Staff FPGA Engineer

Job Title

Staff FPGA Engineer

Role Summary

The Staff FPGA Engineer leads architecture, development, verification, and integration of avionics FPGA RTL designs for Astrolab rover vehicles. Works within the Avionics team and reports to the Director of Avionics Engineering to deliver flight‑ready FPGA systems.

This position is based in the Hawthorne, CA office and owns FPGA design from requirements and architecture through verification, integration, and flight support.

Experience Level

Senior level — requires 10+ years of FPGA development experience (architecture, RTL, verification, and hardware testing) as stated in the posting.

Responsibilities

The engineer will own FPGA design lifecycle and lead verification and integration activities.

• Define logical FPGA architecture and requirements with cross‑functional teams.
• Develop RTL in SystemVerilog or VHDL for Microsemi, Xilinx, or similar devices.
• Create and run verification (testbenches, simulation), timing closure, and resource analysis.
• Lead design reviews, maintain requirement traceability, and document FPGA operation and interfaces.
• Plan and execute test campaigns from unit-level validation to system-level integration and flight qualification.
• Support system integration, bring-up, troubleshooting, and flight test activities.
• Design and support FPGA systems intended for space environments, including radiation mitigation and long-duration reliability considerations.

Requirements

Must-have skills and experience:

• 10+ years FPGA RTL architecture, development, verification, deployment, and lifecycle support.
• Strong proficiency in SystemVerilog or VHDL.
• Experience with advanced verification methodologies, timing analysis, and stability analysis.
• Proficiency in at least one scripting language (TCL, shell, or Python).
• Ability to read and interpret PCB schematics and apply hardware-level constraints.
• Familiarity with embedded software integration and HW/SW boundary definition.
• Proficiency with AXI protocols (AXI4 family) and common bus interfaces such as SPI, I2C, UART.
• Demonstrated success operating with ownership in fast-paced, collaborative environments.
• Must be able to lift up to 50 lbs for hardware bring-up and lab activities.

Nice-to-have:

• Experience with flight or space-qualified electronics and radiation mitigation strategies.

Education Requirements

Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent; equivalent practical experience accepted.

About the Company

Company: Venturi Astrolab

Headquarters: Hawthorne, CA, United States

Venturi Astrolab develops and operates commercial planetary rovers and related mission hardware to enable exploration and operations on distant planetary surfaces. The company designs, builds, and tests avionics, electronics, and systems for durable, flight-ready robotic vehicles for space applications.