FPGA Engineer - Electronic Warfare

Alta Ares; Paris; On-site; EUR 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Alta Ares is seeking an experienced FPGA engineer to own FPGA function development for electronic warfare and signals intelligence. You will work with systems engineers to define processing requirements and verify DSP algorithms on SoC FPGAs, balancing performance with hardware constraints.

You will implement RTL in VHDL/SystemVerilog, bring up designs on target boards, and collaborate across RF, software and systems teams to ensure robust, validated solutions for defense applications.

Qualifications

• MSc in Electrical Engineering, Electronics or related field.
• Strong RTL development and verification experience in VHDL/SystemVerilog.

Responsibilities

• Own the development of FPGA functions for electronic warfare and signals intelligence capabilities.
• Collaborate with systems engineers to define processing requirements and assess feasibility.
• Build RTL modules in VHDL/SystemVerilog to process digitized RF signals and generate waveforms.
• Adapt DSP algorithms for FPGA implementation balancing accuracy, speed and resources.
• Establish verification methods and testbenches for functional behavior and performance.
• Connect FPGA logic to RF converters and embedded processors, defining data transfers and interfaces.
• Bring up FPGA designs on target boards and troubleshoot integration issues.
• Contribute to lab and field testing with RF, software and systems engineers.

Skills

RTL development

VHDL

SystemVerilog

FPGA design

SoC FPGA

DSP concepts

Hardware debugging

MATLAB

Simulink

Python

HLS

RF measurements

Data handling

Cross-domain reasoning

Education

MSc in Electrical Engineering

Tools

MATLAB

Simulink

Python

HLS

Spectrum analyzers

Oscilloscopes

Job description

About Alta Ares

Alta Ares is an air defense Neoprime. We build AI-guided interceptors to counter drones and cruise missiles, along with the software platform that powers them.

Our customers are NATO-aligned militaries and defense institutions, and our systems are regularly deployed during live exercises and operational demonstrations across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

Founded in 2024, we have grown to 90 people, raised over $60M, and increased revenue 40× this year. We are now entering a new phase of international expansion, industrial scaling, fundraising, and product development.

Role & Mission

• Own the development of FPGA functions for our electronic warfare and signals intelligence capabilities, from initial architecture to validation on operational hardware.

• Work with systems and algorithm engineers to define processing requirements and assess implementation feasibility.

• Build RTL modules in VHDL or SystemVerilog to process digitized RF signals, extract relevant information, and generate waveforms.

• Adapt and validate DSP algorithms for FPGA implementation, balancing numerical accuracy, processing speed, and hardware resources.

• Integrate acquisition and processing chains, including digital down-conversion, filtering, channelization, FFT, detection, direction-finding, and classification.

• Establish verification methods and testbenches to check functional behavior and performance throughout development.

• Connect programmable logic to RF converters and embedded processors, defining data transfers, control interfaces, clocking, and synchronization.

• Resolve implementation constraints, achieve timing closure, and optimize resource utilization and power consumption.

• Bring up FPGA designs on target boards, investigate integration issues, and correlate measured behavior with simulation results.

• Contribute to laboratory and field testing alongside RF, software, and systems engineers.

• Maintain clear design records, interface specifications, and validation evidence.

• Improve reusable FPGA components and development practices as the product portfolio grows.

Candidate Profile

• MSc in Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Signal Processing, or a related field.

• Strong experience developing and verifying RTL in VHDL or SystemVerilog, with a focus on digital signal processing.

• Practical experience implementing designs on SoC FPGAs, including synthesis, implementation, timing analysis, and hardware debugging.

• Strong understanding of sampled signals, frequency conversion, digital filtering, spectral analysis, and fixed-point numerical behavior.

• Ability to reason across FPGA, processor, and RF hardware boundaries when making design decisions.

• Experience modelling algorithms and comparing reference models with hardware results; familiarity with MATLAB, Simulink, Python, or HLS is a plus.

• Familiarity with RF measurements and laboratory equipment, including spectrum analyzers, signal generators, and oscilloscopes, is a plus.

• Prior experience in electronic warfare is welcome but not required.

Skills & Qualities

• Hands-on engineer who enjoys taking designs from simulation to working hardware.

• Methodical approach to debugging, with the ability to isolate problems across complex signal chains.

• Able to own a technical scope independently and communicate progress, risks, and trade-offs clearly.

• Rigorous approach to verification, documentation, and design traceability.

• Comfortable collaborating across disciplines and adapting to evolving product requirements.

• Entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to operate autonomously in a fast-growing company.

• High integrity and professionalism in handling sensitive defense technologies.