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FPGA Engineer (Level 2 or 3)

Northrop Grumman

Cincinnati, OHJob$92–171K/yrSeen todaySeen in employer's feed today

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At a glance

Compensation
$92–171K/yr
Location
Cincinnati, OH
Work Authorization
US work authorization required

Olive lists jobs from US employers, including remote roles you can work from the United States.

Requirements

Credentials this posting asks for.

Top Secret clearance, required

Job overview

Northrop Grumman seeks cleared or clearable FPGA engineers for sensor, communication, and cyber systems in Cincinnati. Engineers work on multidisciplinary programs involving requirements generation, hardware selection, software development, and system integration and test, addressing waveform development, low-SWaP processing, space communication payloads, and signal surveillance. The position can be filled at Engineer or Principal Engineer level.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

VHDL, requiredVerilog, requiredCross-Discipline Teamwork, nice to haveFPGA Implementation, nice to haveVHDL Simulation, nice to haveMATLAB/Octave, nice to haveGNU Radio, nice to haveSoftware-Defined Radios, nice to haveDigital Communication Systems, nice to haveDigital Modulation, nice to haveModem Design, nice to haveRADAR Signal Processing, nice to haveEW Signal Processing, nice to haveRF Receiver Development, nice to haveSystem Link Budget, nice to haveSensitivity Analysis, nice to haveADC Analysis, nice to haveReceiver Noise Analysis, nice to haveBaseband Processing, nice to haveDigital Signal Processing, nice to have

Qualifications

BS in Electrical, Computer or Related Engineering + 2 Years or MS + 0 Years, requiredBS in Electrical, Computer or Related Engineering + 5 Years or MS + 3 Years, requiredUS Citizenship, requiredActive Secret Clearance and Ability to Obtain Top Secret, requiredActive Top Secret Clearance With SCI, nice to have

Benefits

Relocation Assistance
401(k) Match
Medical Insurance
Paid Time Off

Full job description

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes

CLEARANCE TYPE: Top Secret

TRAVEL: Yes, 10% of the Time

Description

At Northrop Grumman, our employees have incredible opportunities to work on revolutionary systems that impact people's lives around the world today, and for generations to come. Our pioneering and inventive spirit has enabled us to be at the forefront of many technological advancements in our nation's history - from the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, to stealth bombers, to landing on the moon. We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage and a pioneering spirit to join forces to invent the future, and have fun along the way. Our culture thrives on intellectual curiosity, cognitive diversity and bringing your whole self to work — and we have an insatiable drive to do what others think is impossible. Our employees are not only part of history, they're making history.

Northrop Grumman – Cincinnati (aka Xetron) is part of the Mission Systems sector, focused on the development of new capabilities for our military and intelligence customers around the globe. Our Northrop Grumman Cincinnati, Ohio small business culture operates collaboratively within a larger corporation providing the benefits of both. This unique relationship offers employees the ability to know everyone at the site while working on technologies and products that are beyond state-of-the-art. You and your team will wrestle with the next big problems in an atmosphere of collaboration and cooperation, sharing your expertise while learning from the expert next to you. Remember when you were excited about getting to work because the challenge of the problem, the importance of the solution and the fun you had with your team? It's that kind of place! But don’t take my word for it. See for yourself! See why we receive comments on our YouTube Videos (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=af0y\_8\_T6gU) like “This company is insanely advanced” and “Wow. This is mind blowing.” See some of our recent Awards and Recognition (https://news.northropgrumman.com/?\_search\_term=mission+systems&page=1) and read about some of the reasons (https://www.cincinnatiexperience.com/) to live in Cincinnati (https://blog.herrealtors.com/post/25-reasons-why-cincinnati-is-an-awesome-city) .

Why This Role Is Exciting

  • Mission‑Driven Work: Directly contribute to systems that safeguard nations and support critical national‑security objectives

  • Rapid Growth Environment: Play a pivotal role on fast‑moving programs that are expanding quickly, giving you ownership and visibility

  • Cross‑Functional Influence: Collaborate with engineering, manufacturing, quality, and supply‑chain teams, and become a trusted advisor to senior leadership and external partners

We are seeking cleared or clearable, FPGA Engineers to contribute to our sensor, communication, and cyber systems in Cincinnati, OH!

