FPGA Engineer I

Job Title

FPGA Engineer I

Role Summary

The Effector Subsystems Products (ESP) team develops embedded FPGA electronics for weapon systems across ground, exoatmospheric, and space environments. This role implements FPGA designs for major vendors (AMD, Altera, Microchip) supporting RF/EO DSP, controls, data links, and embedded processing.

This position is 100% onsite in Huntsville, AL and is eligible for relocation assistance. Candidates must be able to obtain and maintain a U.S. government security clearance.

Experience Level

Entry-level. Typically less than 2 years of prior professional experience.

Responsibilities

Primary duties from prototype through production, verification, and documentation.

• Design and deliver production-quality FPGA releases from proof-of-concept to production.
• Collaborate with systems, hardware, software engineers, and program management.
• Write maintainable, reviewable VHDL code targeting configurable logic devices.
• Verify designs using self-checking directed and constrained-random tests; track functional and code coverage.
• Create complete documentation: requirements, verification plans, user guides, and configuration management artifacts.
• Support design through integration, test, and production release; participate in technical reviews.
• Assist project execution to program schedules and budgets.

Requirements

Minimum technical, security, and hands-on skills required for the role.

• Security: U.S. citizenship required and ability to obtain/maintain a U.S. government security clearance. DoD Secret clearance (active/required) noted.
• Experience in at least three of the following categories: digital design/HDL coding for FPGAs; delivering FPGA solutions at the system level; working with FPGA device families and vendor tools (Altera, Lattice, Microchip, AMD); integration and debug with oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, multimeters.
• Experience with FPGA timing constraints and timing closure.
• Experience with digital simulation tools (e.g., Questa, RivieraPro, or similar).
• Programming experience in Python or C.

Preferred (nice-to-have):

• Radar or image (visual/IR) processing techniques; gigabit serial interfaces and multi-gigabit transceivers (MGTs).
• Embedded processor / SoC development for FPGA devices (MicroBlaze, Nios, ARM).
• Linux-based FPGA development, git/GitHub, and hardware-in-the-loop verification.
• Familiarity with encryption standards (AES, RSA, ECC) and industry interfaces/protocols (AXI, PCIe, SPI, I2C).
• Experience working effectively in a team and completing tasks with minimal oversight.

Education Requirements

Typically requires a Bachelors degree in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM). (The posting specifies a Bachelors in STEM as the usual qualification.)

About the Company

Company: Raytheon Technologies

Headquarters: Arlington, VA, USA

Raytheon Technologies is an Aerospace and Defense company offering advanced systems and services for commercial, military, and government customers worldwide. Formed in 2020 from the merger of Raytheon Company and United Technologies Corporation, it operates through three major business units: Collins Aerospace Systems, Pratt & Whitney, and Raytheon. The company specializes in delivering cutting-edge solutions across various fields including quantum physics, hypersonics, and cybersecurity.