHDL/Verilog for Xilinx RFSoC and UltraScale+.
• Create modular FPGA frameworks for multiple product configurations.
• Integrate FPGA firmware with embedded Linux and bare-metal ARM SoCs.
• Define high-speed digital interfaces between FPGA and RF/analog front-ends.
• Perform timing closure, resource optimization, and power analysis.
• Develop FPGA verification strategies including simulation and HIL testing.
• Collaborate with RF and Systems teams to map requirements to FPGA.
• Support AI&T with firmware builds, diagnostics, and debugging.
• Maintain configuration-controlled firmware baselines and release artifacts.
• Participate in design reviews and risk assessments for FPGA/digital subsystems.

Skills

FPGA design

Digital signal processing

Embedded Linux

SoC integration

Linux debugging

C/C++

Education

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

Master's degree preferred

Tools

Vivado

Vitis

Vivado HLS

Zynq / Zynq UltraScale+

Job description

EVONA in Irvine, CA is hiring a Firmware Engineer to design, develop, and verify FPGA firmware for radar and SAR payload electronics used in Earth observation satellites. You will collaborate with RF, Systems, Embedded Software, and AI&T teams to deliver flight-grade firmware for space hardware.

The role focuses on HDL design with VHDL/Verilog on Xilinx RFSoC/UltraScale+, RTL frameworks, and integration with Linux or bare-metal SoCs.