Staff FPGA Engineer

Vector Atomic, Inc.; Pleasanton (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Platinum-level family health coverage

401(k) contributions

20 days paid time off

Flexible Spending Accounts

Paid parental leave

Fully stocked kitchen

Job summary

Vector Atomic, Inc. in Pleasanton, CA is seeking a Staff FPGA Engineer to design FPGA-based systems for quantum sensors. The ideal candidate will have over 7 years of experience in FPGA engineering, a strong background in HDL programming, and skills in hardware collaboration. This role involves designing PCB layouts, developing RTL code, and mentoring junior engineers. Vector Atomic offers a competitive salary and excellent benefits, including health coverage, 401(k) contributions, and generous paid time off.

Qualifications

• Minimum 7 years of relevant FPGA experience for EE degrees; 10+ years for other degrees.
• US citizenship or lawful permanent residency is required.
• Experience with lab environments and FPGA/SoC PCB board designs.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with engineers to define system requirements and select FPGA components.
• Design PCB layouts integrating modern FPGA/SoC devices.
• Develop synthesizable RTL code and test benches.
• Lead FPGA board integration and testing activities.

Skills

HDL programming (Verilog/VHDL)

FPGA experience with AMD Zynq and AMD Ultrascale+

Collaboration with hardware engineers

Scripting for EDA tools (TCL, Python)

Signal processing techniques

Timing constraints (SDC)

Communication protocols (SPI, I2C, Ethernet)

Education

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Vivado

Questa

Laboratory test instruments

Job description

Vector Atomic, an IonQ company, is building quantum technology to transform navigation, timing, geophysical exploration, and telecommunications. Our team of engineers, scientists, software developers, and operations professionals works together to solve complex challenges and turn bold ideas into real-world solutions. We value collaboration, curiosity, and diverse perspectives, and we give every team member the opportunity to make an immediate impact while growing their skills. If you’re excited to work on breakthrough technology in a fast-paced, hands-on environment, we’d love to hear from you.

We are looking for a highly skilled Staff FPGA Engineer to join our team. The successful candidate will be instrumental in designing and implementing FPGA-based instrument systems for the next generation of advanced quantum sensors. This role initially focuses on research and development with the goal of translating prototypes into scalable commercial products. We are looking for individual contributors who can take ownership of their projects while supporting the team's overall goals. Candidates should have strong technical experience and enjoy working collaboratively in a dynamic, interdisciplinary team.

What You'll Do:

• Collaborate with physicists, electronics engineers, and optical designers to define system requirements and select appropriate FPGA/SoC components along with supporting ICs.
• Design and contribute to custom PCB layouts integrating modern FPGA/SoC devices. Identify critical design challenges affecting PCB layouts to ensure robustness.
• Develop synthesizable RTL code using Verilog or VHDL, create test benches, and prepare EDA tool support to meet performance targets.
• Lead FPGA board bring-up integration and test activities. Develop test scripts. Compile validation documentation.
• Mentor early-career engineers on best practices
• Collaborate with the manufacturing team on the release of production-ready code.

What We're Looking For:

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering or a related technical discipline.
• Minimum 7 years of relevant FPGA engineering experience for candidates with EE degrees; 10+ years for other technical degrees.
• To comply with the US export control laws, Vector Atomic employees must be U.S. citizens (born or naturalized), lawful U.S. permanent residents (green card holders), and certain categories of refugees, and asylees.
• Proven ability to work effectively in laboratory environments.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Expertise in HDL programming (Verilog and/or VHDL) for synthesizable RTL and verification.
• Experience with FPGAs with AMD Zynq and AMD Ultrascale+, including RFSoc devices.
• Proficiency using EDA tools such as Vivado and Questa.
• Solid understanding of hardware signal processing techniques such as digital filters, decimators, PID, etc
• Hands-on experience with laboratory test and measurement instruments (oscilloscopes, power supplies, pulse generators, logic and protocol analyzers).
• Ability to collaborate with hardware engineers on FPGA/SoC PCB board designs.
• Experience writing timing constraints (SDC) to achieve timing closure on high-speed FPGA designs.
• Familiarity with common communication protocols (SPI, I2C, AXI, Avalon, Ethernet, AMBA, Wishbone).
• Skilled in scripting for EDA tools, preferably TCL and Python.
• Understanding of practical RTL design issues such as latency, jitter, metastability, setup/hold timing, and multicycle paths.
• Familiarity with revision control and issue tracking software like Git and Jira.

Preferred Expertise:

• Experience with formal verification methodologies and languages (PSL, SystemVerilog, UVVM, UVM, or OVM).
• Experience working with designs for challenging environmental deployments, including LEO
• Experience creating custom Linux builds using Yocto, PetaLinux, or OpenEmbedded.
• A background with managing CI/CD systems, virtualization and deployment technologies.

Benefits

• Platinum-level family health coverage (medical, dental, vision)
• Health and dependent care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• Employer 401(k) contributions
• 20 days of paid time off / 11 paid holidays
• Paid parental leave
• Fully stocked kitchen

Pay Range

The approximate base salary range for this position is $150,000 - $180,000 per year. The total compensation package includes base, bonus, equity and benefits. Please note that it is less common for candidates to be hired at the top of this range, as final compensation is determined by factors such as job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

Vector Atomic is an equal opportunity employer and we welcome applications from all backgrounds regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, disability, or any other classification protected by law.