Lead FPGA Engineer

Venturi Astrolab, Inc.; Hawthorne (CA); On-site; USD 183,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity ownership

Health benefits

401(k) plan

Flexible PTO

Remote-friendly

Job summary

Venturi Astrolab, Inc. in Hawthorne, California, is seeking a Lead FPGA Engineer to head the Avionics FPGA team and drive RTL design for rover hardware.

The role reports to the Director of Avionics Engineering and requires 10+ years in FPGA firmware development, RTL, verification, and hardware testing. You will own architectures, mentor a 3+ person team, collaborate across disciplines, and deliver space-grade FPGA solutions in Verilog or VHDL, with experience in Microsemi or Xilinx devices and

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent.
• 10+ years of FPGA RTL architecture, development, verification, deployment, and maintenance.
• 2+ years of team leadership experience as manager of direct reports.
• Proficiency with Verilog or VHDL.
• Proficiency in AXI protocols.
• Familiarity with DDR4, SPI, I2C, UART interfaces.
• Understanding of PCB designs and reading schematics.
• Understanding of embedded software.
• Strong verification techniques and timing analysis.
• Experience with space environments and radiation mitigations.

Responsibilities

• Own and define the vehicle system FPGA related architectures, standards, practices, processes, tools, etc.
• Develop system digital computing architectures and requirements in collaboration with other engineering disciplines including defining HW/SW interfaces between fabric logic and processing subsystems.
• Lead the FPGA Engineering team of 3+ people in the development and delivery of Astrolab FPGA RTL design and verification.
• Support FPGA Engineering direct reports through their technical work, performance evaluations, and career growth.
• Own unit level RTL development from blank sheet to flight for Microsemi, Xilinx, or other FPGA or SoC devices in either Verilog or VHDL.
• Perform design verification including simulations, test benches, timing analysis, and hardware testing.
• Lead design reviews, demonstrate requirement traceability, and create documentation for FPGA operation and interfacing with other SW and FPGA systems.
• Lead and participate in test campaigns ranging from unit level manual tests, unit automated tests, and system level tests.
• Design for space environments including radiation impacts and mitigations.

Skills

RTL architecture

Verilog

VHDL

FPGA

Python

AXI protocols

Team leadership

Timing analysis

Education

BSc in Computer/Electrical Eng

Tools

DDR4

SPI

I2C

UART

Job description

Lead FPGA Engineer

Department: Avionics

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: Hawthorne, California

Reporting To: Jake Peery

Compensation: $183,000 - $230,000 / year

Description

Venturi Astrolab, Inc. (Astrolab) is pioneering new ways to explore and operate on distant planetary bodies. We are singularly focused on designing, building, and operating a fleet of multi‑purpose commercial planetary rovers to extend and enhance humanity’s presence in the solar system. We are seeking motivated, creative, and exceptional people to join our world‑class team.

The Avionics team is responsible for all aspects of the electrical systems and hardware on Astrolab’s electric rover vehicles and ground support equipment. We work collaboratively with all teams at Astrolab to provide exceptionally capable and reliable electronics to serve our missions.

The Lead FPGA Engineer will lead the FPGA Engineering group and participate in all aspects of the development and test of Avionics FPGA RTL designs for Astrolab rovers. The ideal candidate has 10+ years of experience in FPGA firmware development including RTL design, simulations, analysis, verification, and HW testing.

This position will report to the Director of Avionics Engineering and will be based in our Hawthorne, CA office.

What you’ll do:

• Own and define the vehicle system FPGA related architectures, standards, practices, processes, tools, etc.
• Develop system digital computing architectures and requirements in collaboration with other engineering disciplines including defining HW/SW interfaces between fabric logic and processing subsystems.
• Lead the FPGA Engineering team of 3+ people in the development and delivery of Astrolab FPGA RTL design and verification.
• Support FPGA Engineering direct reports through their technical work, performance evaluations, and career growth.
• Own unit level RTL development from blank sheet to flight for Microsemi, Xilinx, or other FPGA or SoC devices in either Verilog or VHDL.
• Perform design verification including simulations, test benches, timing analysis, and hardware testing.
• Lead design reviews, demonstrate requirement traceability, and create documentation for FPGA operation and interfacing with other SW and FPGA systems.
• Lead and participate in test campaigns ranging from unit level manual tests, unit automated tests, and system level tests.

What you’ll bring:

• Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent.
• 10+ years of experience in FPGA RTL architecture, development, verification, deployment, and maintenance.
• 2+ years of team leadership experience as manager of direct reports.
• Skilled at Verilog or VHDL.
• Skilled in at least 1 scripting language (TCL, shell, Python, etc).
• Skilled in verification techniques, and timing/stability analysis.
• Proficiency in understanding PCB designs and reading schematics.
• Proficiency in understanding embedded software.
• Proficiency with AXI protocols (at least AXI4 family).
• Knowledge of common bus and memory interfaces (DDR4, SPI, I2C, UART, etc).
• Demonstrated success working in a dynamic environment.

Additional Responsibilities

• Design for space environments including radiation impacts and mitigations.

What We Offer:

• Join a team of best-in‑class engineers building the foundation of planetary surface exploration
• Equity ownership in the company
• Comprehensive health benefits, including medical, dental, vision, and mental health support
• 401(k) plan with company match
• Flexible PTO and parental leave
• Home office set up reimbursement
• Fully flexible and remote friendly work environment
• Weekly lunch stipend, plus complimentary snacks and beverages on‑site
• Once a month social hour on‑site with food and drinks