Associate FPGA Engineer

Job Title

Associate FPGA Engineer

Role Summary

Develop and verify FPGA-based digital logic for small-satellite avionics, supporting the hardware lifecycle from prototype board bring-up through production. Work on FPGA SoC designs, verification, testing, and documentation as part of a small avionics development team reporting to the program Lead Principal Engineer.

Experience Level

Entry-level / Associate — suitable for recent graduates or engineers with approximately 0–3 years of relevant FPGA or embedded hardware experience. Academic or internship FPGA experience may substitute for industry experience.

Responsibilities

Primary duties include FPGA design, verification, board bring-up, and test support for small-satellite hardware.

• Design and document VHDL/Verilog/SystemVerilog RTL and top-level block diagrams for control and dataflow applications.
• Create device constraints, run synthesis, place-and-route, generate device images using Vivado and Libero toolflows.
• Perform static timing analysis, achieve timing closure, review and disposition compilation reports and warnings.
• Support laboratory bring-up, debugging, and performance characterization of FPGA designs on development kits and custom hardware.
• Develop test scripts and embedded software for Linux and bare-metal platforms to validate hardware during bring-up and verification.
• Review FPGA device selection, estimate resource and power utilization, and assess interface/pin assignments on schematics and PCBs.
• Participate in board-level and unit-level design reviews; support make-vs-buy IP trade studies and systems engineering tasks.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills, eligibility, and workplace expectations.

• Familiarity coding structural and behavioral designs in VHDL, Verilog, or SystemVerilog.
• Experience with FPGA toolchains such as AMD Xilinx Vivado and Microchip Libero, including SoC block diagram integration and third-party IP usage.
• Source control experience (Git) and programming for verification/validation (C, C++, Python).
• Ability to perform laboratory testing, debug hardware, and develop test scripts for embedded platforms.
• Strong oral and written technical communication skills.
• US Citizenship required and ability to obtain and maintain U.S. Government security clearance (active DoD Secret or higher is highly desirable).
• Willingness to work on-site in the University Park / State College, PA electronics lab and travel occasionally to other facilities.
• Physical ability to perform lab tasks including lifting/carrying items up to ~40 lbs and extended periods of sitting or standing.
• Nice-to-have: prior industry FPGA experience, active DoD clearance.

Education Requirements

Bachelor's degree in a STEM field or related area is required. Academic or internship FPGA experience may be accepted in lieu of industry experience; equivalent practical experience may be considered.

About the Company

Company: Airbus US Space & Defense

Provides satellite, laser-communication, rotor and fixed-wing solutions for U.S. defense, security, space, and intelligence customers. A long-standing U.S. government partner, delivering engineering, manufacturing and mission-focused systems and services.