FPGA Engineer II, Space Systems — Equity & On‑Orbit Impact

Rocket Lab; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 102,000 - 146,000; Full time

Job summary

Rocket Lab’s Space Systems division in Long Beach, CA seeks an FPGA Engineer II to develop and verify FPGA firmware for spacecraft avionics. You’ll work on requirements, design, and validation across multiple missions, collaborating with multidisciplinary teams to ensure robust performance in space environments.

Ideal candidates have FPGA experience, VHDL proficiency, and an understanding of high-speed interfaces like GigE/PCIe, with a passion for space and rapid hardware development in a

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical, computer, or software engineering (or other engineering degree).
• 2+ years of experience with FPGA firmware development.
• Proficiency in VHDL.
• Strong understanding of FPGA design fundamentals.
• U.S. citizenship due to program requirements.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with other engineering disciplines in developing firmware architecture and requirements.
• Design and verify FPGA firmware for Xilinx and Microchip FPGA and SoC devices.
• Develop documentation for FPGA operation and interfacing with other SW and FPGA systems.
• Participate in test campaigns, ranging from module-level to automated testing at the unit and system level.

Skills

FPGA firmware development

VHDL

Digital design fundamentals

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in electrical, computer, or software engineering; or other engineering degree

Tools

Xilinx tools

Microchip tools

UVM

VUnit

SPI/UART/I2C/CAN

GigE/PCIe

Job description

Rocket Lab’s Space Systems division in Long Beach, CA seeks an FPGA Engineer II to develop and verify FPGA firmware for spacecraft avionics. You’ll work on requirements, design, and validation across multiple missions, collaborating with multidisciplinary teams to ensure robust performance in space environments.

Ideal candidates have FPGA experience, VHDL proficiency, and an understanding of high-speed interfaces like GigE/PCIe, with a passion for space and rapid hardware development in a