Sr. Principal Electrical Engineer (FPGA Design Engineer)

Northrop Grumman • San Diego, CA

8d • $114,000 - $171,000

About The Position

Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems is seeking a Sr. Principal FPGA Design Engineer to support the Common Products Circuit Design organization in Rancho Bernardo, California. The engineer will design, implement, and verify HDL that manages I/O devices on embedded computers for a new avionics product line. Working with the product architect, electrical designers, software engineers, and systems engineers, the engineer will develop requirements, define hardware/software interfaces, and determine verification approaches. The role also establishes integrated product development workflows, processes, and tools to reduce time to market for safety-critical avionics designs.

The engineer will define FPGA architecture and logic design, translate system and board-level requirements into detailed FPGA requirements and design specifications, and collaborate on partitioning functionality across hardware, firmware, and software. Responsibilities include developing synthesizable HDL, implementing interfaces such as PCIe, SPI, I2C, UART, Ethernet, and Serial, and creating test benches and simulations to verify functionality. The engineer will support hardware-in-the-loop and system-level integration testing, participate in formal verification and validation, and perform synthesis, implementation, and timing closure using Vivado. The role also includes optimizing resource utilization, power, and performance; generating and reviewing timing constraints; and documenting findings.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in a STEM discipline with 8 years of related engineering experience, or a Master’s degree in a STEM discipline with 6 years of related experience, or a PhD in a STEM discipline with 4 years of related experience.
• Digital circuit design experience, including simulation and schematic capture through test and integration.
• Hands-on prototyping and debug experience testing complex digital subsystems, such as complex circuit card development involving FPGAs, embedded processors, or high-speed interfaces.
• Experience with AMD FPGAs and the Vivado tool, or equivalent tools.
• Experience with OVM/UVM verification methodologies.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Secret Clearance.
• Ability to obtain and maintain Program Access within a reasonable period of time, as determined by the Company.

Nice To Haves

• Experience facilitating internal and customer collaboration to capture and enhance engineering artifacts.
• Demonstrated experience with the full product life cycle, including requirements, design, implementation, and test.
• Demonstrated ability to translate system performance and operational specifications into hardware requirements, design, and test specifications.

Responsibilities

• Define FPGA architecture and logic design to support avionics computer functions.
• Translate system and board-level requirements into detailed FPGA requirements and design specifications.
• Collaborate with the Product Architect to partition system functionality between hardware, firmware, and software.
• Develop synthesizable HDL code for FPGA-based designs.
• Implement interfaces such as PCIe, SPI, I2C, UART, Ethernet, and Serial.
• Create comprehensive test benches and simulation environments to verify FPGA functionality.
• Perform functional, timing, and synthesis-level simulations to ensure deterministic and reliable operation.
• Support hardware-in-the-loop and system-level integration testing with embedded processors and avionics systems.
• Participate in formal verification and validation activities.
• Perform synthesis, implementation, and timing closure using Vivado.
• Optimize resource utilization, power consumption, and performance through iterative design and analysis.
• Generate and review timing constraints to ensure reliable performance across environmental conditions.
• Provide support in person and through documentation generation of findings.
• Establish integrated product development workflows, processes, and tools.

Benefits

• Health insurance coverage.
• Life and disability insurance.
• Savings plan.
• Company-paid holidays.
• Paid time off for vacation and/or personal business.
• Employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus, depending on the position.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior