Senior FPGA Engineer II — Spacecraft Firmware

rocketlab; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity grant

Employee Stock Purchase Program

Job summary

Rocket Lab in Long Beach, CA is seeking a Senior FPGA Engineer II to join our Space Systems team. You will design, verify, and implement FPGA firmware for spacecraft avionics, collaborating across disciplines and supporting on-orbit testing.

The role offers exposure to cutting-edge satellite programs for civil, commercial, and defense customers, with opportunities to test hardware in flight and participate in all phases from requirements to validation.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in electrical, computer, or software engineering; or other engineering degree.
• 8+ years of experience with FPGA firmware development.
• Proficiency in VHDL.
• Strong understanding of FPGA design fundamentals and principles.
• U.S. citizenship due to program requirements.
• Nice-to-have: MS/PhD and experience with Xilinx/Microchip devices, UVM, VUnit, and credits in DSP algorithms.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with other engineering disciplines in developing firmware architecture and requirements.
• Design and verify FPGA firmware for Xilinx and Microchip FPGA/SoC devices.
• Develop documentation for FPGA operation and interfacing with other SW and FPGA systems.
• Participate in test campaigns from unit to system level.

Skills

FPGA firmware development

VHDL

FPGA design fundamentals

Embedded software

Radiation environment design

Education

Bachelor's degree in electrical, computer, or software engineering

Master's or PhD in electrical/computer/software engineering

Tools

Xilinx devices/tools

Microchip devices/tools

UVM

VUnit

GIT

JIRA

Job description

Rocket Lab in Long Beach, CA is seeking a Senior FPGA Engineer II to join our Space Systems team. You will design, verify, and implement FPGA firmware for spacecraft avionics, collaborating across disciplines and supporting on-orbit testing.

The role offers exposure to cutting-edge satellite programs for civil, commercial, and defense customers, with opportunities to test hardware in flight and participate in all phases from requirements to validation.