FPGA Engineer

Darwin Recruitment; Southampton (MA); On-site; USD 95,000 - 149,000; Full time

Job summary

Darwin Recruitment is seeking an experienced FPGA Engineer to own FPGA development across a portfolio spanning video processing, RF signal processing, and SoC architectures. You will collaborate with System/SoC architects and report to the FPGA Engineering Manager.

The role requires at least 5 years of hands-on FPGA/digital design, strong HDL skills (VHDL/Verilog), and experience with Xilinx Vivado, Intel Quartus, and simulation tools. Security clearance in scope is desirable.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science or related field.
• 5+ years of hands-on FPGA/digital design experience.
• Proven track record in complex FPGA design and verification.
• Strong HDL coding skills and documentation ability.
• Experience with Xilinx Vivado, Intel Quartus and HDL simulators.

Responsibilities

• Take ownership of FPGA development across product range.
• Collaborate with System/SoC architects and FPGA team.
• Deliver clean HDL code with thorough documentation.
• Ensure timing closure and signal integrity in designs.
• Support cross-disciplinary work with embedded processing cores.

Skills

VHDL/Verilog

FPGA design & verification

Xilinx Vivado

Intel Quartus

ModelSim/QuestaSim

System-on-Chip (Zynq)

Python or Tcl scripting

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or related

Tools

Xilinx Vivado

Intel Quartus

ModelSim/QuestaSim

MATLAB

Job description

FPGA Engineer

Location: United Kingdom (please confirm specific location)
Salary: Competitive

Industry: Defence / Electronics

Overview of the role: We are working with an established electronics and defence technology business with a strong portfolio of advanced hardware and software products. They are looking to hire an FPGA Engineer to take full ownership of FPGA development across their product range, spanning sectors including video processing, RF signal processing, and System-on-Chip architecture. This is a full‑time, permanent position embedded within a close-knit FPGA and wider engineering team, collaborating directly with System and SoC architects, and reporting into the FPGA Engineering Manager.

Requirements

Essential:

• A Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical discipline
• At least 5 years of substantive, hands‑on experience in FPGA and digital design
• A proven and demonstrable track record in complex FPGA design and verification, with strong proficiency in VHDL and/or Verilog
• A comprehensive understanding of the end‑to‑end FPGA development flow, including confident use of industry‑standard toolchains such as Xilinx Vivado, Intel Quartus, and ModelSim/QuestaSim
• Solid experience tackling high‑speed digital design challenges, including timing closure and signal integrity
• The ability to produce clean, well‑structured HDL code alongside clear and thorough technical documentation
• Working knowledge of TCL scripting and its application within FPGA development workflows
• Hands‑on experience with System‑on‑Chip devices, such as Zynq UltraScale+, and a good understanding of embedded processing cores

Required / Highly Preferred:

• Practical experience with scripting languages, particularly Python or Tcl, in an engineering context
• A solid understanding of video protocols and associated data formats, including MIPI and SDI
• Experience in circuit design and schematic capture, or a strong working knowledge of the discipline
• Proficiency with modelling and simulation tools, particularly MATLAB
• A working knowledge of software development, ideally in C++, to support cross‑disciplinary collaboration
• Experience applying High Level Synthesis (HLS) techniques within FPGA development
• A background in designing to defined safety integrity levels, with familiarity of Functional Safety Standards such as IEC 61508 or ISO 26262
• Current UK Security Clearance at SC or DV level, or a confirmed eligibility and willingness to undergo the vetting process

Beneficial:

• Exposure to GPU computing or AI development, particularly where applied within signal processing or embedded defence environments
• A background in defence, aerospace, or another high‑reliability engineering sector where rigorous standards and complex system requirements are the norm