The Digital Hardware Engineer will design, implement, and validate advanced digital systems
with an emphasis on FPGA-based development. The engineer will translate functional or
algorithmic specifications into optimized HDL architectures, perform simulation and
verification, and integrate these designs into prototypes and full hardware systems. This role
requires expertise in complex, highspeed digital design and hands-on experience bringing FPGA
implementations into working hardware.
In addition to digital design, the engineer will develop and test supporting hardware such as
power distribution, digital control and other PCBs. Responsibilities include building and refining
prototypes, diagnosing and resolving defects, overseeing hardware integration, and maintaining
detailed design documentation. The ideal candidate has strong FPGA/HDL skills, experience
with hardware design tools, and the ability to evaluate, iterate, and improve both digital and
physical system performance.
Required Skills:
5 years or more of relevant design experience, hands-on radar systems design, system
realization, and field testing of HF and microwave radar systems.
Strong knowledge of VHDL/Verilog, Vivado/ISE, ISIM, EDK, System Generator, 3rd
Part IP
Developing VHDL/Verilog test benches for functional and timing simulation
Detailed PCB design and bring up using Mentor Graphics and Altium
Usage of Test Equipment, RF signal generators, Oscilloscopes and Logic Analyzers
Working in Windows 7/10 and Linux environments, and TCL
Candidate should be familiar with digital receiver design, including direct detect (i.e. RF
sampling) receiver architectures
Proficiency with MATLAB
Candidate must have good organizational skills with the ability to complete assignments
working independently and in a team environment, and effectively present results.
Effective communication with colleagues, sponsors, and other research sites
Radar timing and basic signal processing.
RF converters
Xilinx FPGA development and test in an Embedded environment
PCB design, schematic capture, component selections and simulation using
Altium/Mentor Graphics. Evaluating design tradeoff against speed and resource
utilization
Strong knowledge and understanding of analog/digital components, ADC and DAC
performances
Experience with various hardware interfaces and communication: PCIe, I2C, LVDS,
Serial Data over Fiber Optics with Protocol knowledge
Software design and development in C/C++
Desire and ability to participate in field experiments and data collection efforts, which
could involve travel
Work location: Hybrid - Candidates should expect to be onsite 3 days a week
Clearance: Candidates must have an active secret clearance to be considered for this role
Travel: Estimated at 5% domestic and international
Interview Process: Initial pre-screen with Group Leader(s). If candidate advances to
next round, will be a larger group interview with technical staff.
Must Have
Degree Level
Bachelor's Degree Yes
Design
Circuit Design 5 years
Electrical/Electronics
New Circuit Characterization and Qualification 5 years
New Circuit Debug 5 years
PCB Design and Layout 5 years
Hardware
Experience with Xilinx/AMD FPGAs, MPSoCs, and ACAPs 5 years
Hardware Design 5 years
Hardware Design Tools such as SolidWorks, PCB Layout Tools such as Altium Designer
5 years
Programming
C/C++ 5 years
FPGA Development (VHDL/Verilog or SystemVerilog) 5 years
FPGA development and diagnostic tools 5 years
MATLAB 5 years
Signal Processing
Advanced Signal Processing, Receiver/Transmitter Design, Radar Architectures 5 years
Develop DSP algorithms optimized for FPGA implementation 5 years
Systems
FPGA Embedded Systems Development (Xilinx, ARM, Microblaze, PetaLinux) 5 years
Testing
Testing and Evaluation 5 years
Duration: 36 Months
Security Clearance Requirement: Yes
Security Clearance Level: Active Secret
Location: Lexington, MA 02421
Pay Range: $75-$110 an hour