FPGA Verification Engineer (Level 5)

Description

Join Northrop Grumman Eastern Region Engineering Team on our continued mission to push the boundaries of possible across space systems. Enjoy a culture where your voice is valued and start contributing to our team of passionate professionals providing real-life solutions to our worlds biggest challenges. We take pride in creating purposeful work and allowing our employees to grow and achieve their goals every day by Defining Possible. With our competitive pay and comprehensive benefits, we have the right opportunities to fit your life and launch your career today.

Northrop Grumman Space Systems is currently seeking a Staff FPGA Verification Engineer for the development of digital subsystems and products. In this position the Verification Engineer will be leading FPGA verification efforts across multiple programs. This individual will be responsible for defining, implementing and scaling a modern verification methodology using VUnit, while also providing technical leadership and team oversight. The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in FPGA verification, strong leadership skills and experience in aerospace/defense or other high-reliability environments.

Their primary task is to verify that FPGA designs meet the necessary specifications and operate as intended, identifying and correcting potential issues early in the design process. This role will work out of our Linthicum, MD campus.

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Verification Planning & Strategy - Create verification plans from system requirements, define scope, methodology, coding standards, coverage goals, and traceability matrices.

• VUnit Framework Architecture - Design and roll out a reusable, VUnit‑based verification environment, including libraries, VIP, and a modular test‑bench architecture that can be shared across programs.

• Automation & CI/CD - Set up CI pipelines (e.g., Jenkins) for nightly regression, coverage collection, and metric reporting; automate test generation, execution, and result analysis with Python/Tcl scripts.

• Test Development & Execution - Write VHDL test benches and VUnit test suites; develop functional‑coverage models, assertions, directed and random stimulus, and verification IP as needed.

• Debug & Failure Analysis - Perform root‑cause analysis of simulation failures, coordinate hardware bring‑up and lab validation, and work with designers to resolve bugs quickly.

• Verification Closure - Deliver functional‑coverage, code‑coverage, and requirements‑traceability reports; ensure all verification metrics meet program exit criteria before design hand‑off.

• Leadership & Mentorship - Lead a team of FPGA verification engineers across multiple programs, coach junior staff on verification best practices, and promote design‑for‑verification (DFV) throughout the organization.

• Cross‑Team Collaboration - Partner with design, systems, firmware, and software groups to guarantee complete verification coverage; actively participate in SRR, PDR, CDR, and TRR reviews.

• Risk Management & Compliance - Identify technical risks early, define mitigation plans, and enforce adherence to internal FPGA development processes, security standards, and DoD clearance requirements.

• Continuous Improvement - Drive adoption of industry‑standard verification methodologies, evaluate emerging tools, and contribute to process‑optimization initiatives that enhance productivity and product quality.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelors degree with 12 years of experience, a masters degree with 10 years of experience or a PhD with 7 years of experience in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical fields.

• Proficiency in hardware description languages (e.g., SystemVerilog, Verilog, VHDL).

• Familiarity with industry-standard tools (e.g. Synopsys, Mentor Graphics).

• Knowledge and hands-on experience with VUnit.

• Digital subsystem, ASIC, FPGA and/or digital board development experience and knowledge essential.

• Candidate must have good communication skills, strong interpersonal skills, and good oral and written presentation skills.

• Must be able to mentor and coach early career Engineers as needed.

• Must be able to obtain and maintain Secret or Top-Secret level security clearance, per business requirements.

• Experience developing test plans, participating in reviews, test development and RTL debug.

• No Clearance required to start but must have the ability to obtain and maintain a TS/SCI clearance w/SAP.

• U.S. Citizenship required.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Advanced Degree with at least 10+ years of professional experience in related industry.

• Active DoD Top Secret Clearance or higher with SAP Access and or SCI eligibility.

• Experience with Verification IP integration and/or development.

• Experience with a coverage-driven verification methodology from planning through closure.

• Experience in creating comprehensive documentation of test cases, verification plans/methods, and test results for review and future reference.

• Development of scripts and use of verification tools like VUnit or proprietary frameworks to streamline and automate verification processes.

• Knowledge of industry standard bus or I/O interfaces.

• Experience with VHDL Assertions.

• FPGA/ASIC design and/or development process experience.

• Experience with scripting languages (Python, Tcl, Makefile).

• Knowledge of digital signal processing.

• Knowledge of working with Xilinx and MicroChip FPGAs (Kintex, Zynq ultrascale+, RTG4, etc).

• Effective communication with systems and software teams for requirements, ICDs, handoffs, etc.

• Able to work effectively within a development team to understand system level inter-dependence and design constraints.

• Active Top Secret clearance a plus.