Search Jobs

Senior / Principal Firmware Engineer

Our client, a global leader in the Defence Industry is looking for a Senior / Principal Firmware Engineer working on avionics systems.

Role Overview:

The Senior / Principal firmware engineer would be responsible for design and development of Firmware designs using VHDL and verifying designs using VHDL or System Verilog.

Job Responsibilities:

The firmware engineer would work closely with Systems, Hardware and Software teams to provide firmware solutions and solve integration problems on complex systems.

• Creating innovative and robust VHDL-based designs
• Documenting and recording deliverables
• Verifying firmware designs
• Ensuring configuration management/keeping designs under revision control
• Providing progress reports

Skills, Qualifications and Experience required:

Mandatory

• Proven expertise of developing firmware using VHDL or Verilog
• Experienced with Mentor Graphics FPGA development tools including HDL Designer, ModelSim / Questa and Precision
• Familiar with Xilinx / Intel (Altera) / Microsemi (Actel) design flows (ISE, Vivado, Quartus) and third-party synthesis tools
• Experience in specifying timing and area constraints for efficient FPGA Place and Route.

• Ability to analyse system and / or hardware level requirements and derive detailed Firmware requirements

• Independent verification using VHDL
• Experience of firmware requirements capture and requirements management tools

• De-bugging firmware designs and supporting integration & verification at hardware
  and system level

• A good understanding of firmware version control and revision control software
• Experience of making technical decisions and mitigating technical risk for Firmware design activities.

• Experience with High-Speed Serial protocols and implementations

• Ability to coordinate day to day technical activities, liaising closely with the Project Engineering Lead / Lead firmware engineer & other disciplines
• Excellent communication (oral & written) & interpersonal skills

• Linux and scripting experience
• Experience in writing technical reports/ documentation

Desirable

• Development of real-time, embedded, safety-critical firmware, preferably in accordance with RTCA/DO-254 DAL D
• Independent verification using SystemVerilog / UVM
• Relevant experience in the Aerospace or Defence industry
• Experience of embedded processor cores (e.g. ARM) in FPGA designs
• Familiarity with latest FPGA device families

Qualifications

• Honours degree or equivalent in Electronics Engineering or another STEM-based subject

This role could be based in Luton or Edinburgh

Due to security requirements this role is open to SOLE UK NATIONALS ONLY

Our Client, a global leader in the defence industry has an exciting opportunity for a Lead FPGA design Engineer / Manager.

Role Overview:

The Lead FPGA Engineer would be responsible the success of the engineering activities within an Integrated FPGA Product Team or one of the products within an FPGA Product Line.

Job Responsibilities:

The Lead FPGA Engineer is responsible for defining and leading the Work Packages for the team members on a day-to-day basis. Assignment of the work packages would happen in consultation with the Project Engineering Manager. You would be responsible for providing your team with clear expectations of the engineering outcomes, ensuring that they operate consistently within the Policies & Procedures and to foster the improvement goals defined by the Engineering Function.

Specific responsibilities:

• Lead the Engineering aspects of the FPGA Project or Product Line 
• Manage an FPGA Engineering Team to deliver the project outcomes
• Ensure that the outcomes for success are clearly defined and well communicated
• Ensure that the FPGA Engineering activities are well planned, costed and scheduled with the Project Planning and Project Management Community.
• Ensure that the FPGA Engineering team has a well-documented Engineering Plan and that the plan is followed
• Report on progress of the Engineering plan as needed
• Ensure the FPGA Engineering team follows an effectively tailored Life Cycle Management Process, leading the Design Reviews.
• Oversee the completion of the project outcomes to quality, cost and schedule ensuring that the project performance is accurately reported throughout
• Maintain an effective dialogue with the Project Engineering Manager and PM, reporting status and risks to the project throughout
• Work closely with the FPGA & Systems Design Authorities ensuring they are fully informed on technical progress and technical risks, requesting support as required
• Support the Project Engineering Manager for engineering reviews and team briefs
• Support the team with day-to-day technical queries and hands-on troubleshooting

Skills, Qualifications and Experience required:

Mandatory

• Proven experience in FPGA engineering management and delivery of projects
• Engineering or scientific Degree qualification (or equivalent)
• Excellent communicator and able to provide clear direction to FPGA teams
• Ability to manage complex situations with sound judgement and the ability to balance conflicting challenges
• Commercial and business awareness
• Experience of working across the full life cycle
• Familiarity with latest FPGA device families and verification methodologies
• Proven expertise of developing FPGA using VHDL or Verilog
• Experienced with Mentor Graphics FPGA development tools including HDL Designer, ModelSim / Questa and Precision
• Familiar with Xilinx / Intel (Altera) / Microsemi (Actel) design flows (ISE, Vivado, Quartus) and third-party synthesis tools
• Experience in specifying timing and area constraints for efficient FPGA Place and Route.
• Ability to analyse system and / or hardware level requirements and derive detailed FPGA requirements
• Independent verification using VHDL
• Experience of FPGA requirements capture and requirements management tools
• De-bugging FPGA designs and supporting integration & verification at hardware and system level
• A good understanding of FPGA version control and revision control software
• Experience of making technical decisions and mitigating technical risk for FPGA design activities.
• Experience with High-Speed Serial protocols and implementations
• Ability to coordinate day to day technical activities
• Excellent communication (oral & written) & interpersonal skills
• Linux and scripting experience
• Practical experience with agile methodology
• Experience in writing technical reports/documentation

