Lead FPGA Engineer

Job Title

Lead FPGA Engineer

Role Summary

Lead FPGA Engineer on the Central Engineering team in Milpitas. Responsible for independently developing, testing, and integrating complex FPGA firmware for high-performance imaging systems and driving subsystem integration with software, systems, firmware, and hardware teams.

Produces technical documentation and supports prototype PCB bring-up and system validation.

Experience Level

Senior-level. Experience expectations by degree: PhD — 0 years; Master’s — 3 years; Bachelor’s — 5 years.

Responsibilities

Primary responsibilities include:

• Design, implement, verify, and optimize FPGA RTL for high-performance imaging systems.
• Drive FPGA integration, system bring-up, and prototype PCB testing in partnership with software, systems, firmware, and hardware teams.
• Perform timing analysis, clock-domain-crossing (CDC) analysis, and develop appropriate constraints at the PCB/FPGA interface.
• Debug firmware and hardware interactions; lead system-level validation and test activities.
• Produce clear technical documentation that meets manufacturing and service quality standards.

Requirements

Must-have skills and experience:

• Proven FPGA RTL development experience using SystemVerilog/Verilog or VHDL.
• Practical experience with high-speed digital interfaces (for example 10G SerDes, PCIe, DDR) and associated circuitry.
• Experience performing timing and CDC analysis and creating FPGA/PCB constraints.
• Firmware integration, debugging, and system test experience with prototype PCB assemblies.
• Familiarity with FPGA implementation and simulation toolflows (Xilinx/Altera device flows, simulation tools).
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to work independently and prioritize tasks.

Nice-to-have:

• Experience with Ultrascale FPGAs and PCB board design and test.
• Familiarity with tools such as Xilinx Vivado/ISE, Synplify, Questa/ModelSim, Python, MATLAB, OrCAD.

Education Requirements

PhD (Doctorate) — 0 years related experience; Master’s degree — 3 years related experience; Bachelor’s degree — 5 years related experience. Relevant fields include Electrical Engineering and related technical disciplines. The posting specifies degree-plus-experience combinations as the baseline for qualification.

About the Company

Company: KLA

Headquarters: Chennai, India

KLA is a global leader in diversified electronics for the semiconductor manufacturing industry. The company enables the production of electronic devices by inventing systems and solutions for manufacturing integrated circuits, wafers, and displays. With over 40 years of experience, KLA invests heavily in innovation and R&D to support advanced chip design and manufacturing process optimization, collaborating with top technology providers to deliver future electronic devices.