Demo

Lead, Firmware (FPGA) Engineer

Harris Corporation
San Diego, CA Full Time
POSTED ON 1/4/2026
AVAILABLE BEFORE 2/3/2026

Job Details

L3Harris is dedicated to recruiting and developing high-performing talent who are passionate about what they do. Our employees are unified in a shared dedication to our customers' mission and quest for professional growth. L3Harris provides an inclusive, engaging environment designed to empower employees and promote work-life success. Fundamental to our culture is an unwavering focus on values, dedication to our communities, and commitment to excellence in everything we do.

L3Harris Technologies is the Trusted Disruptor in the defense industry. With customers' mission-critical needs always in mind, our employees deliver end-to-end technology solutions connecting the space, air, land, sea and cyber domains in the interest of national security.

Job Title: Lead, Firmware (FPGA) Engineer
Job Code: 30614
Job Location: San Diego, CA
Job Schedule: 9/80 (Every other Friday off!)

Job Description:
As a Senior Specialist FPGA Engineer, you will play a critical role in the design, development, and implementation of high-performance Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) for cutting-edge communications applications. Leveraging your extensive expertise in digital design for RF and FPGA development, you will lead complex projects, guiding the design process from initial concept through to final deployment. Your responsibilities will include defining architecture, developing VHDL/Verilog code, optimizing FPGA designs for performance and resource utilization, and conducting thorough testing and validation. You will collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including hardware, software, and systems engineering to ensure seamless integration of FPGA solutions into larger system architectures. Your role will also involve troubleshooting and resolving design issues, performing code reviews, and optimizing existing FPGA designs for enhanced performance and reliability. As a technical leader and mentor, you will provide guidance and support to junior engineers, fostering a culture of continuous learning and innovation. Key to your success will be your proficiency with FPGA development tools such as Xilinx Vivado, Altera Quartus, and ModelSim, as well as your ability to stay up-to-date with the latest advancements in FPGA technology and industry trends. Your strong analytical skills, attention to detail, and ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously will enable you to deliver high-quality FPGA solutions that meet stringent performance, reliability, and cost requirements. You will also ensure compliance with relevant industry standards and participate in design reviews and technical discussions, contributing to the overall success of engineering projects. This position may require travel up to 10% of the time, enabling engagement directly with stakeholders and support various project needs on-site.

Essential Functions:
Support proposal efforts in the estimation and planning of end-to-end FPGA development.
Decompose and allocate system and box-level requirements to FPGA requirements and specifications.
Collaborate with RF engineers to integrate FPGA designs with RF front-end components and ensure seamless system performance.
Develop and optimize FPGA designs for RF communication systems, including filtering, mixing, signal conversion, and error correction coding.
Design, implement, and verify FPGA-based digital signal processing (DSP) algorithms for modulation and demodulation.
Assist in architecting solutions against requirements and implement those solutions in various FPGA technologies or platforms.
Follow, enforce, and refine consistent firmware development processes across FPGA designs, including peer reviews.
Synthesize designs to targeted technologies and perform constraint driven place and route and analysis.
Generate design review and deliverable documentation including review packages, block diagrams, interface control documents, and test plans/procedures.
Ensure FPGA simulations verify performance, then integrate and test the FPGA on the circuit card assembly

Qualifications:
Active Secret Security Clearance
Bachelor's Degree and minimum 9 years of prior relevant experience. Graduate Degree and a minimum of 7 years of prior related experience. In lieu of a degree, minimum of 13 years of prior related experience.
9 years experience with VHDL, the FPGA design process, the tools used to generate the FPGA designs, and high-speed digital design and timing analysis.
9 years of experience with FPGA development tools such as Xilinx Vivado, Altera Quartus, or similar.
5 years of experience with RF principles, including filtering, mixing, and signal conversion.
5 years of experience with digital signal processing (DSP) algorithms and their implementation on FPGAs.
5 years of experience with debugging tools including oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and signal generators
3 years of experience with system-level simulation tools such as MATLAB/Simulink.

Preferred Additional Skills:
Experience with embedded systems and microcontroller interfacing
Knowledge of cryptographic algorithms and the ability to implement algorithms in targeted FPGA devices
Designing for space environments
Experience with 1553B, SpaceWire, I2C, SPI interfaces
An active Top Secret or TS/SCI clearance
Exceptional communication skills with ability to clearly document and present designs and implementations

In compliance with pay transparency requirements, the salary range for this role in California is $125,000 - $232,000. This is not a guarantee of compensation or salary, as final offer amount may vary based on factors including but not limited to experience and geographic location. L3Harris also offers a variety of benefits, including health and disability insurance, 401(k) match, flexible spending accounts, EAP, education assistance, parental leave, paid time off, and company-paid holidays. The specific programs and options available to an employee may vary depending on date of hire, schedule type, and the applicability of collective bargaining agreements.

