Principal Firmware Engineer

Contract Firmware/FPGA Engineer

Edinburgh based (4 days a week and One day remote)

Defence / Aerospace sector – SC Clearance is essential

Up to £75 p/h – 12-month contract

A leading Defence prime are looking for an experienced Firmware Engineer to join an expanding Engineering team that are responsible for delivering complex digital systems to meet demanding future customer requirements.

Key skills

• Extensive FPGA / Firmware design experience in complex systems
• Advanced verification capability
• Experience with modern FPGA toolchains
• Structured lifecycle experience (DO-254 or comparable highly desirable)
• Ability to influence processes and improve ways of working

What You’ll Be Doing

• Designing innovative VHDL-based FPGA architectures
• Applying advanced verification techniques (VHDL / System Verilog / UVM)
• Working with current FPGA technologies (Xilinx, Altera, Microsemi)
• Using model-driven engineering tools such as MATLAB & Simulink
• Designing and integrating high-speed interfaces (PCIe, DDR3, Ethernet)
• Deriving detailed firmware requirements from system-level documentation
• Working across the full firmware lifecycle in a structured environment (ideally DO-254 or similar)
• Defining complex timing and area constraints for efficient place & route
• Debugging firmware designs and supporting integration & verification activities
• Supporting delivery leadership across multiple engineers

This is an opportunity to work on genuinely advanced engineering programmes where your expertise will directly shape next-generation digital systems.