FPGA Engineer

Job Title

FPGA Engineer

Role Summary

Join a defense-focused engineering team in San Diego, CA developing FPGA solutions for chemical, biological, radiation, nuclear, and space sensor systems. The role covers full FPGA life-cycle work: architecture, HDL design, implementation, timing closure, and hardware test and integration for mission-critical systems.

Experience Level

Mid-level. Typical requirement: 5+ years relevant engineering experience with a Bachelor's degree or 3+ years with a Master’s degree.

Responsibilities

Contribute to FPGA design, verification, and system integration for federal sensor and space applications.

• Design, implement, and test FPGA/SoC designs (including Xilinx Zynq Ultrascale+ and RFSoC) for signal processing and sensor interfaces.
• Develop and execute FPGA test plans; diagnose failures and iterate on design changes with senior staff.
• Create HDL testbenches and self-checking verification components in VHDL/Verilog and validate against models.
• Synthesize, place-and-route, and meet timing closure on high-speed FPGA designs.
• Implement and verify interfaces to SERDES, PLLs and protocols such as PCIe, 10GbE, LVDS, etc.
• Support system integration and lab testing using electronics test equipment; develop and maintain design and interface documentation.
• Perform technical troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, data analysis, and prepare technical reports.

Requirements

Key must-have skills, clearance and work-authority requirements, plus relevant tools and behaviors.

• Must be a U.S. Citizen and able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance.
• Hands-on experience testing FPGA or CPLD designs in an electronics lab environment; familiar with function generators, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and lab power supplies.
• Fluent with Vivado and a simulator such as ModelSim or Riviera; experienced with HDL testbenches and self-checking verification methods.
• Experience synthesizing, place-and-route, and meeting timing on high-speed FPGAs.
• Experience integrating DSP/SoC solutions and working with multi-disciplinary development teams.
• Familiarity with software engineering tools and processes such as Git, JIRA, and Agile/Scrum workflows.
• Ability to multi-task, prioritize, communicate clearly in writing and verbally, and work with minimal supervision.
• Travel: up to 20% to customer sites as required.

Nice-to-have:

• Experience with Microchip PolarFire and Libero toolchains.
• Experience developing image-processing algorithms in MATLAB and implementing them in HDL, FPGA, or embedded software.
• Experience documenting technical data packages for military products and acting as a mid-level lead on large FPGA projects.
• Currently holding an active security clearance.

Education Requirements

Required: Bachelor’s degree plus 5+ years relevant experience, or Master’s degree plus 3+ years relevant experience in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field (or equivalent practical experience). Preferred: Master’s degree or higher with emphasis on digital/ASIC/FPGA design.

About the Company

Company: Leidos

Headquarters: Reston, Virginia, United States

Leidos is an industry and technology leader providing systems, services, and solutions for government and commercial customers, specializing in defense, intelligence, civil, and health sectors, including IT, cybersecurity, systems engineering, and mission-focused R&D.