Senior Firmware Engineer - Aerospace | Defense

***While this position is posted in the Boston market to maximize regional outreach and exposure, the role is physically located in Virginia. The successful candidate will be based in Virginia to support local operations.

Citizenship Requirement - Government Contracting

The Opportunity

StaffRight Associates is proud to act as an external recruitment partner for an industry-leading innovator in aerospace and defense technology to secure a talented Senior Firmware Engineer. Based in Herndon, Virginia, this critical role within the Research and Development division centers on shaping next-generation spaceborne electro-optical instrumentation and sophisticated laser payloads. Joining this cutting-edge enterprise means immersing yourself in transformative missions that support vital defense and commercial objectives, offering long-term career growth alongside pioneers in optical communication and atmospheric sensing.

What You’ll Do

• Architect, code, and deploy robust firmware solutions tailored for advanced space-based electro-optical payloads and laser systems.

• Execute the complete development lifecycle spanning requirements analysis, design synthesis, rigorous simulation, hardware verification, and final validation.

• Partner with multidisciplinary engineering teams—including hardware, systems, software, and optical groups—to harmonize interfaces and streamline system integration.

• Execute iterative, task-driven development cycles that incorporate continuous feedback, incremental testing, and mission-critical reliability targets.

• Perform laboratory debugging, hardware-in-the-loop validation, and system-level testing using specialized diagnostic instruments and protocols.

• Champion peer code reviews, document engineering lifecycles, and drive continuous refinement of internal processes and best practices.

• Implement high-reliability and space-grade methodologies such as radiation mitigation and fault tolerance within a collaborative team environment.

What You Bring

• 7 to 15 Years of professional engineering experience backed by a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering or equivalent technical degree.

• Advanced proficiency in Firmware Engineering, VHDL (RTL), and System Verilog (Testing).

• Deep knowledge of Digital Signal Processing, Precision Timing, Optical Comms (Modems), and LIDAR.

• Hands-on expertise utilizing Xilinx, Microchip, and Lattice FPGAs alongside their proprietary development environments.

• Proven capability in creating comprehensive test benches and running functional simulations to verify design compliance.

• Experience translating architectural schematics and block diagrams into functional firmware implementations.

• Mastery of high-speed serial protocols including GTY/GTM, JESD204B/C, Ethernet, and SpaceWire.

• Familiarity with standard peripheral interfaces such as SPI, I2C, UART, and LVDS.

• Proficiency across memory architectures including DDR3/4, QDR, and FRAM.

• Practical background with GitHub, CI/CD for FPGA flows, automated linting, logic synthesis, regression testing, timing closure, bitstream generation, and release tagging.

• Preferred experience leveraging Python, Linux, Scripting, Docker Containers, C, C++, and VS Code for build automation, microcontroller programming, and data analysis.

Compensation & Total Rewards

• Annual Salary: $140,000 - $210,000 (Full Time / Direct Hire)

• Plus Top Benefits

Joining StaffRight Associates

When you partner with StaffRight Associates in your search for your next role, you’re doing more than pursuing a job, you’re aligning yourself with a team of experts committed to placing top-tier talent in truly impactful positions. We take pride in fostering professional growth and connecting forward-thinking individuals with organizations that value innovation and excellence. We look forward to showcasing your expertise in a way that resonates with our clients and opens the door to meaningful opportunities.