L3Harris Technologies is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. L3Harris is committed to treating all employees and applicants for employment with respect and dignity and maintaining a workplace that is free from unlawful discrimination. All applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding or other related medical conditions), gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, disability, genetic information, citizenship status, characteristic or membership in any other group protected by federal, state or local laws. L3Harris maintains a drug-free workplace and performs pre-employment substance abuse testing and background checks, where permitted by law.

Please be aware many of our positions require the ability to obtain a security clearance. In addition, applicants who accept a conditional offer of employment may be subject to government security investigation(s) and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information.

By submitting your resume for this position, you understand and agree that L3Harris Technologies may share your resume, as well as any other related personal information or documentation you provide, with its subsidiaries and affiliated companies for the purpose of considering you for other available positions.

L3Harris Technologies is an E-Verify Employer. Please click here for the E-Verify Poster in English or Spanish . For information regarding your Right To Work, please click here for English or Spanish .
Employers have access to artificial intelligence language tools (“AI”) that help generate and enhance job descriptions and AI may have been used to create this description. The position description has been reviewed for accuracy and Dice believes it to correctly reflect the job opportunity.

Salary : $125,000 - $232,000

If your compensation planning software is too rigid to deploy winning incentive strategies, it’s time to find an adaptable solution. Compensation Planning
Enhance your organization's compensation strategy with salary data sets that HR and team managers can use to pay your staff right. Surveys & Data Sets

What is the career path for a Lead, Firmware (FPGA) Engineer?

Sign up to receive alerts about other jobs on the Lead, Firmware (FPGA) Engineer career path by checking the boxes next to the positions that interest you.
Income Estimation: 
$151,448 - $188,145
Income Estimation: 
$203,425 - $249,816
Income Estimation: 
$213,375 - $267,876
Income Estimation: 
$190,687 - $235,769
Income Estimation: 
$87,186 - $106,215
Income Estimation: 
$101,213 - $124,848
Income Estimation: 
$90,267 - $107,792
Income Estimation: 
$90,926 - $113,495
Income Estimation: 
$102,148 - $116,687
Income Estimation: 
$101,213 - $124,848
Income Estimation: 
$125,799 - $152,617
Income Estimation: 
$110,220 - $132,692
Income Estimation: 
$111,195 - $140,107
Income Estimation: 
$126,558 - $144,904
Income Estimation: 
$125,799 - $152,617
Income Estimation: 
$151,084 - $181,738
Income Estimation: 
$133,507 - $160,824
Income Estimation: 
$136,663 - $175,160
Income Estimation: 
$157,953 - $182,694
Income Estimation: 
$151,084 - $181,738
Income Estimation: 
$188,927 - $229,849
Income Estimation: 
$163,041 - $197,583
Income Estimation: 
$171,178 - $212,692
Income Estimation: 
$188,211 - $213,397
View Core, Job Family, and Industry Job Skills and Competency Data for more than 15,000 Job Titles Skills Library

Job openings at Harris Corporation

  • Harris Corporation Bethesda, MD
  • The purpose of your role as a QA QC Manager is to Manage and implement various quality assurance programs in the field. This position ensures that all exte... more
  • 13 Days Ago

  • Harris Corporation Aurora, CO
  • The purpose of your role as a Preconstruction Engineering Associate is to Direct preconstruction engineering activities to improve project delivery for our... more
  • 13 Days Ago

  • Harris Corporation Palm Bay, FL
  • Job Details L3Harris is dedicated to recruiting and developing high-performing talent who are passionate about what they do. Our employees are unified in a... more
  • 13 Days Ago

  • Harris Corporation Greenville, TX
  • Job Details L3Harris is dedicated to recruiting and developing high-performing talent who are passionate about what they do. Our employees are unified in a... more
  • 13 Days Ago


Not the job you're looking for? Here are some other Lead, Firmware (FPGA) Engineer jobs in the San Diego, CA area that may be a better fit.

  • Advanced Micro Devices, Inc San Diego, CA
  • WHAT YOU DO AT AMD CHANGES EVERYTHING We care deeply about transforming lives with AMD technology to enrich our industry, our communities, and the world. O... more
  • 28 Days Ago

  • Hanwha Vision America Carlsbad, CA
  • Job Description Hanwha Vision America , an affiliate of the Fortune Global 500 Hanwha Group , is a global leader in advanced network video surveillance and... more
  • 6 Days Ago

AI Assistant is available now!

Feel free to start your new journey!