FPGA Design Lead

Job Title

FPGA Design Lead

Role Summary

Lead a team of FPGA design engineers in development of FPGA-based electronic systems across requirements, architecture, RTL, verification, synthesis, and lab validation. The role combines hands-on RTL work with technical oversight, mentoring, and product support for defense electronics programs.

Experience Level

Senior-level. Typical guidance: 10+ years of relevant FPGA/ASIC design experience; less experience acceptable with an advanced degree.

Responsibilities

Primary responsibilities include team leadership, technical design, and hands-on implementation.

• Lead and develop a team of FPGA designers through all development phases.
• Translate higher-level requirements into micro-architecture and detailed design.
• Provide technical oversight, design reviews, and mentoring for engineers.
• Own RTL implementation, synthesis, and basic testbench development.
• Perform lab bring-up, timing closure debugging, and product support.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to integrate high-speed interfaces and system components.

Requirements

Must-have technical qualifications and conditions for the role.

• U.S. citizenship required; ability to obtain and maintain U.S. government security clearance (Top Secret eligibility; current Secret preferred).
• 10+ years relevant FPGA/ASIC design and development experience; experience leading design teams.
• Proficient in VHDL (preferred) or Verilog; experience with RTL coding and synthesis.
• Familiarity with Xilinx Vivado/ISE or Intel/Altera Quartus and with Modelsim/Questa for digital simulation.
• Strong understanding of timing-driven design, clock domain crossing, and timing closure methods.
• Hands-on lab debug and problem-solving skills; experience with lab testing and instrumentation.
• Experience with high-speed interfaces such as PCIe, SerDes, ADC/DAC, DDR3/DDR4.
• Familiar with revision control systems (GIT, CVS, ClearCase, Subversion, etc.).
• Knowledge of scripting and automation: Tcl/Tk and UNIX/Linux shell programming.
• Strong written and oral communication skills; ability to mentor and be mentored.

Education Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field is expected; an advanced degree (MS/PhD) may reduce the years-of-experience requirement. Equivalent practical experience will be considered.

About the Company

Company: BAE Systems

Headquarters: London, United Kingdom

Global defense, aerospace and security company delivering products and services for air, land and naval forces, advanced electronics, cyber and intelligence solutions, and space and mission systems for government and commercial customers.