Sr. FPGA Engineer II

Rocketlab; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Rocketlab in Long Beach, CA is seeking a Senior FPGA Engineer II to support the U.S. Space Development Agency's Tranche 3 initiatives. In this role, you will design FPGAs for advanced Electro-Optical (EO/IR) technology, ensuring mission-critical performance for Department of Defense customers.

The ideal candidate will have a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering or Electrical Engineering, with over 8 years of FPGA firmware design experience, particularly using VHDL. This position also requires the ability to secure a U.S. Government security clearance.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 8+ years of experience in relevant field.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government security clearance.
• Experience with Xilinx/AMD Versal architecture is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Work with the hardware design team on requirements.
• Complete FPGA logic design, coding, simulation, and testing.
• Support hardware and software development teams in bring-up and test of products.

Skills

FPGA firmware design with VHDL

Design and automated test development procedures

Technical research and analysis

Debugging design in the lab

FPGA- or ASIC-based image processing algorithms

Education

Bachelor’s degree in computer engineering or electrical engineering

Tools

Altium Designer

Python

MATLAB

C

Job description

Senior FPGA Engineer II (Optical Systems)

Rocket Lab’s Optical Systems division solves mission‑critical space domain and ISR challenges for Department of Defense customers. As a Sr. FPGA Engineer II based at our Optical Systems sites in Long Beach, CA, you will support Tranche 3 of the U.S. Space Development Agency’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture by designing FPGAs for advanced Electro‑Optical (EO/IR) technology.

Responsibilities

• Work with the hardware design team on requirements.
• Complete FPGA logic design, coding, simulation, and testing.
• Support hardware and software development teams in bring‑up and test of products.
• Provide subject‑matter expertise regarding design and automated test development procedures to customers and production support team.
• Perform research and analysis of data, such as customer proposed specifications, datasheets, or manuals to determine design approach and/or feasibility.
• Execute debugging of the design in the lab.
• Perform synthesis, implementation, and timing analysis.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer engineering or electrical engineering or equivalent discipline with 8+ years of experience.
• Experience in FPGA firmware design with VHDL.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government security clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Xilinx/AMD Versal architecture.
• Experience with FPGAs and embedded systems in a radiation environment, including SEU/SEL impact and mitigation.
• Experience in FPGA- or ASIC-based image processing algorithms.
• Experience in both creating IP from scratch in RTL and integrating existing IP into RTL and block designs.
• Familiarity with C, Python or MATLAB and/or experience translating algorithms from a scripted language to HDL.
• Experience with software interfaces including interrupts and DMA.
• Experience with DDR4, Aurora, and high‑speed transceiver design and verification.
• Familiarity with AXI Stream and AXI Memory Mapped interfaces.
• PCB design and schematic capture and layout with tools such as Altium Designer.
• Active TS/SCI security clearance.

This position may require prolonged periods of sitting, standing, walking, computer work, and occasional exposure to moderate levels of noise, dust, and fumes in production areas.

Rocket Lab provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment at Rocket Lab, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

Applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation for the application/interview process for a job in the United States should contact Giulia Johnson at [e-mail].