FPGA Design Engineer

Morgan McKinley; Southampton; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

Morgan McKinley is seeking FPGA Engineers across all experience levels to join a defence-focused electronics team in Hampshire. You will tackle high-reliability signal processing, high-speed interfaces, and robust hardware design in a secure environment, with opportunities from junior through senior leadership.

The role involves designing, verifying, and optimizing FPGA solutions using VHDL/Verilog/SystemVerilog, collaborating across hardware, software and RF disciplines, and contributing to

Qualifications

• Degree in Electronic Engineering, Computer Science, Embedded Systems, or related field.
• Strong RTL knowledge in VHDL/Verilog/SystemVerilog.
• Experience with major FPGA toolchains (Vivado/Quartus/etc.).
• Exposure to PCIe, AXI, Ethernet, SPI, I2C, or DDR controllers.
• Experience with simulation and verification methodologies.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and verify FPGA-based solutions across lifecycle.
• Conduct synthesis, placement, timing closure for high-density devices.
• Build testbenches and automated verification environments.
• Hardware bring-up, lab integration, signal integrity debugging.
• Collaborate with Hardware, Embedded Software, Systems, RF teams.
• (Senior Levels): lead architecture, code reviews, and mentorship.

Skills

RTL Development

FPGA Toolchains

Protocols & Interfaces

Verification

Education

Degree in Electronic/Electrical Engineering or related

Tools

Vivado

Quartus

Vivado System Verilog

Job description

Job Title: FPGA Engineer (Junior to Senior — Multiple Openings)

Location: Hampshire

Salary: Flexible / Dependent on Experience + Comprehensive Benefits Package

Industry: Defence & Security Technology

Employment Type: Full-time, Permanent

About the Opportunity

A market-leading innovator within the Defence and Security sector is expanding its specialist electronics team. We are seeking talented FPGA Engineers across all experience levels—from promising Junior Engineers looking to accelerate their careers, to Mid-level Developers and seasoned Senior/Lead Architects—to work on high-reliability, mission-critical processing platforms.

If you thrive on tackling complex signal processing, high-speed interface challenges, and robust hardware design in a secure, state-of-the-art environment, this is an exceptional opportunity to join a premier technical division.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and verify complex FPGA-based solutions using VHDL, Verilog, or SystemVerilog across the full engineering lifecycle.
• Conduct logic synthesis, place-and-route, constraint creation, and timing closure on high-density FPGA devices.
• Build robust simulation testbenches and automated verification environments to ensure high-reliability performance.
• Participate in hands-on hardware bring-up, lab integration, and signal integrity debugging using logic analyzers, oscilloscopes, and spectrum analyzers.
• Work collaboratively with cross-functional teams spanning Hardware, Embedded Software, Systems, and RF engineering.
• (Senior Levels): Lead FPGA system architecture definition, conduct code/design reviews, and mentor junior team members.

What We Are Looking For

Core Technical Requirements

• Education: Degree (BSc/MSc/PhD) in Electronic Engineering, Computer Science, Embedded Systems, or a related discipline.
• RTL Development: Strong foundational knowledge or commercial experience in VHDL, Verilog, or SystemVerilog.
• FPGA Toolchains: Hands-on familiarity with major vendor toolsets (e.g., AMD/Xilinx Vivado, Intel/Altera Quartus, or Microchip/Microsemi).
• Protocols & Interfaces: Exposure to protocols such as PCIe, AXI, Ethernet, SPI, I2C, DDR memory controllers, or DSP algorithms.
• Verification: Experience with simulation tools (ModelSim, Questa, Vivado Simulator) and verification methodologies.

Experience Level Breakdown

• Junior FPGA Engineer: Strong academic grounding or 1+ years of entry-level commercial experience in digital design; eager to learn under senior mentorship.
• Mid-Level FPGA Engineer: Proven track record of delivering FPGA modules into production hardware, timing closure, and lab bring-up experience.
• Senior / Principal FPGA Engineer: Demonstrated expertise in system-level FPGA architecture, high-speed design, complex verification frameworks, and technical leadership.

Security Clearance & Eligibility

Due to the sensitive nature of the projects, candidates must hold or be eligible to achieve standard Security Clearance (e.g., UK SC Clearance / National Security Vetting).