Lead FPGA Design Engineer - Spacecraft Avionics

Orchard LLC; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 123,000 - 251,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health and welfare insurance

401(k) plan

Job summary

Orchard LLC in San Jose, CA is seeking an experienced FPGA Design Engineer to support avionics hardware for space applications. This on‑site role leads the full lifecycle of FPGA development, from concept through verification, production, and flight qualification, collaborating with hardware and software teams.

The successful candidate will have 8+ years of FPGA design experience, proficiency in SystemVerilog or VHDL, and a track record of high‑reliability designs. U.S.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, computer science, or a related field.
• 8+ years of FPGA design experience.
• Proficiency in SystemVerilog and/or VHDL for RTL design.
• Experience configuring hard and soft IP and integrating third‑party IP.
• Experience with FPGA synthesis, place‑and‑route, multi‑clock architectures, and timing closure.
• Experience with fault tolerance and SEE mitigation (e.g., TMR, ECC, scrubbing).
• Strong collaboration with hardware and software teams.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership and make recommendations to system trades, requirements capture, part selection, and design choices and implications, in an often‑ambiguous design space.
• Proactive ownership of FPGA development through design, production, satellite integration, and on‑orbit performance.
• High‑performance and reliable FPGA designs, encompassing fault tolerance, timing closure, and high‑speed communications.
• Support design bring‑up with both hardware and software teams.
• Documentation of engineering test and qualification plans, execute hardware validation through benchtop and environmental testing, troubleshooting and root cause investigations of anomalous behaviors.
• Collaborate with entire cross‑functional team (digital, software, power, PCB layout, etc.) to drive project success.

Skills

FPGA design

SystemVerilog

VHDL

RTL design

IP configuration

fault tolerance

SEE mitigation

cross‑functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering / Computer Science

Tools

AMD Xilinx Versal

Microchip RTAX/RTG4

SpaceWire

Ethernet

LVDS

RS-422/485

Job description

Orchard LLC in San Jose, CA is seeking an experienced FPGA Design Engineer to support avionics hardware for space applications. This on‑site role leads the full lifecycle of FPGA development, from concept through verification, production, and flight qualification, collaborating with hardware and software teams.

The successful candidate will have 8+ years of FPGA design experience, proficiency in SystemVerilog or VHDL, and a track record of high‑reliability designs. U.S.