Principal FPGA Engineer

Job Title

Principal FPGA Engineer

Role Summary

Senior, hands-on engineering role leading the design and delivery of FPGA-based solutions for DoD and related secure products, including VITA-standard VPX modules and custom board form factors. The role involves architecture, RTL implementation, simulation, prototyping, verification, and production release.

Work collaboratively with cross-functional teams, mentor junior engineers, and drive complex projects to completion. Onsite locations include Ashburn, VA (primary), with positions also listed in Boston, MA and Nashua, NH.

Experience Level

Senior / Principal level. Typical experience: 10+ years of FPGA hardware development.

Responsibilities

Accountable for technical leadership and end-to-end FPGA development within product programs.

• Define FPGA architecture and detailed specifications for IP blocks and system integration.
• Drive FPGA development from concept through RTL coding, simulation, synthesis, place-and-route, and bitstream generation.
• Develop and verify HDL (SystemVerilog, Verilog, VHDL) with simulation testbenches and hardware validation.
• Perform board bring-up, prototype debug, and laboratory validation using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and related equipment.
• Lead project planning activities: scheduling, resource estimation, and timely delivery.
• Mentor and provide technical guidance to junior FPGA and hardware engineers.
• Support sustaining engineering, environmental testing, and transition of designs into production.

Requirements

Core technical skills, security and program suitability requirements, and preferred tool experience.

• Must-have: 10+ years of FPGA development experience, including high-speed or embedded applications.
• Must-have: Strong RTL design and verification skills (SystemVerilog, Verilog, or VHDL); experience with simulation, synthesis, and timing closure.
• Must-have: Hands-on debugging and lab experience with oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and hardware bring-up.
• Must-have: US Citizenship is mandatory; active security clearance preferred.
• Must-have: Experience with high-speed serial interfaces and signal integrity concepts.
• Nice-to-have: Familiarity with Xilinx toolchains (Vivado, ISE), Zynq MPSoC, Versal, UltraScale+, and AMD/Intel/ Microchip FPGA platforms.
• Nice-to-have: Experience with Vivado IP Integrator, ModelSim/Questa, Libero SoC, Quartus, TCL or other automation scripting, and FPGA resource/power estimation.

Education Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field required. Advanced degree (MS/PhD) is a plus.

About the Company

Company: Curtiss-Wright

Headquarters: Davidson, NC, United States

Curtiss-Wright is an engineering company that designs and manufactures products and services for the aerospace, defense, and industrial markets, specializing in embedded computing, avionics, and naval systems with a focus on modular open-systems solutions.