FPGA Design Lead - Digital Signal Processing (DSP)

Job Title

FPGA Design Lead - Digital Signal Processing (DSP)

Role Summary

Lead an FPGA design team focused on digital signal processing for electronic combat and radar-related systems. Provide technical oversight across requirements, architecture, RTL implementation, verification, lab testing, and product support. The role requires full-time, on-site collaboration.

Experience Level

Senior - typically 10+ years of relevant FPGA/ASIC/DSP engineering experience.

Responsibilities

Deliver FPGA-based DSP solutions and lead a team through the full development lifecycle.

• Define micro-architecture from higher-level requirements and produce detailed design specifications.
• Provide technical leadership, mentorship, and task oversight for FPGA designers.
• Develop and own RTL code (VHDL preferred, Verilog acceptable) and perform synthesis and timing closure.
• Create and run simulations and basic testbenches (Modelsim/Questa) for verification.
• Perform lab bring-up, debug, and validation of FPGA boards and interfaces.
• Integrate and validate high-speed interfaces (PCIe, SerDes, ADC/DAC, DDR3/4).
• Maintain and support delivered products through sustainment and issue resolution.
• Coordinate with system engineers and cross-functional teams to meet schedule and technical requirements.

Requirements

Core technical skills, security eligibility, and practical experience required or strongly preferred.

• Must have: U.S. person / U.S. citizenship (position requires eligibility for U.S. government security clearance).
• Must have: Current Secret security clearance or ability to obtain one.
• Must have: Extensive FPGA or ASIC design and development experience, including timing-driven design and clock-domain crossing strategies.
• Must have: DSP fundamentals and working understanding of radar and/or electronic warfare systems.
• Must have: Proficiency in VHDL (preferred) or Verilog; experience with synthesis and FPGA toolflows (Xilinx Vivado/ISE, Intel/Altera Quartus).
• Must have: Experience with digital simulation (Modelsim/Questa), lab debug skills, and strong written and oral communication.
• Must have: Familiarity with high-speed interfaces (PCIe, SerDes, ADC/DAC, DDR3/4) and revision control systems (GIT, CVS, Clearcase, Subversion, etc.).
• Must have: Scripting/programming skills (Tcl/Tk, UNIX/Linux shell).
• Nice to have: FPGA implementation experience, Matlab/Simulink, UVM/SystemVerilog, and knowledge of C/C++, Perl, or Python.
• Nice to have: Prior experience managing schedule and cost.

Education Requirements

Bachelor's degree is stated as required in a relevant engineering or technical field; an advanced degree reduces the years-of-experience expectation. The posting specifies ~10+ years of relevant experience with a bachelor's degree (fewer years if an advanced degree is held).

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.