Principal Electrical Engineer (FPGA Design Engineer)
Confirmed on the employer's own hiring board on Oct 21, 2026. First seen by Alion on Oct 14, 2026. Northrop Grumman scores A on the Alion truth index.
Description
At Northrop Grumman, our employees have incredible opportunities to work on revolutionary systems that impact people's lives around the world today, and for generations to come. Our pioneering and inventive spirit has enabled us to be at the forefront of many technological advancements in our nation's history - from the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, to stealth bombers, to landing on the moon. We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage and a pioneering spirit to join forces to invent the future, and have fun along the way. Our culture thrives on intellectual curiosity, cognitive diversity and bringing your whole self to work - and we have an insatiable drive to do what others think is impossible. Our employees are not only part of history, they're making history.Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems is seeking a Principal FPGA Design Engineer to support the Common Products Circuit Design organization in Rancho Bernardo, CA.
As FPGA Design Engineer you will design, implement and verify HDL to manage I/O devices on embedded computers in a new avionics’ product line. In collaboration with the product architect, electrical designers, software engineers and systems engineers you will develop requirements, define HW/SW interfaces and determine verification approaches. You will establish integrated product development workflows, processes and tools to reduce time to market for our safety critical avionics designs.
Essential Functions:
FPGA Architecture & Design
- Define FPGA architecture and logic design to support avionics computer functions
- Translate system and board-level requirements to detailed FPGA requirements and design specifications
- Collaborate with the Product Architect to partition system functionality between hardware, firmware and software
HDL Coding & Implementation
- Develop synthesizable HDL code for FPGA-based designs
- Implement interfaces such as PCIe, SPI, I2C, UART, Ethernet and Serial
- Simulation, Verification and Validation
- Create comprehensive test benches and simulation environment to verify FPGA functionality
- Perform functional, timing and synthesis-level simulations to ensure deterministic and reliable operation
- Support hardware-in-the-loop and system-level integration testing with embedded processors and avionics systems
- Participate in formal verification and validation activities
Synthesis, Place & Route, and Timing Closure
- Perform synthesis, implementation and timing closure using Vivado
- Optimize resource utilization, power consumption, and performance through iterative design and analysis
- Generate and review timing constraints to ensure reliable performance across all environmental conditions
- Provide support in person and through documentation generation of findings and
Basic Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in a STEM discipline with 5 years of related engineering experience; OR Master’s degree in a STEM discipline with 3 years of related experience; OR PhD in a STEM discipline with 1 year of related experience
- Digital circuit design experience, including simulation & schematic capture through test and integration
- Prior hands-on prototyping and debug experience testing complex digital subsystems, such as complex circuit card development involving FPGAs, and/or embedded processors, and/or high-speed interfaces
- Experience with AMD FPGAs and the Vivado tool (or equivalent tools)
- Experience with OVM/UVM Verification methodologies
- Ability to obtain and maintain US Government Secret Clearance
- Ability to obtain and maintain Program Access within a reasonable period of time, as determined by the Company
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience facilitating internal and customer collaboration to capture and enhance engineering artifacts
- Demonstrated experience with the full product life cycle (requirements, design, implementation, and test)
- Demonstrated ability to translate system performance and operational specifications into hardware requirements, design, and test specifications
Primary Level Salary Range: $114,000.00 - $171,000.00The above salary range represents a general guideline; however, Northrop Grumman considers a number of factors when determining base salary offers such as the scope and responsibilities of the position and the candidate's experience, education, skills and current market conditions.Depending on the position, employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay. Annual bonuses are designed to reward individual contributions as well as allow employees to share in company results. Employees in Vice President or Director positions may be eligible for Long Term Incentives. In addition, Northrop Grumman provides a variety of benefits including health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, savings plan, Company paid holidays and paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business.The application period for the job is estimated to be 20 days from the job posting date. However, this timeline may be shortened or extended depending on business needs and the availability of qualified candidates.Northrop Grumman is an Equal Opportunity Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class. For our complete EEO and pay transparency statement, please visit http://www.northropgrumman.com/EEO. U.S. Citizenship is required for all positions with a government clearance and certain other restricted positions.