Staff Electrical Engineer - FPGA

Activate; San Leandro (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 220,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, Dental, Vision plans provided

401k matching

Time off: PTO 20 days + ~15 holidays

Job summary

SirenOpt is seeking a Staff Electrical Engineer – FPGA / MPSoC Systems & Digital Signal Processing to lead architecture, design, and validation of high-performance FPGA-based systems for our metrology platform.

The role is on-site in San Leandro, CA, full-time, and involves close collaboration with hardware, software, and algorithms teams to deliver scalable, manufacturable digital systems.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of relevant industry experience.
• End-to-end FPGA and MPSoC design including RTL development and timing closure.
• Real-time FPGA-based DSP experience with FIR filters and pipelines.
• Strong MATLAB and Python algorithm skills.
• Algorithm and signal-processing knowledge (PID, ADPLL, filtering).
• HDL/RTL implementation for high-performance data paths.
• Testbenches, verification environments, and bench-level validation.
• Firmware/hardware integration and system-level debugging.
• Ability to read schematics and understand board-level interfaces.
• Experience bringing up hardware in lab with standard test equipment.
• Experience in fast-moving startup environments and strong communication.

Responsibilities

• Lead architecture and validation of FPGA, MPSoC DSP systems.
• Develop designs from concept through RTL, modeling, simulation, and bring-up.
• Create verification environments for timing, performance and reliability.
• Design FPGA DSP pipelines for real-time sensing and metrology.
• Implement and refine PID, ADPLL, filtering techniques.
• Use MATLAB and Python for algorithm development and data analysis.
• Analyze data to evaluate signal quality and guide design tradeoffs.
• Collaborate with hardware, software, algorithm, and systems teams.
• Read schematics and support board and subsystem bring-up.
• Bring up new boards in lab and debug hardware/firmware.

Skills

FPGA design

MPSoC design

RTL development

MATLAB

Python

Board bring-up

Hardware debugging

Schematic reading

Cross-functional teamwork

DSP pipelines

Education

Electrical/Computer Engineering degree

Tools

HDL tools

MATLAB/Simulink

Job description

About SirenOpt

SirenOpt helps manufacturers make better, safer, and more reliable micro- and nano-materials. These materials are the building blocks of critical sectors of the global economy such as batteries, computer chips, aircraft components, and power systems. But, surging material demand and growing complexity are pushing production to unprecedented scales and speeds, leaving manufacturers effectively flying blind. Small, undetected variations during production lead to wastage, lower performance, higher costs, and safety risks.

SirenOpt is changing this by developing a manufacturing intelligence platform that non-destructively probes materials during production, revealing critical internal information without damaging them. Using a novel combination of cold atmospheric plasma, physics-informed machine learning, and predictive analytics, SirenOpt generates unique, real-time material fingerprints that capture material signals not accessible through conventional measurement techniques. These insights give manufacturers unprecedented visibility into how materials behave as they are made.

We turn hidden data into actionable intelligence to help manufacturers reduce variability and thus increase yield and performance. The technology can be deployed as a standalone tool or integrated directly into factory production lines. SirenOpt is currently deploying early versions of its platform with some of the largest industrial manufacturers in the world across North America, Europe, and Asia.

About the job

Job Title: Staff Electrical Engineer – FPGA / MPSoC Systems & Digital Signal Processing

Location: On-site (San Leandro, CA)

Job Type: Full-time

Role Overview

SirenOpt is looking for a Staff Electrical Engineer – FPGA / MPSoC & Digital Signal Processing Systems to lead the architecture, design, implementation, and validation of high-performance programmable logic, embedded processing, and FPGA-based digital signal processing systems powering our next-generation metrology platform.

This is a hands-on, high-impact role for someone who enjoys working close to the technology, solving hard problems quickly, and helping shape products in an early-stage startup environment.

This role is ideal for an engineer who is energized by deep tech, thrives in cross-functional environments, and is motivated by the opportunity to build something genuinely new.

You will work closely with a small, highly capable team to turn advanced sensing, digital signal processing, and control concepts into robust, high-performance, field-ready systems.

What You’ll Do

• Lead the architecture, design, implementation, and validation of FPGA, MPSoC, and FPGA-based digital signal processing systems for SirenOpt's metrology platform.
• Develop designs from concept through architecture definition, RTL development, modeling, simulation, verification, testbench development, bench testing, and system bring-up.
• Build and maintain robust simulation and verification environments to validate functionality, timing, performance, and reliability at both block and system levels.
• Design and implement FPGA-based digital signal processing pipelines for real-time sensing and metrology applications, including FIR filters, synchronization pipelines, control loops, and low-latency data paths.
• Implement, evaluate, and refine signal-processing and control algorithms such as PID, ADPLL, filtering, and signal-conditioning methods for high-performance measurement systems.
• Use MATLAB and Python for algorithm development, modeling, data analysis, system validation, and signal and electrical data characterization.
• Perform large-scale data analysis to evaluate signal quality, characterize system behavior, and guide design tradeoffs and performance optimization.
• Collaborate closely with hardware, electrical, software, algorithm, and systems engineers to support end-to-end FPGA, MPSoC, firmware, and hardware integration.
• Read and interpret schematics to understand board-level architecture, interfaces, signal paths, power domains, and subsystem dependencies.
• Bring up new boards in the lab, troubleshoot issues independently, and debug hardware/firmware interactions using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, signal generators, power supplies, and related lab equipment.
• Help translate frontier R&D concepts into scalable, reliable, and manufacturable digital systems.

What We’re Looking For

• B.S., M.S., or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field, with 5+ years of relevant industry experience.
• Strong experience with end-to-end FPGA and MPSoC design, including architecture, RTL development, simulation, synthesis, timing closure, verification, and board bring-up.
• Advanced experience with FPGA-based digital signal processing for real-time systems, including FIR filters, synchronization methods, streaming pipelines, and control-oriented digital design.
• Strong experience with algorithm modeling and analysis using MATLAB and Python.
• Experience implementing and validating signal-processing and control techniques such as PID, ADPLL, filtering, and signal characterization workflows.
• Strong command of HDL/RTL implementation for digital signal processing, control, and high-performance data-path design.
• Hands‑on experience developing testbenches, verification environments, and bench-level validation workflows.
• Strong understanding of firmware/hardware integration and system‑level debugging in tightly coupled digital platforms.
• Ability to read and understand electrical schematics and work effectively at the board and subsystem level.
• Proven experience troubleshooting and bringing up hardware in the lab using standard electrical test equipment.
• Experience working in a fast‑moving, multidisciplinary environment with a high degree of ownership and technical independence.
• Strong communication skills and a practical, problem‑solving mindset.

Nice to Have

• Experience providing technical leadership for hardware and firmware engineering teams in complex product development environments.
• Experience with image processing or vision-related algorithm pipelines.
• PCB design experience, including familiarity with board-level layout considerations and signal integrity tradeoffs.
• Experience with high‑speed interfaces, instrumentation systems, or real‑time sensing platforms.
• Familiarity with mixed‑signal systems and integration with ADCs, DACs, sensors, and embedded processors.
• Exposure to metrology systems, scientific instrumentation, or advanced materials applications.

Base Pay Range: $180,000 USD - $220,000 USD

Benefits

• Equity and Salary compensation depends on experience
• Health, Dental, Vision plans provided
• 401k matching provided
• Time off: 20 days of PTO per year, plus approximately 15 paid US holidays per year