Senior RTL & Embedded Security Firmware Engineer (II)

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Job Description:

Join us and get to work on the hardware design and low-level firmware of a secure FPGA-based programming and HSM platform built on PolarFire SoC devices. The role spans FPGA fabric RTL design, IP core integration, and the bare-metal / RTOS firmware that drives that hardware.

In this role you'll own the security-critical hardware mechanisms of the product: tamper detection and response, zeroization, secure boot, secure field update of fabric and firmware images, and the encrypted inter-device communication link. You'll define, specify, implement, and defend these designs against FIPS 140-3 Level 3 / ISO 19790 requirements.

This is a system-level role that combines RTL design, embedded firmware development, hardware bring-up and debug, and security architecture. Working in this role you will provide technical leadership, drive design decisions, produces certification-grade specifications, and work closely with software, validation, SQA and certification teams.

Your main responsibilities:

• FPGA Design & RTL Ownership: Design and own the secure FPGA architecture, RTL implementation, and high-speed device communications to ensure performance, reliability, and a trusted hardware foundation for the product.
• Security Hardware Mechanisms: Develop and implement hardware-based security controls such as tamper detection, key protection, zeroization, and secure updates to meet certification requirements and protect against physical and cyber attacks.
• Low-Level Firmware Development: Create embedded firmware, bootloaders, drivers, and self-test capabilities that securely manage hardware resources and enable reliable system operation from power-on through deployment.
• Architecture, Research & Specification: Evaluate design approaches, define technical architecture, and produce traceable specifications to balance security, performance, cost, and long-term maintainability.
• Hardware Bring-Up, Validation & Debug – Validate new hardware platforms, diagnose complex hardware-software interactions, and support testing and certification activities to ensure product readiness and compliance.

Requirements/Qualifications:

What we expect from you:

• 7+ years of experience in FPGA/RTL design and embedded firmware development for production hardware products.
• Strong RTL design skills in Verilog/SystemVerilog or VHDL, with demonstrated experience taking designs through synthesis, timing closure, and hardware bring-up.
• Strong embedded C development experience on bare-metal and/or RTOS targets.
• Hands-on hardware debug experience: lab instrumentation, signal-level troubleshooting, board bring-up.
• Working knowledge of security concepts in hardware: secure boot, key storage, tamper response, zeroization, and authenticated/encrypted communication.
• Demonstrated ability to own a technical area end to end — specification through implementation to validation — with minimal direction.
• Ability to produce clear, rigorous written specifications.

Travel Time:

0% - 25%

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