Senior Firmware Engineer in Luton

Role Overview

The Senior / Principal Firmware Engineer will be responsible for the design, development, and verification of FPGA firmware using VHDL, with additional verification tasks in VHDL or SystemVerilog.

Key Responsibilities

The engineer will collaborate closely with Systems, Hardware, and Software teams to deliver robust firmware solutions and resolve integration challenges within complex systems.

Responsibilities include:

• Designing and implementing innovative, reliable VHDL-based firmware solutions
• Documenting and maintaining detailed design deliverables
• Verifying firmware designs using simulation and test methodologies
• Managing configuration control and maintaining version traceability
• Providing progress updates and supporting project reporting activities

Essential Skills and Experience

• Minimum of 5 years’ experience developing firmware using VHDL or Verilog
• Proficiency with FPGA development tools such as HDL Designer, ModelSim/Questa, and Precision
• Familiarity with FPGA toolchains from Xilinx, Intel (Altera), or Microsemi (Actel)
• Ability to interpret system or hardware-level requirements and derive detailed firmware specifications
• Strong debugging skills for firmware and integration at both hardware and system levels
• Understanding of firmware configuration management and revision control practices
• Ability to coordinate day-to-day technical tasks, collaborating effectively with engineering leads and cross-discipline teams
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Experience with Linux environments and scripting languages
• Proficiency in producing technical documentation and reports

Desirable Skills and Experience

• Experience developing real-time or safety-critical firmware, ideally to RTCA/DO-254 DAL A or B standards
• Familiarity with requirements capture and management tools
• Prior experience in Aerospace, Defence, or similar high-reliability industries
• Knowledge of embedded processor cores (e.g. ARM) within FPGA designs
• Experience with independent verification using VHDL or SystemVerilog/UVM
• Awareness of modern FPGA device families and architectures
• Understanding of high-speed serial communication protocols and implementation techniques

Qualifications and Security Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in Electronics Engineering or a related STEM discipline
• UK citizenship is required to obtain security clearance (SC)
• Existing SC clearance is advantageous