Principal FPGA Engineer

Job Title

Principal FPGA Engineer

Role Summary

Principal FPGA Engineer on Rocket Lab's Optical Systems team in Chantilly, VA, responsible for end-to-end FPGA design for advanced electro-optical (EO/IR) spacecraft payloads supporting Department of Defense and Intelligence Community customers. The role focuses on RTL/VHDL development, verification, implementation, and lab bring-up for space-qualified systems.

Experience Level

Senior (Principal) — typically 12+ years of relevant experience; senior-level technical leadership and independent execution expected.

Responsibilities

Accountable for delivering FPGA designs from requirements through verification and test, and supporting integration with hardware and software teams.

• Work with hardware design team to define FPGA requirements and interfaces.
• Complete FPGA logic design: RTL coding, functional simulation, and testbench development.
• Perform synthesis, implementation, timing analysis, and timing closure.
• Execute lab bring-up, debugging, and validation of FPGA-based products.
• Support hardware and software development teams during integration and testing.
• Provide subject-matter expertise for design practices and automated test development for customers and production support.

Requirements

Core technical skills required and preferred capabilities.

• Proven FPGA firmware design experience using VHDL.
• Strong RTL coding and simulation skills; experience with testbench development.
• Experience with synthesis, implementation, and timing analysis.
• Practical lab debugging and product bring-up experience.
• Experience supporting cross-functional hardware and software teams in test and integration.

• Familiarity with Xilinx/AMD Versal architecture.
• Experience with FPGAs and embedded systems in radiation environments (SEU/SEL impacts and mitigation).
• Experience with FPGA- or ASIC-based image-processing algorithms.
• Experience creating RTL IP and integrating IP into block designs.
• Familiarity with C, Python, or MATLAB and translating algorithms into HDL.
• Experience with interrupts, DMA, DDR4, Aurora, high-speed transceivers, and AXI Stream/AXI Memory Mapped interfaces.
• PCB design and schematic capture experience (e.g., Altium Designer).

Education Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience. Candidates must be able to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government security clearance; Active TS/SCI is preferred. Note: U.S. export/ITAR eligibility restrictions apply for positions working on regulated space technologies.

About the Company

Company: Rocket Lab

Headquarters: Long Beach, California, United States

Rocket Lab is a global leader in launch and space systems, known for its Electron rocket which has been providing reliable access to orbit since 2018. The company supports various space missions such as scientific exploration and Earth observation, and is developing the Neutron rocket for future payloads. With a focus on innovation, Rocket Lab has been instrumental in over 1,700 missions including high-profile projects like the James Webb Space Telescope and NASA's Psyche Mission.