Fibertek, Inc. is a leading developer of laser and electro-optic systems for the aerospace community, with key contributions to lasers for atmospheric sensing, laser communications, and lidar sensors for NASA, DoD, and commercial customers. We are looking for an experienced Firmware Engineer to contribute to the development of products on our Research and Development Division in Herndon VA. As part of our R&D division, you would join our firmware team to develop, integrate, and test our firmware products in Fibertek’s spaced-based, electro-optical systems.

Essential Job Duties

Lead and contribute to firmware architecture and implementation for space-based electro-optical payloads and laser systems
Perform end-to-end firmware development lifecycle: from requirements analysis through design, coding, simulation, verification, and validation
Collaborate closely with hardware, systems, software, and optical engineers in cross-functional teams to define interfaces, resolve design issues, and ensure seamless system integration
Participate in task-based iterative development cycles, incorporating rapid feedback, frequent integration points, and incremental testing to meet mission reliability goals
Conduct lab-based debugging, hardware-in-the-loop testing, and system-level validation using diagnostic tools and protocols
Support peer code reviews, knowledge sharing, and continuous improvement of development processes and best practices
Apply high-reliability and space-grade techniques (e.g., fault tolerance, radiation mitigation) in a collaborative, team-oriented environment
Contribute to documentation, design reviews, and risk identification throughout the product lifecycle

Experience and Expertise Required

7+ years relevant experience
BS/MS in EE or equivalent
Expertise with firmware engineering, VHDL (RTL), System Verilog (Testing)
Expertise with Digital Signal Processing, precision timing, optical comms (modems), LIDAR
Experience with Xilinx, Microchip, and Lattice FPGAs and their associated development tools
Experience developing test benches and running simulations to exercise the design and to verify compliance
Experience interfacing and working with hardware designers during development, integration, and test phases
Experience using schematics and block diagrams as inputs for firmware design
Experience in high-speed serial links: GTY/GTM, JESD204B/C, Ethernet, SpaceWire
Experience in standard peripheral interfaces: SPI, I2C, UART, LVDS, etc.
Experience in memory interfaces: DDR3/4, QDR, FRAM, etc.
Experience with GitHub, CI/CD for FPGA flows, code reviews, automated linting, synthesis, regression testing, timing closure, bitstream generation, release tagging

Bonus Areas

Experience in Python for build/testing automation and data analysis
Experience with Linux, scripting, Docker containers, and automation
Experience developing Hi-Rel/Space programs and TMR coding
Experience developing code (C, C++) for microcontrollers
Experience with VS Code

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