Senior FPGA Prototyping Engineer - Hardware

NVIDIA; Santa Clara (CA); On-site; USD 168,000 - 310,500; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Comprehensive benefits

Job summary

A leading tech company in Santa Clara is seeking a Senior FPGA Prototyping Engineer to join their Emulation team. Responsibilities include developing and optimizing FPGA prototypes, collaborating with various engineering teams, and assisting customers with issues. Candidates should hold a degree in Electrical Engineering or a related field and possess several years of experience in FPGA prototyping and architecture. The position offers a competitive salary range of $168,000 to $310,500, along with equity and benefits.

Qualifications

• BS/MS in Electrical or Computer Engineering with 5-7 years of relevant experience.
• Strong understanding of FPGA prototyping architecture and tools.
• Hands-on experience with FPGA debug methodologies and equipment.

Responsibilities

• Build and optimize FPGA prototypes, analyzing performance and generating bit streams.
• Collaborate closely with design and verification teams.
• Release prototypes to customers and assist with related issues.

Skills

FPGA prototyping knowledge

Debugging and problem solving

Verilog/System Verilog

Synthesis and timing closure

Coordination with teams

Education

BS in Electrical Engineering or related field

Tools

Xilinx Vivado

Synopsys Protocompiler

ChipScope

Job description

We are looking for a Senior FPGA Prototyping Engineer to join our Emulation team onsite in Santa Clara, CA.

What You'll Be Doing

• Build FPGA prototypes by making RTL FPGA-friendly, partitioning the design and taking it through synthesis and place and route.
• Improve performance of the prototype, analyze timing and generate bit streams.
• Bring up the design on FPGA prototyping platforms and indulge in problem solving.
• Release the prototype to the customers and support them when they face problems.
• You are expected to understand the design and implementation, define the configurations, develop/modify the bringup and testing infrastructure and verify the correctness of the design.
• Good coordination with architects, designers, verification engineers, and SW teams will be needed to accomplish your tasks.

What We Need To See

• BS (or equivalent experience) in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related fields with 7+ years of experience, or MS with 5+ years of proven experience in FPGA prototyping.
• Good understanding of FPGA prototyping architecture, devices, flows and tools.
• Experience in backend flows of FPGA Prototyping – synthesis, P&R and timing closure, with emphasis on Synopsys Protocompiler or Siemens VPS and Xilinx Vivado.
• Exposure to ASIC design and verification tools (VCS or equivalent, Verdi, GDB).
• Knowledge of Verilog, System Verilog and digital design concepts.
• Good debugging and problem solving skills.
• Hands‑on experience with lab FPGA debug methodologies, tools (Identify or ChipScope) and lab debug equipment (oscilloscopes, logic analyzers).

Ways To Stand Out From The Crowd

• Scripting knowledge (Perl/shell/Tcl) is desired.
• Good documentation, communication and interpersonal skills.
• Experience with memory bring up of Memory (LPDDR5/6, DDR5/6), CXL/PCIe and/or high speed I/F such as USB4/3 is desirable.
• Prior experience with hardware emulation or prototyping (Synopsys HAPS or Siemens ProFPGA) of a high-performance processor or SOC is a plus.

Your base salary will be determined based on your location, experience, and the pay of employees in similar positions. The base salary range is $168,000 USD - $264,500 USD for Level 4, and $196,000 USD - $310,500 USD for Level 5.

You will also be eligible for equity and benefits.

Applications for this job will be accepted at least until January 13, 2026.

This posting is for an existing vacancy.

NVIDIA uses AI tools in its recruiting processes.

NVIDIA is committed to fostering a diverse work environment and proud to be an equal opportunity employer. As we highly value diversity in our current and future employees, we do not discriminate (including in our hiring and promotion practices) on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status or any other characteristic protected by law.

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