Senior FPGA Prototyping Engineer

Socket.dev; United States; Remote; USD 120,000 - 225,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity in the company

Job summary

K2 Space in the United States seeks a Senior FPGA & Silicon Bring-up Engineer to drive early FPGA prototypes, enable first-silicon integration, and validate hardware across teams.

You will collaborate with ASIC Design, Verification, Firmware, Software, and Systems groups to accelerate development; expect strong debugging, high-speed interfaces, and embedded processor experience. Competitive base salary and equity offered.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of FPGA development experience using Verilog/SystemVerilog.
• Strong understanding of ASIC development and digital system architecture.
• Experience with FPGA prototyping for ASIC development.
• Firmware/software enablement and hardware bring-up experience.
• Strong hardware debugging skills using JTAG, scopes, and logic analyzers.
• Proficiency with Python scripting for automation and test infrastructure.
• Nice to have networking/satellite systems experience.
• Experience with embedded processors (ARM or RISC-V) and real-time systems.

Responsibilities

• Develop FPGA-based prototypes to enable early ASIC integration, firmware development, and system validation.
• Build hardware platforms to support software and firmware teams before silicon.
• Support first-silicon bring-up, debug, and functional validation.
• Develop automated validation infrastructure for silicon characterization and regression testing.
• Configure and validate high-speed interfaces including SerDes, SPI, UART, and GPIO.
• Develop FPGA-based traffic generators, protocol checkers, and test applications.
• Debug RTL, firmware, software, FPGA prototypes, and silicon using lab instruments.
• Collaborate with ASIC Design, Verification, Firmware, Software, Systems, and DFT teams.

Skills

FPGA development

Verilog/SystemVerilog

Python scripting

Embedded systems

Real-time embedded systems

Hardware debugging

Networking/satellite systems

ARM or RISC-V

Education

BS in Electrical Engineering or related field

MS in Electrical Engineering or related field

Tools

AMD Xilinx toolchains

JTAG

Oscilloscopes

Logic analyzers

Protocol analyzers

Job description

K2 is building the largest and highest-power satellites ever flown, unlocking performance levels previously out of reach across every orbit. Backed by $450M from leading investors including Altimeter Capital, Redpoint Ventures, T. Rowe Price, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Alpine Space Ventures, and others – with an additional $500M in signed contracts across commercial and US government customers – we’re mass-producing the highest-power satellite platforms ever built for missions from LEO to deep space.

The rise of heavy-lift launch vehicles is shifting the industry from an era of mass constraint to one of mass abundance, and we believe this new era demands a fundamentally different class of spacecraft. Engineered to survive the harshest radiation environments and to fully capitalize on today’s and tomorrow’s massive rockets, K2 satellites deliver unmatched capability at constellation scale and across multiple orbits.

With multiple launches planned through 2026 and 2027, we’re Building Bigger to develop the solar system and become a Kardashev Type II (K2) civilization.

If you are a motivated individual who thrives in a fast-paced environment and you're excited about contributing to the success of a groundbreaking Series C space startup.

Senior FPGA & Silicon Bring-up Engineer

Responsibilities

• Develop FPGA-based prototypes to enable early ASIC integration, firmware development, and system validation.
• Build hardware platforms that allow software and firmware teams to develop before first silicon.
• Support first-silicon bring-up, debug, and functional validation.
• Develop automated validation infrastructure for silicon characterization and regression testing.
• Configure and validate digital interfaces including high-speed Ethernet SerDes, SPI, UART, GPIO, and other peripheral interfaces.
• Develop FPGA-based traffic generators, protocol checkers, and test applications for interface validation.
• Debug issues spanning RTL, firmware, software, FPGA prototypes, and silicon using simulation and laboratory instrumentation.
• Collaborate closely with ASIC Design, Verification, Firmware, Software, Systems, and DFT teams to accelerate product development.

Qualifications

• BS or MS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field.
• 5+ years of FPGA development experience using Verilog/SystemVerilog and AMD/Xilinx FPGA tools.
• Strong understanding of ASIC development and digital system architecture.
• Experience with FPGA prototyping for ASIC development.
• Experience with firmware/software enablement and hardware bring-up.
• Strong hardware debugging skills using JTAG, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and protocol analyzers.
• Proficiency with Python and scripting for automation and test infrastructure.
• Nice to Have Experience with networking, communications, or satellite systems.
• Experience with embedded processors (ARM or RISC-V).
• Experience working with hard real-time embedded systems (bare-metal or RTOS).
• Experience validating high-speed digital interfaces, including Ethernet and SerDes protocols, SPI, and UART.
• Experience with silicon bring-up using JTAG, logic analyzers, and oscilloscopes.

Compensation and Benefits:

Base salary range for this role is $120,000 – $225,000 + equity in the company.

Salary will be based on several factors including, but not limited to: knowledge and skills, education, and experience level.

Comprehensive benefits package including paid time off, medical/dental/vision/ coverage, life insurance, paid parental leave, and many other perks.

Building a spacecraft unlike any other requires a team unlike any other and non-traditional career twists and turns are encouraged!

If you need a reasonable accommodation as part of your application for employment or interviews with us, please let us know.

Export Compliance

As defined in the ITAR, “U.S. Persons” include U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents (i.e., Green Card holders), and certain protected individuals (e.g., refugees/asylees, American Samoans). Please consult with a knowledgeable advisor if you are unsure whether you are a “U.S. Person.” The person hired for this role will have access to information and items controlled by U.S. export control regulations, including the export control regulations outlined in the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR). The person hired for this role must therefore either be a “U.S. person” as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.15 or otherwise eligible for a federally issued export control license.

Equal Opportunity

K2 Space is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with K2 Space is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.