Staff HDL Hardware Engineer

Job Title

Staff HDL Hardware Engineer

Role Summary

Act as a digital hardware designer, systems engineer, HDL developer, and test engineer owning product design, performance, verification, and implementation from concept through final operation. Work cross-functionally with systems, software, mechanical, and test teams.

This is a hybrid role based in the Tukwila, WA office (onsite two–three days per week) reporting to the Director, Electrical Engineering.

Experience Level

Senior - requires 10+ years of experience in digital design and HDL development (VHDL preferred).

Responsibilities

Design, verify, and deliver digital hardware for spacecraft avionics across development phases.

• Develop requirements from unit and system specifications and synthesize design constraints.
• Write HDL for FPGAs; create and maintain simulation test benches and run verification flows.
• Prototype, bring-up, test, debug, and iterate hardware designs through production transition.
• Troubleshoot hardware performance during lab testing and integration.
• Produce interface and design documentation to support flight software verification and validation.
• Coordinate with external suppliers on specifications, data exchange, and integration/test plans.
• Participate in R&D and support new avionics product establishment.

Requirements

Core qualifications and security/eligibility requirements.

Must-have:

• 10+ years of digital design experience, including HDL programming and prototype testing.
• Proven HDL simulation and test bench development using ModelSim, Vivado Simulator, or similar.
• Experience with embedded processors in SoC FPGAs and programmable logic–processor interfaces.
• Hands-on lab experience with multimeters, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, programmable power supplies, etc.
• Experience implementing, prototyping, and bringing up high-speed interfaces.
• Strong interpersonal skills for collaborative, cross-disciplinary engineering teams.
• Must be a U.S. Person (U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, protected individual, or otherwise eligible under U.S. export regulations).

Nice-to-have:

• Delivered multiple products with full lifecycle ownership from concept through production.
• Experience with precision analog components (voltage references, oscillators, supervisors, ADCs) and component selection for FPGAs, ADCs, DDR, NVRAM, and high-speed transceivers.
• Experience with 10Gb Ethernet or PCIe and designing electronics for space environments.
• Familiarity with Microchip and AMD/Xilinx FPGA development flows.
• Experience designing automated test equipment (preferably using Python) and proficiency in C/C++, Perl, or Python.

Education Requirements

Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field with training in digital electronics design (required as stated in the posting).

About the Company

Company: BlackSky

Headquarters: Herndon, VA, United States

BlackSky operates a space-based intelligence platform delivering satellite imagery, automated analytics, and high-frequency monitoring to government and commercial customers for real-time situational awareness and decision support.