Senior or Principal Firmware / FPGA Engineer

We are looking for a Firmware/FPGA engineer to join Leonardo in Edinburgh or Newcastle, a world-class defence technology company. We develop cutting‑edge radars for the Eurofighter Typhoon and SAAB Gripen fighter jets, as well as maritime and airborne surveillance systems. The right engineer can be based in our Newcastle office, with expected visits to the Edinburgh site.

Key Responsibilities

• Hardware requirements capture and firmware design.
• Work as part of a team to meet milestones for on‑time delivery.
• FPGA design, development, analysis and integration.
• Production of material for design reviews.
• Development of test planning, integration and design verification.
• Ensure that all firmware designs follow the company firmware process.

Qualifications

• Degree (BSc, BEng, MEng, MSc, PhD, EngD) in Electrical and Electronic Engineering (preferable) or related science (e.g. Physics or Computer Science).
• Ability to design RTL using VHDL (essential), knowledge of Verilog (advantageous).
• Implementing high speed, multi‑frequency clocking architectures.
• Experience with FPGA technologies from AMD (Xilinx), Intel (Altera) or Microsemi (Actel).
• Use of Xilinx Vivado or Altera Quartus II / Quartus Prime is an advantage.
• Experience with FPGA architectures such as SoC system‑on‑chip (e.g. Xilinx Versal) is advantageous.
• Experience in the use of vendor IP such as Ethernet, gigabit‑transceivers, DDR interfaces, etc.
• Knowledge of version management using Subversion, GIT or CVS.
• Specifying timing and area constraints for efficient FPGA place and route.
• Familiarity with Mentor Graphics FPGA development tools including HDL Designer and ModelSim/Questa (advantageous).
• A methodical approach to the full firmware design lifecycle, working to a structured firmware process such as RTCA DO‑254 or similar.
• Debugging firmware designs, supporting verification and integration at hardware and system level alongside Software and Electronic Engineers.
• Verification techniques (test‑benching) using VHDL.
• Use of Integrated Logic Analysers (ILAs) from the firmware design tools.

Additional Skills (Advantageous)

• Knowledge of hardware communication protocols (Ethernet, SPI, I2C, UART, etc.).
• Knowledge of C, C++, MATLAB, or LabVIEW.

Personal Attributes

We value willingness to learn, progress and develop through our dedicated technical career path. Passion for the work and a pragmatic approach to problem‑solving are essential.

Security Clearance

This role is subject to pre‑employment screening in line with the UK Government’s Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS). Additional Personnel Security Controls such as National Security Vetting (NSV) may apply.

Benefits

• Generous leave with up to 12 additional flexi‑days each year.
• Secure your future with our award‑winning pension scheme and up to 15% employer contribution.
• Free access to mental health support, financial advice and employee‑led networks championing inclusion and diversity.
• Bonus scheme for employees at management level and below.
• Free access to over 4,000 online courses via Coursera and LinkedIn Learning.
• Financial reward through our referral programme.
• Spend up to £500 annually on flexible benefits including private healthcare, dental, family cover, tech and lifestyle discounts, gym memberships and more.
• Flexible hours with hybrid working options.
• Part‑time opportunities may be discussed for this role.

Location & Work Arrangements

Primary Location: GB - Edinburgh. Additional Locations: GB - Newcastle. Contract Type: Permanent. Hybrid Working: Hybrid.