Senior FPGA Engineer – Hybrid, Power-Supply Focus

Diamond Light Source; East Hagbourne; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

26 days annual leave + holidays

Defined benefit pension

Relocation allowance

Hybrid working arrangement

Onsite parking

Campus amenities

Job summary

Diamond Light Source is seeking a Senior FPGA Engineer to join the Diamond-II upgrade team, developing FPGA firmware for advanced power supplies and ensuring high quality, reliability, and stability.

You will work in a hybrid setup with a minimum of four days onsite weekly, collaborating with hardware and control teams to implement robust FPGA-based control systems and interfaces, with travel within the UK and overseas as needed.

Qualifications

• A solid theoretical and practical knowledge of HDL firmware development for FPGAs (preferably Xilinx), using VHDL or Verilog.
• Strong experience with simulation, verification, and validation tools for FPGA code.
• Experience of using code management and version control software and tools.
• Basic knowledge of electrical and electronic circuit principles, laboratory-based testing and measurement techniques, and the use of electronic circuit simulation software such as LTspice, PSpice, or Simscape.
• Familiarity with microcontrollers, microprocessors, and programming languages including C, C++, or Python.
• Basic knowledge of linear control systems.
• A self-motivated approach, demonstrating the ability to drive projects to completion, with meticulous attention to detail and a willingness to travel occasionally within the UK and overseas.

Responsibilities

• Develop, maintain, and debug HDL code for Xilinx FPGAs in Vivado, implementing full-cycle firmware for Diamond magnet power supplies, including feedback control, filtering, and interlock handling using state machines.
• Design and integrate interfaces to peripherals such as ADCs, DACs, SRAM, Flash memory, sensors, and microcontrollers.
• Test and verify FPGA designs through simulation test benches and on-hardware validation using logic analysers.
• Collaborate with hardware engineers and the Control Group to optimise performance, resolve issues, and develop reliable Ethernet-based control interfaces.
• Review, refactor, and document HDL code in line with Diamond standards, ensuring proper version control and maintainability.
• Contribute to electronic circuit design, simulation (SPICE, MATLAB), PCB design, and prototype testing to support FPGA-based control system development.

Skills

HDL firmware development

C/C++/Python

Microcontrollers exposure

Problem solving

Travel willingness

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s in Engineering/Science

Tools

Vivado

HDL simulators

LTspice/PSpice/Simscape

Git/Version control

Job description

Diamond Light Source is seeking a Senior FPGA Engineer to join the Diamond-II upgrade team, developing FPGA firmware for advanced power supplies and ensuring high quality, reliability, and stability.

You will work in a hybrid setup with a minimum of four days onsite weekly, collaborating with hardware and control teams to implement robust FPGA-based control systems and interfaces, with travel within the UK and overseas as needed.