Senior FPGA Engineer

Belcan; Newport; On-site; GBP 150,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive hourly rate up to £85 Umb

Long-term programme with potential for

Defence & Aerospace project exposure

Collaborative engineering team

Job summary

Belcan is seeking a Senior FPGA Engineer for a challenging defence and aerospace programme in Newport. You will own the full FPGA lifecycle from requirements capture through to verification and integration, delivering high-quality FPGA solutions in a secure environment.

Applicants should have a strong track record in FPGA design, VHDL, and working across complex development lifecycles. The role is a 6-month initial contract with potential extensions, onsite 37 hours per week, and SC clearance

Qualifications

• Significant commercial experience in FPGA design and development.
• Strong proficiency in VHDL and FPGA verification techniques.
• Experience with simulation and synthesis tools for FPGAs.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills.

Responsibilities

• Analyse system requirements and define FPGA solutions and work packages.
• Produce FPGA architectural and detailed designs with documentation.
• Develop and implement FPGA designs using industry-standard methods.
• Conduct FPGA verification to meet design requirements.
• Integrate FPGA designs onto target hardware platforms.
• Provide technical FPGA support across teams and projects.
• Lead, mentor, and review work of other FPGA engineers.
• Contribute to process improvements in FPGA development.

Skills

VHDL

FPGA design

FPGA simulation

FPGA synthesis

Requirements capture

Estimating work packages

Communication

Stakeholder engagement

Mentoring

Independent work

Tools

Altera Quartus II

Mentor ModelSim

Microsemi Libero IDE

Microsemi Libero SoC

Xilinx Vivado

Job description

Senior FPGA Engineer

Location: Newport

Security Clearance: SC Required on Submission

Nationality Requirement: Sole British Nationals Only

Contract Length: 6 Months Initial Contract (Likely Ongoing Extensions)

Working Pattern: Full Time Onsite | 37 Hours Per Week | 4.5 Day Week

IR35 Status: Off-Payroll Working Rules (IR35) Apply

Rate: Up to £85.00 per hour Umbrella

Interview Process: Virtual Interview followed by Face-to-Face Interview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Senior FPGA Engineer to join a leading Defence and Aerospace programme, delivering advanced FPGA solutions for cutting-edge technology projects.

This role offers the opportunity to work across the full FPGA development lifecycle, from requirements capture and architecture definition through to implementation, verification and integration. The successful candidate will play a key role in delivering high-quality FPGA solutions within a secure and technically challenging environment while supporting mission-critical programmes and innovative engineering developments.

Experience is valued above qualifications, making this an excellent opportunity for a proven FPGA specialist with a strong track record of delivering complex FPGA designs.

Key Responsibilities

• Analysing system requirements and defining FPGA solutions, work packages and development estimates.
• Producing FPGA architectural designs, detailed designs and supporting technical documentation.
• Developing and implementing FPGA designs using industry-standard methodologies.
• Conducting FPGA verification activities to ensure compliance with design requirements.
• Integrating FPGA designs onto target hardware platforms.
• Providing technical FPGA support across engineering teams and projects.
• Leading, mentoring and reviewing the work of other FPGA engineers where appropriate.
• Supporting continuous improvement activities relating to FPGA development processes and procedures.
• Managing allocated FPGA work packages to agreed cost, quality and delivery targets.
• Providing regular progress reporting and technical updates to engineering leadership.

Essential Skills & Experience

• Significant commercial experience in FPGA design and development.
• Strong proficiency in VHDL.
• Experience using FPGA simulation tools.
• Experience using FPGA synthesis tools.
• Excellent understanding of requirements capture, work package definition and estimation.
• Strong knowledge of FPGA development lifecycles, methodologies and best practices.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and teamwork capabilities.
• Ability to work independently whilst delivering against project milestones.
• A proactive, self-motivated and solutions-focused approach.

FPGA Device Experience

• Altera
• Microsemi
• Xilinx

Security Requirements

• Must be a Sole British National.
• Must hold or be eligible to obtain and maintain SC Security Clearance.
• SC Clearance is required at submission stage.

Desirable Experience

• Experience with several of the following tools and development environments would be advantageous:
• Altera Quartus II
• Mentor ModelSim
• Microsemi Libero IDE
• Microsemi Libero SoC
• Xilinx Vivado

What's on Offer?

• Competitive contract rates of up to £85.00 per hour Umbrella
• Long-term programme with strong potential for extension beyond the initial six-month term.
• Opportunity to work on highly advanced Defence and Aerospace technologies.
• Exposure to complex FPGA development programmes covering the entire engineering lifecycle.
• Collaborative environment alongside experienced engineering specialists.
• Opportunity to contribute to innovative, mission-critical projects with real-world impact.

This is an outstanding opportunity for a Senior FPGA Engineer seeking a technically challenging contract position within the Defence and Aerospace sector, where FPGA expertise will directly contribute to the development of next‑generation technologies and critical engineering capabilities.

This vacancy is being advertised by Belcan