Engineers here are part of multi-disciplinary program teams implementing next-generation, specialized communication systems and sensing systems critical to US intelligence customers and allies. Team members conduct all phases of these programs, including requirements generation, hardware-selection, software development, and system integration and test. Programs at Northrop Grumman in Cincinnati are engineering intensive, rapid-schedule jobs for diverse SIGINT/EW and Cyber applications. Research and solve problems in the areas of advanced waveform development, low size, weight, and power (low SWaP) processing systems, specialized space communication payloads, and persistent signal surveillance systems.

Our employees take advantage of Northrop Grumman’s flexible work arrangements, including 9/80 and 4/10 schedules. We offer training and learning opportunities supporting technical and personal growth in all business areas that benefit our customers. Northrop Grumman offers competitive benefits including 401k matching!

Are you seeking a challenging role with a strong team? Come define possible with us in Cincinnati!

This position can be filled a the Engineer or Principal Engineer level.

Basic Qualifications Engineer level (level 2):

  • BS degree in Electrical, Computer or related Engineering discipline with 2 years of relevant experience; or MS Degree in Electrical, Computer or related Engineering discipline with 0 years of experience

  • VHDL or Verilog proficiency is required

  • US Citizenship is required

  • Active Secret clearance and the ability to obtain a Top Secret clearance

Basic Qualifications Principal Engineer level (level 3):

  • BS degree in Electrical, Computer or related Engineering discipline with 5 years of relevant experience; or MS Degree in Electrical, Computer or related Engineering discipline with 3 years of experience

  • VHDL or Verilog proficiency is required

  • US Citizenship is required

  • Active Secret clearance and the ability to obtain a Top Secret clearance

Preferred Qualifications both levels:

  • Experience on cross discipline teamsAdvanced Knowledge in VHDL

  • Experience implementing designs with a variety of FPGA manufacturers (Xilinx, Microsemi, Lattice, Intel/Altera)

  • Experience simulating VHDL designs, ModelSim, QuestaSim or comparable simulatorsProficient with MATLAB/Octave

  • Experience with GNU Radio or software-defined radios

  • Experience with wireless digital communication systems, in particular modern digital modulation techniques and modem design

  • Familiarity with RADAR and EW signal processing algorithms

  • Familiarity with RF receiver development, including system link budget and sensitivity analysis, ADC and receiver noise analysis, and baseband conversion and processing

  • Active Top Secret security clearance with SCIProficient with MATLAB, with a Digital Signal Processing focus

Primary Level Salary Range: $91,800.00 - $137,600.00

Secondary Level Salary Range: $113,900.00 - $170,900.00

The above salary range represents a general guideline; however, Northrop Grumman considers a number of factors when determining base salary offers such as the scope and responsibilities of the position and the candidate's experience, education, skills and current market conditions.

Depending on the position, employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay. Annual bonuses are designed to reward individual contributions as well as allow employees to share in company results. Employees in Vice President or Director positions may be eligible for Long Term Incentives. In addition, Northrop Grumman provides a variety of benefits including health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, savings plan, Company paid holidays and paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business.

The application period for the job is estimated to be 20 days from the job posting date. However, this timeline may be shortened or extended depending on business needs and the availability of qualified candidates.

Northrop Grumman is an Equal Opportunity Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class. For our complete EEO and pay transparency statement, please visit http://www.northropgrumman.com/EEO. U.S. Citizenship is required for all positions with a government clearance and certain other restricted positions.

Job Category: Engineering

How this job compares

Set against the 9,967 open Electrical Engineer jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 12, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$92–171K/yr
  • Ohio median$100–160K/yr155 salary ranges
  • US median$105–165K/yr6,546 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $131K, is close to the Ohio median midpoint ($128K) — in the middle half of Electrical Engineer salary ranges in Ohio.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 367 open Electrical Engineer jobs in Ohio and 9,967 across the US. 3% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in Ohio
Experience
This posting asks for at least 2 years of experience — less than three in four Electrical Engineer postings that state a minimum ask for (median 5 years, across 8,392 postings).
Education
6,473 of the 9,967 open Electrical Engineer jobs (65%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 12, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.

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