Skip to main content
S

FPGA Engineer

Sapien
September 25, 2026
Contract
Remote friendly (Chadwell Heath, ENG, United Kingdom)
United Kingdom
£74 GBP hourly
FPGA Programming Jobs, Level - Mid-Career

Job Title

FPGA Engineer

Role Summary

Contract FPGA engineer to design, verify and deliver FPGA subsystems for defence applications. Work spans RTL development, simulation, hardware bring-up and debugging across the full design lifecycle.

Initial 12-month contract (inside IR35) with rates up to £74/hour. On-site attendance required three days per week at one of the UK sites listed by the employer.

Experience Level

Mid-level. Prior FPGA engineering experience (several years) is expected; exact years not specified.

Responsibilities

Day-to-day responsibilities include implementation, verification and support of FPGA designs and hardware integration.

  • Develop and maintain VHDL RTL for FPGA-based systems.
  • Create and run simulations using ModelSim/QuestaSim; verify designs through the full lifecycle.
  • Perform FPGA bring-up and on-hardware debugging.
  • Target Xilinx, Altera (Intel), or Microsemi FPGA devices and toolchains.
  • Collaborate with system, firmware and test teams to integrate FPGA subsystems.
  • Work on-site three days per week at one of the employer's UK locations.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills and contract constraints, followed by desirable skills.

  • Must-have: VHDL experience; practical use of ModelSim or QuestaSim.
  • Experience with Xilinx, Altera (Intel) or Microsemi FPGA toolchains and devices.
  • Proven full lifecycle FPGA design and development experience, including hardware debugging.
  • Eligible for full, unrestricted UK Security Check (SC) clearance.
  • Available for on-site attendance three days per week at one of the specified UK sites.
  • Contract details: 12-month initial contract, inside IR35; up to £74/hour.
  • Nice-to-have: DxDesigner experience; prior defence/aerospace experience.

Education Requirements

Not specified.


About the Company

Company: Sapien

Headquarters: London, United Kingdom

Engineering recruitment agency specialising in placing technical professionals (including defence and aerospace roles) into contract and permanent positions across the UK.

Sapien logo

Date Posted: 2026-09-23