Sr. FPGA Engineer

Job Title

Sr. FPGA Engineer

Role Summary

Design and build high-performance, low-latency FPGA-based hardware to accelerate network infrastructure and trading systems. Own the full development cycle from ideation through implementation and work closely with software engineers, traders, and infrastructure teams to deliver reliable, high-throughput solutions.

Experience Level

Senior — requires 5+ years of proven FPGA and/or ASIC design, coding, testing, and verification experience.

Responsibilities

Primary responsibilities include hardware design, performance optimization, and cross-functional integration.

• Design high-speed FPGA hardware to accelerate network infrastructure and trading systems.
• Research and integrate low-latency techniques and emerging platforms into the trading stack.
• Collaborate with traders, software developers, and infrastructure engineers for rapid integration.
• Optimize FPGA performance through RTL design, synthesis, and hardware selection or custom solutions.
• Create and maintain testbenches, verification environments, and simulation workflows.
• Oversee and maintain relationships with third-party hardware and IP vendors.
• Deliver robust, well-architected systems under tight latency and reliability constraints.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills and practical experience; listed nice-to-have items where applicable.

• 5+ years of hands-on FPGA and/or ASIC design, coding, testing, and verification.
• Proficient in VHDL, Verilog, SystemVerilog, and C/C++.
• Experience with RTL synthesis and meeting timing, area, and related constraints.
• Experience using digital simulators and building self-checking test benches.
• Strong collaboration skills for rapid integration with software and trading teams.
• Nice to have: post-silicon bring-up and debugging experience.
• Nice to have: experience with network acceleration, high-bandwidth computing, and trading systems.

Education Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.

About the Company

Company: Chicago Financial Search

Headquarters: Chicago, IL, United States

A Chicago-based executive search and recruiting firm specializing in financial services and technology talent, placing professionals in trading, engineering, and finance roles for firms in Chicago and beyond.