FPGA Firmware Engineer (VHDL)
Location: South East UK (primarily onsite, ~90%)
Contract Length: 6 Month contract (chance of extension) (Inside IR35)
Rate: £54.52 PAYE p/h - £74.07 Umbrella p/h
Overview
An opportunity for an experienced FPGA Firmware Engineer to join a multidisciplinary engineering team working on advanced sensing and embedded systems. The role spans the full product lifecycle, from concept through to early production, with a focus on high-speed FPGA and SoC development for complex embedded applications.
Key Responsibilities
Capture and manage firmware requirements
Design, develop, and analyse FPGA-based firmware (VHDL)
Produce technical documentation and support design reviews
Develop test, verification, and integration plans
Collaborate with hardware and software engineers on system integration
Modify and maintain existing firmware and test benches
Support designs through structured development processes
Required Skills & Experience
Strong experience with FPGA technologies (e.g. Xilinx, Microsemi/Actel, or Lattice)
Advanced verification using VHDL and/or SystemVerilog/UVM
Expertise in timing constraints and FPGA optimisation
Ability to derive detailed firmware requirements from system-level specifications
Experience across the full firmware lifecycle within structured standards (e.g. DO-254 or similar)
Debugging and integration at hardware/system level
Desirable
Familiarity with Siemens EDA tools (e.g. ModelSim, Questa, HDL Designer)
Experience with safety-critical standards (e.g. IEC 61508)
Exposure to electro-optic or imaging systems
TPBN1_UKTJ