Embedded Firmware & FPGA Engineer
Eaton
Job Title: Embedded Firmware & FPGA Engineer
Company: Eaton
About the Role
Eaton’s Electrical Critical Power Solutions Division is seeking an Embedded Firmware & FPGA Engineer to join our innovative engineering team in Youngsville, NC. This role contributes to the architecture, design, development, verification, and release of FPGA-based solutions supporting next-generation power management products. The position involves collaboration with global, cross-functional teams to bring new products to market, including advanced silicon carbide (SiC)-based three-phase power conversion systems for mission-critical applications like data centers.
Annual Salary Range: $80,000 - $118,000
Key Responsibilities
- Architect, develop, verify, test, and release FPGA-based designs in support of new product development.
- Collaborate with global cross-functional teams to support new product launches, including SiC-based three-phase power conversion systems for critical loads like data centers.
- Review product requirements and translate system-level specifications into FPGA architecture and detailed design requirements, collaborating with systems, firmware, controls, power electronics, and hardware engineers.
- Evaluate alternative FPGA architectures and implementation approaches, considering performance, resource utilization, cost, reliability, and schedule.
- Design, develop, review, and maintain synthesizable RTL using Verilog, SystemVerilog, and/or VHDL.
- Develop FPGA logic for functions including PWM generation, digital control, protection and fault management, high-speed data acquisition, sequencing, state machines, digital filtering, and processor/peripheral interfaces.
- Develop modular and reusable FPGA design components and establish effective FPGA coding and design practices.
- Develop testbenches and perform RTL simulation and functional verification.
- Perform synthesis, place-and-route, static timing analysis, and timing closure using industry-standard FPGA development toolchains.
- Analyze and resolve FPGA implementation challenges related to timing, resource utilization, clock distribution, reset architecture, and clock-domain crossing.
- Design and integrate communication interfaces between FPGAs, microcontrollers, DSPs, ADCs, DACs, and other system components using interfaces such as SPI, I2C, UART, CAN, Ethernet, and parallel interfaces.
- Support board-level bring-up, integration, and debugging of FPGA-based systems using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, JTAG debuggers, and embedded FPGA debugging tools.
- Participate in design reviews, RTL code reviews, verification reviews, and root-cause investigations.
Requirements & Tech Stack
- FPGA development toolchains: Intel Quartus, ModelSim/Questa
- RTL languages: VHDL, Verilog, SystemVerilog
- Communication interfaces: SPI, I2C, UART, CAN, Ethernet, high-speed serial or parallel interfaces
- Embedded firmware development: C/C++
- Logic design principles: digital logic design, synchronous design principles, finite-state machines, pipelining, clocking, reset architectures, FPGA resource optimization.
- Ability to read and understand electrical schematics, component datasheets, interface specifications, and timing diagrams.
- Experience with hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation.
Qualifications
Required (Basic) Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related engineering discipline from an accredited institution.
- At least 1 internship experience in embedded software or firmware development.
Preferred Qualifications
- Professional experience developing synthesizable RTL using VHDL, Verilog, and/or SystemVerilog.
- Experience with FPGA design workflows including RTL development, simulation, synthesis, implementation, timing analysis, and hardware validation.
- Design experience with power electronic, industrial control, energy conversion, or other real-time embedded products.
- Experience implementing digital control algorithms, PWM generation, modulation techniques, and high-speed deterministic control functions in FPGA.
- Experience integrating FPGA designs with microcontrollers, DSPs, ADCs, DACs, and mixed-signal embedded systems.
- Experience with embedded firmware development and programming in C/C++.
- Experience using hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation for system integration and validation.
- Understanding of three-phase electrical power systems and power conversion concepts is preferred.
Skills
- Strong knowledge of digital logic design, synchronous design principles, finite-state machines, pipelining, clocking, reset architectures, and FPGA resource optimization.
- Understanding of three-phase electrical power systems and power conversion concepts is preferred.
- Ability to read and understand electrical schematics, component datasheets, interface specifications, and timing diagrams.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Demonstrated ability to work effectively in cross-functional and geographically distributed engineering teams.
- Self-motivated, proactive, detail-oriented, and capable of independently driving technical activities to meet project schedules.
- Ability to work in a laboratory environment around high-voltage equipment where strict adherence to safety practices is critical.