Principal FPGA Engineer

Job Title

Principal FPGA Engineer

Role Summary

Principal FPGA Engineer responsible for defining, developing, reviewing, and maintaining FPGA architectures and HDL code, and for leading verification, validation, and system integration activities. Works closely with hardware and software teams to integrate FPGA designs into products and to support releases.

The role reports as a senior technical individual contributor or technical lead and is bonus-eligible; the annual base salary range for this role is $165,000 to $200,000. Benefits include medical, dental, vision, 401(k) with match, and paid time off.

Experience Level

Senior — Principal level. Requires approximately 12+ years of product development or relevant experience (8–10 years with an advanced degree); internal promotions may substitute demonstrated proficiency for formal experience.

Responsibilities

Core responsibilities include leading FPGA work for a project or product line and delivering designs to schedule.

• Lead definition, design, and implementation of FPGA architectures and HDL code.
• Develop and execute design verification and validation plans; review HDL for quality and maintainability.
• Integrate FPGA designs with hardware and software; perform system-level debugging and support product releases.
• Analyze data, perform trade-off studies, and recommend preferred design options.
• Identify, document, and quantify product defects; support corrective actions and CAPA investigations.
• Provide technical guidance and mentoring to engineers and technicians; lead cross-functional collaboration.
• Generate schedules and manage cross-functional dependencies to meet deliverables.

Requirements

Must-have skills and experience; listed concisely.

• Extensive FPGA design experience, including architecture, HDL coding (VHDL and/or Verilog), and verification.
• Proven system integration and debugging skills with hardware and software teams.
• Experience with design-for-reuse, code quality practices, and long-term maintainability.
• Strong problem solving, root-cause analysis, and statistical analysis skills as required by the function.
• Leadership capabilities: accountability, decision making, influence, and effective technical communication.
• Demonstrated ability to plan and prioritize complex tasks to meet schedules.
• Proficiency in English and willingness to travel domestically and internationally as required.
• Experience in regulated medical device development is highly desired.

Education Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Science, or a related field is required. An advanced degree (master's or higher) may reduce the stated experience expectation to approximately 8–10 years. For internal candidates, demonstrated proficiency and acceptable performance history may be used in lieu of the numeric experience requirement.

About the Company

Company: Werfen

Headquarters: Barcelona, Spain

Werfen is a family-owned global diagnostics company founded in 1966 in Barcelona, Spain. It develops and manufactures specialized diagnostic systems, assays, and OEM biomaterials for hemostasis, acute care, transfusion, autoimmunity, and transplant markets, operating directly in 30+ countries and through distributors in 100+ territories with around 7,000 employees.