Design Engineering Manager

Work Wise Talent; Arlington (VA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading space technology company is seeking a Senior Digital Design Engineer to develop FPGA-based digital designs for next-generation space radar systems. The role emphasizes collaboration with software and electrical teams, requiring expertise in VHDL and FPGA design. Ideal candidates should have over 5 years of experience and a Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering. Relocation assistance is provided for on-site work in Arlington, VA.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of proven experience in digital design with FPGA and SoC devices.
• Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering or equivalent.
• Knowledge of foundational electrical engineering and digital design concepts.

Responsibilities

• Develop FPGA-based digital designs for radar and communications.
• Integrate Xilinx SoC with high-speed data converters.
• Collaborate to address mechanical, thermal and power subsystems.

Skills

5+ years of relevant experience in digital design with FPGA

Expertise in VHDL and/or Verilog

Development experience with Xilinx devices

Knowledge of digital communication concepts

Experience developing software in Rust or C/C++

Education

Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering

Tools

Xilinx design suite (Vivado, SDK, Vitis)

Embedded ARM programming

Job description

We are a space technology company creating an entirely new market vertical. As a Senior Digital Design Engineer, you'll be at the forefront of creating cutting‑edge HDL‑based digital designs for next‑generation space radar systems. In this role, you'll work closely alongside our software and electrical engineering teams to innovate, manufacture, and rigorously test microwave subsystems.

Location: On‑site in Santa Barbara, CA or Arlington, VA – Relocation assistance provided.

Responsibilities

• Develop FPGA‑based digital designs for radar, electronic warfare, and communications.
• Work with electrical and systems engineers to integrate Xilinx SoC based hardware with high‑speed data converters and associated microwave transmitter and receiver chains.
• Continuously collaborate with the payload engineering team to address mechanical, thermal and power subsystems and interfaces.
• Rapidly develop prototypes and iteratively improve hardware and firmware.
• Prepare engineering documentation, reports, and test plans.
• Perform other professional duties as assigned.

Requirements

• 5+ years of proven, relevant experience in digital design with FPGA and SoC devices.
• Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering or equivalent.
• Expertise in VHDL and/or Verilog.
• Knowledge of foundational electrical engineering, computer architecture and digital design concepts.
• Development experience with Xilinx devices and design suite, such as Vivado, SDK and Vitis.
• Experience developing MCU and SoC software in Rust or C/C++.
• Familiarity with standard physical layers for digital communication (UART, SPI, LVDS).

Nice to Have

• Advanced degree.
• Experience with high‑speed data transfer and bandwidth management.
• Knowledge of digital communication systems and modulations (QPSK, 8‑PSK).
• Experience with parallelizing DSP algorithms.
• Experience with flight software, robotics, autonomous or fault‑critical systems.
• Proficient in programming embedded ARM cores with Linux, RTOS or bare‑metal environments.
• Knowledge of Python and SystemVerilog.
• TS/SCI security clearance.