{"id":3372607,"url":"https://alion.io/job/leonardo-graduate-fpgafirmware-engineer","title":"Graduate FPGA/Firmware Engineer","company":{"id":54177,"name":"Leonardo","domain":"leonardo.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/leonardo-com","size_band":"5000+","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Workday","truth_index":{"grade":"B","score":76,"open_postings":197,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0.949,"repost_share":0.02,"time_to_fill_p50_days":26,"computed_at":"2026-11-04T06:34:25Z"}},"role":"Hardware","role_family":"Hardware","seniority":"junior","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"hybrid","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Edinburgh, United Kingdom","United Kingdom"],"countries":["GB"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":34000,"max":null,"currency":"GBP","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":45246},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":null,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":true,"technologies":[{"name":"VHDL","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-10-26T00:00:00Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-26","last_verified_at":"2026-11-04T08:58:50Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":9,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":9},"description":"Job Description:\nYour impact\nAre you ready to launch your career and make an impact on real-world projects from day one?\nAt Leonardo, based on our Edinburgh or Newcastle site, we’re looking for graduates who want to be part of something bigger-shaping innovation, advancing technology, and enhancing global safety. Joining the Leonardo Graduate Scheme is the opportunity to be part of the next generation of our business.\nYou will be provided with a wealth of development opportunities in both virtual and applied working environments. On our programme you will engage with challenging and exciting project work and deliver innovative business or technical solutions as part of a team of subject matter experts. Throughout the programme you will receive coaching and support from your team to achieve your objectives as well as your personal development goals. We are committed to developing our graduates into leading technical professionals, and as such we will also support you through your preferred route for chartership.\nOur 18-month Graduate Programme gives you the opportunity to work on exciting and challenging projects alongside subject matter experts. On joining, you will receive a starting salary of £34,000 per annum, plus a £1,000 welcome bonus. You’ll also be eligible for a £1,000 exit bonus upon successful completion of the programme. In addition, you may be eligible for a Temporary Accommodation Allowance (TAA), subject to specific criteria.\nYou will be expected to spend at least three or four days each week on site, to integrate with your team and maximise your learning experience by designing, testing and integrating code and hardware on the Edinburgh or Newcastle site.\nDuring the programme, you will:\nBe encouraged to gain experience of all aspects of the development lifecycle, including requirements analysis, design, implementation, integration, applied research and test.\nClosely liaise with engineers from other disciplines, such as Systems, Software and Mechanical. Opportunities may also arise to interface with customers and end users.\nAs a Graduate FPGA/Firmware Engineer you will:\nWork on the design, development, and verification of firmware and digital systems using FPGAs, which are central to our advanced electronic systems\nCollaborate on the development of high-performance digital signal processing solutions and real-time systems for a variety of avionic sensor systems\nLearn to write efficient, reliable, and maintainable code using hardware description languages (HDLs) such as VHDL\nGain experience in simulation, debugging, and testing your designs in laboratory environments, ensuring optimal performance in demanding environments, optimising firmware designs to improve performance, efficiency, and reliability\nDesign, implement, and verify FPGA firmware for complex embedded systems, ensuring adherence to performance and safety requirements\nDocument and present design solutions and progress to both technical and non-technical stakeholders\nCollaborate with Software, Electronics and Systems engineers to ensure smooth integration of firmware components\nDevelop test plans and simulation environments to verify designs meet functional and timing requirements\nContribute to technical reviews. Your role may even take you across the UK or abroad for technical reviews.\nSupport continuous improvement initiatives for hardware design processes and methodologies\nWhat you’ll bring : Entry Requirements\nWe are looking for graduates who are enthusiastic about FPGA design and eager to work in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.\nMinimum of a 2:2 Bachelor’s Integrated Master’s degree, or higher degree (MSc or PhD) in Electrical Engineering, Electronics, or a related discipline.\nFor the Graduate FPGA / Firmware Engineering role, the preferred degrees are: Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Information and Communication Engineering, Computer Communication and Networks, Cyber Security, Mathematics, Communications Engineering\nA strong interest in Firmware and FPGA development. Basic familiarity with hardware description languages (HDLs) such as VHDL is desirable but not required as training will be provided\nStrong problem-solving abilities, with excellent communication skills and a desire to work collaboratively in a team. A proactive approach to learning new technologies is crucial\nSecurity Clearance\nMany of our roles are subject to security and export control restrictions set by UK Government Security requirements and customer obligations. As a result, and in line with the UK Government Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) requirements, all successful applicants will be asked to provide evidence of identity, eligibility to work in the UK, criminal record declaration information and employment and/or education history verification for the previous five years.