Senior SatCom & ISR Space Payload Architect (FPGA)

Altera; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 169,000 - 245,000; Full time

Job summary

Altera, Portsmouth (and San Jose), seeks a SatCom, ISR, and Space Payload Architect to lead FPGA-based architectures for satellite communications and onboard space payload processing. You will design DSP pipelines and drive real-time onboard processing acceleration in space environments.

Collaborating with hardware, software, and product teams, you will influence roadmaps, develop reference architectures, and create technical collateral for aerospace customers.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or related field; Master’s preferred
• 8+ years of experience in satellite communications, ISR systems, or space payload design
• Strong background in digital signal processing (DSP) for communications or sensing systems
• Hands-on experience with FPGA design (VHDL/Verilog/SystemVerilog, RTL development)
• Experience with communication protocols and standards (e.g., DVB-S2/S2X, CCSDS, LDPC, etc.)
• Familiarity with high-speed data interfaces (e.g., PCIe, Ethernet, JESD204)
• Experience with system-level design in constrained environments (power, thermal, radiation)

Responsibilities

• Define system architectures for SatCom, ISR, and space payload applications leveraging Altera FPGA technologies
• Partner with customers and internal teams to translate mission requirements into scalable, high-performance solutions
• Design and optimize signal processing pipelines for applications such as modulation/demodulation, channelization, encryption, and image/sensor processing
• Drive adoption of FPGA-based acceleration for onboard processing, including real-time and edge compute in space environments
• Collaborate with hardware, software, and product teams to influence roadmap and deliver optimized solutions
• Support system integration across RF front-end, digital processing, and high-speed interconnects
• Provide technical leadership across design, verification, and deployment phases
• Develop reference architectures, white papers, and technical collateral for aerospace and defense customers

Skills

DSP for comms

FPGA design

Systems engineering

Customer-facing

Space systems awareness

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or related field

Master’s degree preferred

Tools

VHDL/Verilog/SystemVerilog

Altera FPGA toolchain

PCIe

Job description

Altera, Portsmouth (and San Jose), seeks a SatCom, ISR, and Space Payload Architect to lead FPGA-based architectures for satellite communications and onboard space payload processing. You will design DSP pipelines and drive real-time onboard processing acceleration in space environments.

Collaborating with hardware, software, and product teams, you will influence roadmaps, develop reference architectures, and create technical collateral for aerospace customers.