Lead Hardware Engineer (Digital Design & FPGA

Company Overview

Metrea delivers effects-as-a-service to national security partners across five domains and more than a dozen mission areas—including airborne ISR, electronic warfare, secure communications, aerial refueling, special mission aviation, aerial firefighting, and advanced simulation. Wherever we operate, we build vertically integrated full stacks of capability—designing, building, and operating turnkey solutions that let customers scale capacity while benefiting from continuous cycles of innovation. With operators and engineers under one roof, we close the gap between lab and field—what we call connecting design with effect. Metrea’s solutions are built for elegance: effective, efficient, and evolving. This approach enables our partners to do more with less and achieve outsized, asymmetric advantage against rapidly evolving threats. Headquartered in Washington, DC, Metrea has facilities across the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, and beyond. 

Capability Unit 

Metrea Advanced Signals (MAS) specializes in signal classification, direction finding, advanced geolocation techniques, and waveform development including waveforms for MANET and LPI/LPD applications. MAS 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 Lead 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.

Role and Responsibilities 

• Own the entire design process from requirements through schematic capture, layout guidance, prototyping, validation, and production support
• Develop FPGA-based designs using VHDL or Verilog
• 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            

Skills and Experience 

• 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 w