Senior FPGA Design Engineer – DSP & High-Speed Interfaces

FAE Technology S.p.a.; Town of Italy (NY); Hybrid; USD 83,000 - 94,000; Full time

Job summary

FAE Technology S.p.a. seeks an experienced FPGA Designer to lead firmware architecture and development for next‑gen FPGA/SoC platforms. You will work on DSP‑heavy signal processing and interface high‑speed serial protocols within a mature R&D environment.

The role requires strong VHDL/Verilog/SystemVerilog skills, hands‑on experience with Vivado/Quartus and simulators, and collaboration with hardware teams for lab bring‑up and validation. Excellent English is expected.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Electronic Engineering, Telecommunications Engineering, Computer Engineering, or equivalent.
• 3–5 years of firmware development on FPGA architectures.
• In-depth knowledge of leading-market SoCs/FPGAs (e.g. AMD/Xilinx UltraScale+, Zynq, Versal, or Intel Stratix/Agilex).
• Full proficiency in VHDL and/or Verilog/SystemVerilog.
• Proficient use of Vivado Design Suite, Quartus Prime, and simulation tools (ModelSim, QuestaSim).
• Proficiency in MATLAB/Simulink and high-level synthesis tools (HLS).
• Basic understanding of Signal Integrity and high-speed PCB layout issues.

Responsibilities

• Firmware architecture and development using VHDL/Verilog/SystemVerilog.
• Translate, optimize, and implement DSP algorithms for FPGA-based systems.
• Design, configure, and validate high-speed interfaces (PCIe, Ethernet, JESD204B/C, DDR4/DDR5, HDMI, DisplayPort).
• Create testbenches (UVM/SystemVerilog) for verification and timing closure.
• Manage timing constraints (SDC/XDC) and Place & Route for high clock rates.
• Collaborate with Hardware team on bring-up and instrumentation in lab.

Skills

FPGA architectures

VHDL/Verilog/SystemVerilog

Vivado/Quartus/ModelSim

MATLAB/Simulink

DSP algorithms

High-speed interfaces

DSP theory

Problem solving

Education

Master's degree in Electronic Engineering/Telecommunications/Computer Engineering

Tools

Vivado Design Suite

Quartus Prime

ModelSim/QuestaSim

MATLAB/Simulink

Job description

We offer: 73.000-83.000€ gross per year, depending on experience and skills.

We are looking for a talented and experienced FPGA Designer to join our R&D team. The resource will be responsible for the architecture, development, and integration of advanced firmware on latest-generation FPGA/SoC technologies. The ideal candidate has strong specialization in the hardware implementation of digital signal processing (DSP) algorithms and in the management of ultra-high-speed serial interfaces, working in high-performance application environments (e.g. Telecommunications, Aerospace, Defense, Automotive, or Industrial Automation).

The role involves:

• Firmware Architecture and Development: Design and implement complex firmware modules in VHDL, Verilog, or SystemVerilog.
• Radio and Video Signal Processing (DSP): Translate, optimize, and implement in silicon mathematical and filtering algorithms (e.g. FIR/IIR filters, FFT, modulations, embedded control loops, RFSoC algorithms, video processing chains) derived from high-level models.
• High-Speed Interfaces: Design, configure, and validate high-performance serial interfaces (PCIe, 10/100G Ethernet, JESD204B/C, Aurora, DDR4/DDR5, HDMI, DisplayPort).
• Simulation and Verification: Create advanced testbench environments (UVM, SystemVerilog, or standard tools) for functional verification and pre- and post-synthesis simulation.
• Timing Closure: Manage complex timing constraints (SDC/XDC), analyze synthesis reports, and optimize placement and routing (Place & Route) to ensure timing closure at high clock frequencies.
• Integration and Laboratory Debug: Work closely with the Hardware team on electronic board bring-up, using advanced instrumentation such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and bus analyzers.
• Documentation: Prepare project technical documentation (architecture, test specifications, registers, and control interfaces).

Requirements:

HARD SKILLS

• Education: Master's Degree in Electronic Engineering, Telecommunications Engineering, Computer Engineering, or equivalent.
• Experience: At least 3-5 years of experience in firmware development on FPGA architectures.
• Reference Platforms: In-depth knowledge of leading-market SoCs/FPGAs (e.g. AMD/Xilinx UltraScale+, Zynq, Versal, or Intel Stratix/Agilex platforms).
• Hardware Programming Languages: Full proficiency in VHDL and/or Verilog/SystemVerilog.
• Development Tools: Proficient use of native IDE development environments (e.g. Vivado Design Suite, Quartus Prime) and simulation tools (e.g. ModelSim, QuestaSim).
• Algorithmic Modeling: Proficiency in MATLAB/Simulink and high-level synthesis tools (HLS - High-Level Synthesis).
• Signal Integrity: Basic understanding of issues related to high-speed PCB layout (Signal Integrity and Power Integrity).

SOFT SKILLS

• Problem Solving: Analytical and methodical approach focused on rapidly identifying and resolving complex hardware bugs.
• Teamwork: Ability to collaborate within multidisciplinary teams (System Engineers, Hardware Designers, Embedded Software Engineers).
• Languages: Excellent command of technical English, both written and spoken.