SAIC Defense & Aerospace

FPGA/Embedded Hardware Design Engineer

College Park, MD In person Full-time

SAIC is seeking an experienced FPGA/Embedded-Systems Engineer to design, verify, and integrate advanced digital processing architectures. The ideal candidate will possess strong FPGA development experience using VHDL and Verilog, along with embedded software skills and a deep understanding of digital signal processing, timing closure, and Linux-based workflows. This role requires the ability to solve complex technical problems and deliver robust production-ready designs.

Key Responsibilities

  • Develop FPGA architectures using VHDL-2019, VHDL-2008, VHDL, and basic Verilog as required.
  • Design solutions targeting Xilinx UltraScale+ MPSoC devices; experience with Versal devices is a strong plus.
  • Create self-checking simulation constructs and testbenches to validate functional and corner-case behavior.
  • Script simulation, synthesis, and implementation workflows using Tcl and shell scripting to automate toolflows.
  • Implement high-throughput streaming data paths, including FIFO structures, CDC mechanisms, circular buffers, clocking architectures, and timing constraints.
  • Perform FPGA debug through HDL simulation, waveform analysis, hardware debugging, and logic analyzer tools.
  • Develop and debug embedded software in C, C++, Python, and related languages to interface with FPGA logic.
  • Contribute to DSP algorithm design when needed, depending on project requirements.
  • Work with SDR platforms such as Ettus USRP, Epiq Matchstiq, and Pluto SDR to support system-level development.
  • Apply knowledge of microcontroller firmware design for supporting embedded subsystems.
  • Develop on Linux systems and write automation scripts using Bash.
  • Use Xilinx Vivado and Vitis toolchains including Hardware Manager, IP Integrator, IP packaging, and XSim simulation.
  • Simulate HDL using tools such as Aldec Riviera Pro and ModelSim for detailed design verification.
  • Build customized embedded Linux distributions for MPSoC and Versal devices using Yocto.
  • Set up and debug FlexLM license servers as part of maintaining development environments.
  • Leverage AI/ML code assistants to enhance development efficiency when appropriate.
  • Use Git for version control and collaborative software and FPGA development.

Required Education

Bachelors and fourteen (14) years or more experience; Masters and twelve (12) years or more experience; PhD or JD and nine (9) years or more experience.

Additional experience may be substituted for a degree

Clearance Requirement

Must be a U.S. citizen with an active TS/SCI with Polygraph level clearance

Job description provided by SAIC.
View the original posting