FPGA Development Engineer

  • BlackFern Recruitment
  • Livermore, California
  • Full Time
FPGA Development Engineer

Security clearance:

Clearance: Must be eligible to obtain & maintain a security clearance.

Role Overview

We are looking for an

FPGA Development Engineer

to join our innovative space business unit. In this pivotal role, you will lead the design, development, validation, and delivery of

Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) platforms

for high-speed data communications applications, as well as high-accuracy pointing, tracking, and adaptive-optics systems. The ideal candidate will possess demonstrated expertise and a comprehensive understanding of FPGA platforms, including programming languages, available IP cores, and diverse hardware platforms and their capabilities.

Key Responsibilities

Collaborate within a multidisciplinary team on the development of

Lasercom (laser communication) subsystems

, including data communication, tracking, and adaptive wavefront correction.

Work on a diverse range of projects, spanning from laboratory testbeds to fieldable prototypes and ultimately, production-ready systems.

Actively lead and participate in the

full development lifecycle

: design, implementation, verification, troubleshooting, and delivery.

Support demonstrations and tests, from laboratory settings to fielded customer pilot programs.

Facilitate the smooth transition of prototype development and testing infrastructure to manufacturing at the appropriate juncture.

Required Qualifications

Proven experience developing

SOC FPGA-based solutions

, from requirements definition through customer delivery and support.

Demonstrated proficiency in

HDL coding

(at least two of Verilog, VHDL, SystemVerilog).

Experience with the AMD/Xilinx FPGA platform and toolchain (

Zynq/Virtex/Versal, Vivado/Vitis

).

Experience with

high-speed interfaces

(e.g., PCIe, Ethernet 10G+, DDR3+, JESD204).

Experience with architectural trade-offs, fixed-point design, timing analysis, and meeting critical timing constraints.

Experience with efficient and robust implementation of

DSP algorithms

for high-speed communications.

Strong analytical problem-solving skills, coupled with excellent communication and collaboration abilities within a multidisciplinary team.

A strong track record of execution in schedule and resource-constrained environments.

Preferred Qualifications

5+ years of industry experience

with an advanced degree in a relevant engineering discipline.

Demonstrated experience participating in the

full development lifecycle of a laser communication terminal

or a similar system, from design to delivery.

Experience designing for both

space and terrestrial environmental conditions

.

Experience with network packet processing, error-correction codes, and/or image sensors.

Experience with the implementation of

delay-sensitive, high-accuracy control systems

.

Experience transitioning FPGA designs to

ASIC tapeouts

.

Some adjacent experience in circuit design, PCB design, and board bring-up.

Some adjacent experience in embedded software development.

Experience in design verification.

Employers have access to artificial intelligence language tools (AI) that help generate and enhance job descriptions and AI may have been used to create this description. The position description has been reviewed for accuracy and Dice believes it to correctly reflect the job opportunity.

Report this job

Dice Id:

91099295

Position Id:

8662813
Job ID: 480747648
Originally Posted on: 6/11/2025

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