Senior FPGA Engineer – Space Systems

Rocket Lab Corp.; Long Beach, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 143,000 - 215,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Top-tier medical benefits

Employee stock purchase program

Onsite gym

Job summary

Rocket Lab in Long Beach, CA is seeking a Senior FPGA Engineer II to lead FPGA firmware development for spacecraft avionics, collaborating with a multidisciplinary team to deliver flight-approved designs.

The role emphasizes HDL development, verification, and robust documentation, with opportunities to test on orbit and contribute to next-generation satellite programs.

Base pay range CA 143,300—214,850 USD plus equity and comprehensive benefits.

Qualifications

• Eight+ years of FPGA firmware development experience.
• Proficiency in VHDL and FPGA design fundamentals.
• Ability to collaborate with inter-disciplinary engineering teams.
• U.S. citizenship due to program requirements.

Responsibilities

• Develop and verify FPGA firmware for avionics systems.
• Design firmware architecture and requirements with cross-disciplinary teams.
• Prepare documentation for FPGA operation and interfaces.
• Support testing campaigns and on-orbit operations.

Skills

FPGA firmware development

VHDL

Design verification

Collaboration across disciplines

US citizenship

Education

Bachelor's degree in electrical/computer engineering

Master's or PhD degree in electrical/computer engineering

Tools

Xilinx devices

Microchip devices/tools

Job description

Rocket Lab in Long Beach, CA is seeking a Senior FPGA Engineer II to lead FPGA firmware development for spacecraft avionics, collaborating with a multidisciplinary team to deliver flight-approved designs.

The role emphasizes HDL development, verification, and robust documentation, with opportunities to test on orbit and contribute to next-generation satellite programs.

Base pay range CA 143,300—214,850 USD plus equity and comprehensive benefits.