Senior High-Speed Digital Hardware Engineer Aerospace

Quest Defense; Cedar Rapids (IA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 145,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Quest Defense Systems & Solutions in Cedar Rapids, IA is seeking a Senior High-Speed Digital Hardware Engineer to design complex circuit cards for aerospace and defense. You will work with high-speed interfaces, multiple FPGAs and DDR5/DDR6 memory, from schematic capture to board bring-up.

As an early senior member, you will define technical direction, lead reviews, and collaborate across ECAD, PCB layout, software, and systems to deliver reliable hardware on aggressive schedules.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related discipline.
• 5+ years of experience designing complex digital hardware or circuit-card assemblies.
• Hands‑on experience with high‑speed digital board design, from schematic capture through hardware bring‑up and validation.
• Experience designing high‑speed serial interfaces with multiple lanes per card.
• Experience integrating multiple FPGAs, complex SoCs, and high‑performance memory such as DDR5 or DDR6.
• Strong understanding of signal integrity, timing, crosstalk, electrical interference, and board‑level design constraints.
• Experience collaborating closely with ECAD and PCB layout engineers.
• Ability to lead technical decisions, resolve complex hardware issues, and deliver under demanding schedules.
• Ability to work onsite in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
• U.S. citizenship and the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Architect and design complex high-speed digital circuit cards for aerospace and defense applications.
• Develop schematics, select components, and define board-level interfaces and design requirements.
• Design high-speed serial interfaces with multiple data lanes, including Ethernet, fiber, and copper connectivity.
• Integrate multiple FPGAs, complex SoCs, and DDR5/DDR6 memory.
• Analyze and resolve signal‑integrity, timing, crosstalk, and electrical-interference challenges.
• Partner with ECAD and PCB layout engineers to define stackups, routing constraints, placement, and layout requirements.
• Lead technical reviews, design trade studies, risk assessments, and hardware troubleshooting activities.
• Support board bring-up, integration, testing, debugging, and validation in the lab.
• Collaborate with FPGA, software, systems, mechanical, and test engineers to deliver cohesive system solutions.
• Create and maintain schematics, design documentation, bills of materials, analysis results, and test procedures.
• Drive first-pass hardware success while meeting demanding technical and program schedules.

Skills

High-speed design

FPGA/SoC integration

Signal integrity

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's in Electrical/Computer Engineering

Tools

Cadence

Mentor Graphics

Altium

Job description

Quest Defense Systems & Solutions in Cedar Rapids, IA is seeking a Senior High-Speed Digital Hardware Engineer to design complex circuit cards for aerospace and defense. You will work with high-speed interfaces, multiple FPGAs and DDR5/DDR6 memory, from schematic capture to board bring-up.

As an early senior member, you will define technical direction, lead reviews, and collaborate across ECAD, PCB layout, software, and systems to deliver reliable hardware on aggressive schedules.