Senior FPGA Prototyping Engineer

K2 Space

$120K — $225K *
US-AnywhereRemote in United States
Telecommunications & Hardware
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • BS or MS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field.
  • 5+ years of FPGA development experience with Verilog/SystemVerilog and AMD/Xilinx tools.
  • Strong knowledge of ASIC development and digital system architecture.
  • Experience with prototyping for ASIC development.
  • Proficient in firmware/software enablement and hardware bring-up processes.
  • Strong debugging skills using JTAG, oscilloscopes, and logic analyzers.
  • Skilled in Python and scripting for automation and testing.

Responsibilities

  • Develop FPGA prototypes for early ASIC integration and validation.
  • Build hardware platforms to assist software and firmware teams.
  • Support the first-silicon bring-up, debug, and validation process.
  • Create automated validation infrastructure for silicon characterization.
  • Configure and validate digital interfaces like high-speed Ethernet and SPI.
  • Develop FPGA-based traffic generators and protocol checkers.
  • Perform debugging across RTL, firmware, FPGA prototypes, and silicon.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive benefits package including paid time off.
  • Medical, dental, and vision coverage.
  • Life insurance and paid parental leave.
  • Flexible work environment and a collaborative culture.
Full Job Description
The Role

We are seeking a Senior FPGA & Silicon Bring-up Engineer to accelerate the development of next-generation communications ASICs. You will own FPGA prototyping, firmware enablement, first-silicon bring-up, and hardware validation, serving as the bridge between ASIC design, firmware, software, and system integration. This role spans the entire silicon lifecycle from pre-silicon FPGA platforms that enable early hardware/software integration to post-silicon debug, interface validation, and automated test infrastructure.

Responsibilities
  • Develop FPGA-based prototypes to enable early ASIC integration, firmware development, and system validation.
  • Build hardware platforms that allow software and firmware teams to develop before first silicon.
  • Support first-silicon bring-up, debug, and functional validation.
  • Develop automated validation infrastructure for silicon characterization and regression testing.
  • Configure and validate digital interfaces including high-speed Ethernet SerDes, SPI, UART, GPIO, and other peripheral interfaces.
  • Develop FPGA-based traffic generators, protocol checkers, and test applications for interface validation.
  • Debug issues spanning RTL, firmware, software, FPGA prototypes, and silicon using simulation and laboratory instrumentation.
  • Collaborate closely with ASIC Design, Verification, Firmware, Software, Systems, and DFT teams to accelerate product development.

Qualifications
  • BS or MS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field.
  • 5+ years of FPGA development experience using Verilog/SystemVerilog and AMD/Xilinx FPGA tools.
  • Strong understanding of ASIC development and digital system architecture.
  • Experience with FPGA prototyping for ASIC development.
  • Experience with firmware/software enablement and hardware bring-up.
  • Strong hardware debugging skills using JTAG, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and protocol analyzers.
  • Proficiency with Python and scripting for automation and test infrastructure.

Nice to Have
  • Experience with networking, communications, or satellite systems.
  • Experience with embedded processors (ARM or RISC-V).
  • Experience working with hard real-time embedded systems (bare-metal or RTOS).
  • Experience validating high-speed digital interfaces, including Ethernet and SerDes protocols, SPI, and UART.
  • Experience with silicon bring-up using JTAG, logic analyzers, and oscilloscopes.

Compensation and Benefits:
  • Base salary range for this role is $120,000 - $225,000 + equity in the company
  • Salary will be based on several factors including, but not limited to: knowledge and skills, education, and experience level
  • Comprehensive benefits package including paid time off, medical/dental/vision/ coverage, life insurance, paid parental leave, and many other perks


If you don't meet 100% of the preferred skills and experience, we encourage you to still apply! Building a spacecraft unlike any other requires a team unlike any other and non-traditional career twists and turns are encouraged!

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