Staff FPGA Verification Engineer

Cesiumastro; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 165,000 - 199,000; Full time

Job summary

CesiumAstro in El Segundo, CA, is seeking a Staff FPGA Engineer to lead verification of FPGA-based hardware for satellites and aerospace systems. You will establish verification methodologies, guide complex debugging, and drive improvements across products to enhance performance and reliability.

The ideal candidate has 8+ years in FPGA design/verification with HDL, UVM, and experience with Vivado or Quartus, plus strong communication skills and the ability to work across a distributed team.

Qualifications

• BS or MS in Electrical or Computer Engineering from an accredited university.
• 8 years of industry or university research experience in FPGA design, analysis, and HDL implementation.
• Extensive knowledge of digital logic design, FPGA architecture, HDL, and digital systems.
• Proficiency developing FPGA verification environments for complex products.
• Understanding of FPGA verification methodologies, timing closure, embedded systems, and high-speed interfaces.
• Working knowledge of the UVM Framework (UVMF), including testbenches and automated environments.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams).
• FPGA tools: Vivado, Quartus Prime, ModelSim, QuestaSim.
• Engineering analysis, version control, and collaboration tools (MATLAB, Git, Jira, Windchill).
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead complex FPGA verification, debugging, and qualification activities supporting product development.
• Evaluate simulation results and engineering risks while directing solutions that improve product performance and reliability.
• Validate FPGA designs through verification planning, qualification testing, failure analysis, root-cause investigations, and change implementation.
• Develop verification plans and verification review packages supporting engineering decisions.
• Support customer meetings, design reviews, hardware integration, and product development activities by providing FPGA engineering guidance.
• Evaluate FPGA verification methods and technical requirements to identify improvements.
• Drive initiatives that enhance FPGA performance, engineering efficiency, product reliability, design quality, and long-term maintainability.

Skills

HDL design

Digital logic

FPGA verification

UVM Framework

Testbench development

Git (version control)

MATLAB

Jira

Education

BS/MS in Electrical or Computer Engineering

Tools

Vivado

Quartus Prime

ModelSim

QuestaSim

Git

Job description

Please Note:To conform with the United States Government Space Technology Export Regulations, the applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., conditional resident, asylee or refugee (protected individuals as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

At CesiumAstro, we are developers and pioneers of out-of-the-box communication systems for satellites, UAVs, launch vehicles, and other space and airborne platforms. We take pride in our dynamic and cross-functional work environment, which allows us to learn, develop, and engage across our organization. If you are looking for hands-on, interactive, and autonomous work, CesiumAstro is the place for you. We are actively seeking passionate, collaborative, energetic, and forward-thinking individuals to join our team.

We are looking to add a Staff FPGA Engineer to our team. If you enjoy working in a startup environment, and are passionate about developing leading-edge hardware for satellites, spacecraft, and aerospace systems, we would like to hear from you.

In this position, you provide technical leadership for the verification of FPGA-based hardware solutions for products and platforms. This role contributes to product development by establishing FPGA verification methodologies, resolving complex engineering challenges, and advancing FPGA solutions that improve product performance, reliability, and mission success.

JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead complex FPGA verification, debugging, and qualification activities supporting product development.
• Evaluate simulation results and engineering risks while directing solutions that improve product performance and reliability.
• Validate FPGA designs through verification planning, qualification testing, failure analysis, root cause investigations, and engineering change implementation.
• Develop verification plans, and verification review packages supporting engineering decisions.
• Support customer meetings, design reviews, technical discussions, hardware integration, and product development activities by providing FPGA engineering guidance.
• Evaluate FPGA, verification methods and technical requirements to identify improvements.
• Drive initiatives that enhance FPGA performance, engineering efficiency, product reliability, design quality, and long-term maintainability.

JOB REQUIREMENTS AND MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• A Bachelor of Science (BS) or Master of Science (MS) degree in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering from an accredited university or institution.
• 8 years of industry or university research experience in the design, analysis, and implementation of FPGA systems at the HDL level.
• Extensive knowledge of digital logic design, FPGA architecture, hardware description languages (HDL), and digital systems.
• Considerable proficiency developing FPGA verification environments for complex products.
• Thorough understanding of FPGA verification methodologies, timing closure, embedded systems, and high-speed interfaces.
• Working knowledge of the UVM Framework (UVMF), including developing reusable testbenches, verification components, and automated test environments.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite including Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams.
• FPGA development, simulation, and synthesis tools, e.g. Vivado, Quartus Prime, ModelSim, QuestaSim, or equivalent applications.
• Engineering analysis, version control, and collaboration tools, e.g. MATLAB, Git, Jira, Windchill, or equivalent applications.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE

• Experience with worst-case analysis, failure method and criticality analyses, and reliability analysis.
• Familiarity with digital communications and digital signal processing.
• Experience with board-level hardware design.
• Demonstrated ability to work efficiently with a distributed team.
• Proficiency with git source code control.
• Experience developing firmware using agile flows.

$165,000 - $199,000 a year

CesiumAstro considers several factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to, the role and associated responsibilities, a candidate’s work experience, education/training, and key skills. Full-time employment offers include company stock options and a generous benefits package including health, dental, vision, HSA, FSA, life, disability and retirement plans.

CesiumAstro is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard torace, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected Veteran Status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Please note: CesiumAstro does not accept unsolicited resumes from contract agencies or search firms. Any unsolicited resumes submitted to our website or to CesiumAstro team members will be considered property of CesiumAstro, and we will not be obligated to pay any referral fees.