Desirable

• Development of real-time, embedded, safety-critical FPGA, preferably in accordance with RTCA/DO-254 DAL A/B or below
• Electronic Warfare or RF Systems Experience
• Defence domain experience or relevant experience in the Aerospace industry
• Development and certification of airborne equipment
• New Product Introduction experience
• Independent verification using SystemVerilog / UVM
• Experience of embedded processor cores (e.g. ARM) in FPGA designs

Qualifications

• Honours degree or equivalent in Electronics Engineering or another STEM-based subject

Current valid SC clearance would be an advantage

Due to the security requirements this role is open to SOLE UK NATIONALS ONLY

Are you ready to lead and inspire the next generation of engineers while solving complex infrastructure challenges? We’re looking for a Systems Engineering Lead to join a high-performing team working on critical facilities and infrastructure projects.

In this role, you’ll mentor and guide a small team of junior and graduate engineers, applying systems thinking principles to real-world problems. You’ll act as a technical leader, providing oversight, shaping project scope, facilitating stakeholder engagement, and ensuring quality delivery across the project lifecycle.

What You’ll Be Doing:

• Lead and support a team of junior systems engineers, offering coaching and technical guidance
• Apply practical systems engineering in the context of infrastructure and facilities maintenance
• Ensure effective project scoping, requirements capture, and problem definition
• Represent the systems engineering function in customer-facing engagements
• Review and develop technical documents: requirements sets, interface definitions, V&V plans, etc.
• Integrate systems engineering into broader project and design assurance processes
• Drive continuous improvement of tools, templates, and systems engineering practices

What We’re Looking For:

• A degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field (Master’s or working toward CEng status preferred)
• 5+ years’ experience in systems engineering within a regulated industry (e.g. aerospace, defence, infrastructure)
• Solid understanding of systems engineering across the full lifecycle
• Confident communicator with stakeholder management experience
• Proven mentorship or team leadership capabilities
• Strong analytical skills and a structured approach to complex challenges

Desirable Skills:

• Familiarity with INCOSE SE Handbook or defence systems standards
• Exposure to MBSE, SysML or similar modelling tools
• Knowledge of IBM DOORS
• Understanding of digital twin or BIM integration
• Experience in maintenance planning or asset management systems

Additional Information:

You must be a UK National and eligible for Security Clearance to be considered for this role.

If you’re passionate about solving real-world engineering problems and growing your career in systems leadership, we’d love to hear from you.

IT Infrastructure Architect

Holt Executive are partnered with a global Satellite and Space leader that provides reliable and secure satellite-delivered voice and high-speed data communications solutions to broadcast, telecommunications, corporate and government customers worldwide. They are now developing a LEO constellation that will revolutionize global broadband connectivity for enterprise.

Our partner is seeking an IT Infrastructure Architect to oversee the architecture and design of essential IT infrastructure for the constellation, including cloud and data centres. This position will include deliverables, documentation, strategy, and the final design, working cross-functionally across Network and Cloud Engineering.

Key Responsibilities for the IT Infrastructure Architect:

• Define and maintain hardware standards, preferred vendors, and support models across multiple data center environments.
• Participate in project and stakeholder meetings as needed.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to determine resource requirements, project future capacity needs, and provide cost estimations.
• Support data center engineering efforts with rack layout planning, as well as cooling and power modeling.
• Work with architecture teams to design infrastructure solutions that align with established requirements, emphasizing availability and security.
• Create documentation outlining the hardware architecture and supporting infrastructure services, including automation related to Infrastructure as Code (IaC).
• Contribute to the creation of infrastructure build guides and reference materials for the IT Infrastructure.

Key Skills & Experience for the IT Infrastructure Architect:

• A degree in Computer Science, or relevant equivalent experience.
• Over 7 years of hands-on experience with installing, configuring, and operating data center environments, encompassing servers, storage systems, and networking components.
• More than 5 years of experience in building secure, on-premises data center hardware clusters, including network, server, and storage infrastructure.
• At least 5 years of experience in designing, implementing, and managing enterprise-grade networks, including switches, firewalls, and associated monitoring tools.
• Demonstrated expertise in deploying and maintaining cloud-based infrastructure solutions.
• Solid experience working with virtualization platforms such as VMware and KVM.
• Extensive experience in designing, deploying, and maintaining large-scale, highly available, and fault-tolerant network infrastructures.
• Proficient in managing and operating various Linux distributions, including RedHat and Ubuntu, as part of day-to-day operations.
• Deep understanding and hands-on experience with a range of storage platforms and technologies, including related network protocols such as iSCSI and NFS.
• Skilled in implementing and managing dedicated infrastructure services, including DNS and NTP, in secure and isolated environments.
• Strong familiarity with cloud infrastructure solutions, including vendor-specific services and technologies.
• Well-versed in identity and access management (IAM) principles, strategies, and tooling.
• Experienced in using scripting and automation tools such as Bash, Python, Terraform, and Ansible to provision and manage infrastructure.
• Background in designing data center management platforms, including DCIM systems, as well as monitoring and alerting solutions.
• Working knowledge of Kubernetes deployments is a valuable asset.
• Understanding of Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) principles is considered beneficial.

The successful candidate must be able to work in Canada and be able to obtain a Canadian Controlled Goods Program (CGP) Clearance.

This opportunity requires 4 days in the office per week and travel is anticipated.

If your skills and experience match this IT Infrastructure Architect opportunity, we encourage you to apply now!