Senior Hardware Engineer (Digital Design & FPGA Development)

Company Overview

Metrea delivers effects-as-a-service to national security partners across five domains and more than a dozen mission areas. These include airborne ISR, electronic warfare, secure communications, aerial refueling, special air missions, aerial firefighting, and advanced simulation. We own the whole stack: designing, building, and operating turnkey capabilities that give our partners decisive, asymmetric advantage against rapidly evolving threats.

Our operating model is built around three interlocking pillars. The Support Groups provide a global shared-service – spanning people, finance, platform, operations, legal, and engagement. This frees up our Core Groups, who develop and own mission capabilities end-to-end, to focus entirely on delivery. The Market Groups apply a regional lens, ensuring that our agile and adaptable capabilities remain aligned to the wicked problems that matter most to our partners across the Americas, EMEA, and Asia-Pacific.

At the heart of our model is a simple but powerful idea: be a true partner with skin in the game. Our partners need effects, not just equipment. By owning the full stack – from the lab to the field – we are able to drive a continuous cycle of innovation that keeps our partners ahead. It's a fast-moving, intellectually demanding environment where talented people are given real responsibility, work on problems that matter, and contribute to an enterprise that is growing quickly and deliberately.

Headquartered in Washington, DC, with facilities across the United States, the United Kingdom, as well as Continental Europe and Asia-Pacific.

Group Overview

Electromagnetic and Cyber Group (EM&C) is responsible for developing flexible and survivable advanced electronic warfare and secure communications equipment while providing the industry’s leading signals intelligence, electronic warfare, and cyber experts. Metrea specializes in signal classification, direction finding, advanced geolocation techniques, and waveform development including waveforms for MANET and LPI/LPD applications. Metrea also develops special purpose radios for government customers and licenses DF and geolocation solutions to multiple OEMs.

Position Summary

Metrea Advanced Signals is seeking a highly skilled and self-driven Senior Hardware Engineer to take ownership of digital board designs from concept to production. This role combines traditional board-level hardware design with FPGA development, requiring a strong technical foundation in both domains. The ideal candidate will be capable of designing high-performance digital circuits, writing VHDL/Verilog code for FPGAs, and collaborating with manufacturing teams to bring products to life. As a key technical contributor, the Lead Hardware Engineer is expected to promote best engineering practices, contribute to design process improvements, and ensure the development of robust, scalable, and high-quality products. This individual must be comfortable working independently while also mentoring others and contributing to a high-performing engineering culture.

What You'll Do

• Own the entire design process from requirements through schematic capture, layout guidance, prototyping, validation, and production support

• Use lab test equipment (oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, spectrum analyzers, etc.) to validate and troubleshoot hardware and FPGA designs

• Collaborate with manufacturing teams to ensure design for manufacturability, resolve production issues, and guide successful board builds

• Adhere to and promote solid design principles, industry standards, and engineering best practices

• Create and maintain comprehensive design documentation, including schematics, layout notes, BOMs, test plans, and FPGA code documentation

• Drive continuous improvement in design methodologies, tools, workflows, and lifecycle management practices

• Actively participate in and lead peer design reviews to ensure quality and consistency across projects

• Work closely with software, mechanical, and manufacturing teams to ensure product integration and performance

• Serve as a technical mentor to junior engineers and set an example for engineering rigor and professionalism

What You Bring

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field

• 5+ years of hands-on experience in hardware design, with a focus on digital systems

• Proven experience designing and validating complex digital boards (e.g., microcontrollers, FPGAs, SoCs, DDR, power supplies, digital interfaces such as USB)

• Strong understanding of signal integrity, power integrity, and high-speed design techniques

• Proficient at VHDL or Verilog for FPGA development and simulation

• History of development using Intel (Altera) or Xilinx FPGAs

• Experience with EDA tools (e.g., OrCAD, Altium) and FPGA toolchains (e.g., Intel Quartus, Xilinx Vivado)

• Strong troubleshooting skills using lab equipment such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and power supplies

• Familiarity with revision control and PLM tools (e.g., Git, PDXpert, Arena, Agile)

• Ability to collaborate with multidisciplinary teams, including hardware, software, and systems engineers, to develop cutting-edge products

• Strong problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and ability to work independently

• Effective cross-functional communication skills, including engagement with customers, business development teams, project managers, manufacturing engineers, and field support personnel

Additional Eligibility Qualifications

• Eligible to receive a security clearance

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical plan options

• HSA/FSA accounts

• Dental and vision coverage

• 6% employer 401(k) match

• Fully paid parental leave for all new parents

• Generous PTO

• Life and disability insurance

• Long-term and Short-term disability coverage

• AD&D Coverage

• Pet Insurance

• Employee Assistance Program

• Subsided gym membership / plans through Wellhub

Work Authorization / Security Clearance

• Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States.

• Must be a U.S. citizen.

• This position requires eligibility to obtain a Top Secret / TS/SCI clearance. Candidates will be subject to a background investigation in accordance with federal requirements.

AAP/EEO Statement

Metrea Advanced Signals LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status or other characteristics protected by law.

Position Type and Expected Hours of Work

This is a full-time exempt position with typical working hours of Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Hours and work shifts may change in accordance with department and business needs. Exempt Employees must have the ability to be on-call and available, as business needs require.

Work Environment

This job operates in an office setting.

Travel

None

Base Pay Range

The compensation range shown below is a good faith estimate and reflects the expected base pay for this position upon hire. This is just one component of Metrea's overall approach to total rewards and final compensation decisions, including the ultimate salary or hourly rate agreed upon, may vary depending on factors such as job location, job-specific knowledge, skills, experience, and the overall negotiated compensation package. Eligible full-time employees also receive a comprehensive benefits package designed to support their health, wellbeing, and long-term success.

Pay Range

$100,000—$150,000 USD

Our Firmware

At Metrea, our single core value is Rooted in Humility, and our four cornerstone attributes are Entrepreneurial, Systematic, Discerning, and Over-Deliver. These form what we call our Teammate Firmware. Just like technical firmware connects software and hardware, our Firmware is the constant interface between our mission and our people. It defines how we show up, how we work together, and how we solve complex problems.

Our team Firmware creates a web-like, hyper-collaborative, dynamically hierarchical way of working that helps us adapt quickly, communicate openly, and distribute decision-making to where expertise actually lives. It enables groups to self-organize around hard problems, shift fluidly as priorities evolve, and operate with the trust, curiosity, and discipline required in a complex mission space. This foundation allows us to deliver elegant, effective solutions and uphold our purpose: protecting our precious inheritance.