About Us

Critical Frequency Design is an aerospace and defense communications company specializing in opto-electronics for Next Generation Communication and Sensor systems. At Critical Frequency Design, we specialize in expediting solutions from concept to qualified products to provide the US warfighter with tomorrow’s solutions today. Critical Frequency Design’s Microwave Photonic, Free Space Optics and Open Systems products are being brought to the market by experienced business leaders and world-renowned scientists in a creative and agile environment. The company is a rapidly growing engineering business located on the Space Coast in Melbourne, FL.

Position Overview

Critical Frequency Design is seeking a highly proactive Senior Electrical Engineer with both a deep background in embedded firmware/software development and a broad set of engineering skills including but not limited to controls, high-speed digital communications protocol development, digital signal processing, computer vision, sensor fusion, optics, and agile hardware development and prototyping. This individual is sought after to support CFD’s low size, weight, and power free space optical communication product development initiatives. Activities will include conducting hardware and software development cycles in which product maturity increases iteratively with each phase of design, integration, and verification/test. This individual will be a self-starter motivated by the prospect of continuous learning, improvement, and application of their skillset.

Your responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

• FPGA logic/firmware development in combination with SoC software development.
• Familiar with creating a Board Support Package (BSP) for a SoC/SoM design.
• Experience with AMD UltraScale+ and RFSoC (Versal) architectures in the Vivado environment.
• Familiar with newer high speed memory architectures (DDR, LPDDR4/5x, HBM)
• Linux software development experience is required, and a working knowledge of the Robot Operating System (ROS2) is a plus.
• Closed-loop control algorithm development using a hybrid combination of SW and FW to interface sensors and actuators.
• High-speed serial protocol and forward error correction code creation and revision.
• Hardware prototyping capabilities including but not limited to solid modeling for 3D printing and/or quick-turn machining, electrical PCB design, schematic, and layout for quick-turn testing.
• Perform board bring-up, integration and test activities for hardware/FPGA logic at board- and system-level.
• Systems engineering applying knowledge gained through prototyping and test to architect solutions to engineering challenges.
• Develop technical documentation such as code repository documents, system diagrams, test plans and reports, etc.
• Provide clear communication of design and development approach to peers, technology leads, and company management.
• Provide analysis and support during gate reviews for both internal and customer design reviews.
• Provide technical and estimation support such as basis of estimate development to proposals as directed by management.
• Work with operations and production to ensure adoption of qualifiable/manufacturable designs.

Qualifications

The candidate must possess the below minimum qualifications to be initially considered for this position. Preferred qualifications are in addition to the minimum requirements and are considered a plus factor in identifying top candidates.

Minimum Qualifications:

• U.S. citizen to support ITAR business unit.
• MS in Electrical Engineering (or equivalent) with a minimum of 6 years of relevant work experience or BS with a minimum of 8 years of relevant work experience.
• Demonstrated experience with AMD/Xilinx FPGA development within Vivado, or experience with a similar toolset and demonstrable familiarity with the same.
• Demonstrated experience with object-oriented programming in a Linux environment.
• Self-evident inclination towards rapid prototyping and a preference for being hands on across a broad range of engineering disciplines.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and technical communication skills.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced work environment with deadlines and priorities.

Preferred Qualifications:

• PhD in Electrical Engineering (or equivalent) with a minimum of 3 years of relevant work experience.
• Technical Background in growing sector of Autonomy within Defense.
• Experience implementing controls with Robot Operating System (ROS2).
• Experience combining computer vision with robotic controls, including target acquisition and tracking.
• Experience implementing Reed Solomon and Low-Density Parity Checking forward error correction codes in an FPGA.
• Affinity for hardware integration and test in combination with SW/FW development.
• Experience in the lab testing hardware circuits using test equipment including oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, power supplies, multimeters, and temperature chambers.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Critical Frequency Design LLC is committed to the principles of equal employment. We are committed to complying with all federal, state, and local laws providing equal employment opportunities, and all other employment laws and regulations. It is our intent to maintain a work environment that is free of harassment, discrimination, or retaliation because of age (40 and older), sex, sexual orientation (including transgender status, gender identity or expression), pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation, and related medical conditions), marital status, race, national origin (including ancestry), disability, creed, religion, genetic information, HIV status, military or veteran status, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local laws. The Company is dedicated to the fulfillment of this policy in regard to all aspects of employment, including but not limited to recruiting, hiring, placement, transfer, training, promotion, rates of pay, and other compensation, termination and all other terms conditions and privileges of employment.

Pay: $135,000.00 - $165,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Flexible schedule
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Vision insurance

Work Location: In person