\nFor staff operating in more sensitive posts, there is an additional range of personnel security controls referred to as National Security Vetting (NSV). As part of this process, a range of factors may be considered, including an individual's background, travel history, nationality, previous nationalities held and other information relevant to the vetting assessment.\nTo be eligible for National Security Vetting at SC level, applicants will generally be expected to have continuously resided in the UK for the previous five years. For DV clearance, this is typically ten years. In some circumstances, time spent overseas may be accepted, with additional overseas checks. Additional vetting requirements may apply upon appointment.\nFor more information and guidance please visit: https://careers.uk.leonardo.com/gb/en/security-and-vetting\nWhy join us\nAt Leonardo, our people are at the heart of everything we do, key contributors in shaping innovation, advancing technology, and enhancing global safety.\nWe offer a comprehensive, company-funded benefits package that supports your wellbeing, career development, and work-life balance. Whether you're looking to grow professionally, care for your health, or plan for the future, we’re here to help you thrive.\nTime to recharge: Enjoy generous leave with the opportunity to accrue up to 12 additional flexi-days each year. \nSecure your future: Benefit from our award-winning pension scheme with up to 15% employer contribution. \n Your wellbeing matters: Free access to mental health support, financial advice, and employee-led networks championing inclusion and diversity (Enable, Pride, Equalise, Armed Forces, Carers, Wellbeing and Ethnicity). \nRewarding performance: All employees are eligible for our bonus scheme. \nJoin in our success: Our annual Employee Stock Ownership Plan provides you the opportunity to own shares in Leonardo. \nTailored perks: Spend up to £500 annually on flexible benefits including private healthcare, dental, family cover, tech & lifestyle discounts, gym memberships and more. \nFor a full list of our company benefits please visit: https://careers.uk.leonardo.com/gb/en/company-benefits\nWe are committed to building an inclusive, accessible, and welcoming workplace. We believe that a diverse workforce sparks creativity, drives innovation, and leads to better outcomes for our people, communities and our customers. If you have any accessibility requirements to support you during the recruitment process, just let us know.\nStart your extraordinary career - apply now!\nPrimary Location:\nGB - EdinburghAdditional Locations:\nGB - NewcastleContract Type:\nPermanentHybrid Working:\nHybrid","description_format":"text","description_chars":7509,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":null,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Gym membership","Hybrid work"],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United Kingdom","iso":"GB","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["C4ISR","Defense Manufacturing","Aircraft Manufacturing"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-10-28T01:35:56Z"}],"visa":[{"country":"GB","licensed_sponsor":true,"evidence":"Licensed UK visa sponsor (Secondment Worker, Senior or Specialist Worker, Skilled Worker)","filings_12m":null,"filings_prev_12m":null,"green_card_filings_12m":null,"median_offered_wage_usd":null,"route":"Global Business Mobility: Secondment Worker; Global Business Mobility: Senior or Specialist Worker; Skilled Worker","cap_exempt":false,"checked_at":"2026-11-04T06:27:35+00:00","sources":["UK Home Office: register of licensed sponsors (workers)"],"filings_for_role_12m":0}],"liveness":{"score":54,"band":"ok","label":"Likely open","p_open":1,"p_active":0.602,"p_room":0.9,"age_days":9,"expected_fill_days":26,"reasons":["conf:5","stale_co","velocity","win:mid","comp:junior,brand"],"computed_at":"2026-11-04T06:34:25Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":45246,"is_top_pay":false},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/leonardo-graduate-fpgafirmware-engineer","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/leonardo-graduate-fpgafirmware-engineer.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-11-04T16:30:40Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":25182,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-11-05T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":54177},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=54177"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fleonardo-graduate-fpgafirmware-engineer"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fleonardo-graduate-fpgafirmware-engineer"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fleonardo-graduate-fpgafirmware-engineer"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/leonardo-graduate-fpgafirmware-engineer\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fleonardo-graduate-fpgafirmware-engineer"}],"agent":{"mcp":"https://alion.io/mcp/jobs","mcp_open":"https://alion.io/mcp/open","next":[{"tool":"get_job","arguments":{"id":3372607}},{"tool":"search_jobs","arguments":{"company":"leonardo.com","detail":"compact"}},{"tool":"match_people","arguments":{"job_id":3372607},"note":"people open to offers who fit this vacancy"}],"note":"The same data through MCP tools: https://alion.io/mcp/open needs no sign-in (compact searches, postings, people); https://alion.io/mcp with an Alion account has everything. Docs: https://alion.io/developers"}}