FPGA Engineer

Cowboy Space Corp.•San Carlos, CA

3d•$150,000 - $200,000•Onsite

About The Position

We're looking for an experienced FPGA/RTL engineer to help build our state-of-the-art optical communication system — the hard-real-time logic that connects optical communication terminals to embedded computers. You'll work closely with our optical communication team to design and own HDL for optical-link interfaces and high-speed data pipelines for in-orbit and ground communications. This is active development on a live flight program with near-term launch milestones: you'll join a small team, take full ownership of workstreams from day one, and see your designs fly.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field
5+ years of experience in FPGA/HDL design, including architecture, verification, synthesis, and timing closure
Proficiency in SystemVerilog or Verilog for production FPGA development
Hands-on experience with Xilinx/AMD FPGA platforms (e.g., Zynq, Zynq UltraScale+) and toolchains (Vivado, Vitis)
Experience designing high-speed digital interfaces and DDR/DMA-based datapaths
Experience integrating FPGA logic with embedded software, including memory-mapped register interfaces and driver-level debugging
Experience developing FPGA platforms for multi-gigabit data pipelines, including integrating forward error correction and other stabilization techniques — optical communication or high-speed Ethernet experience strongly preferred
Hands-on hardware bring-up and lab debugging experience with oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and embedded debug tools
Demonstrated ability to own open-ended design problems independently and carry them from architecture through hardware and on-orbit operation

Nice To Haves

Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related discipline
Experience in aerospace, defense, semiconductor, or other high-reliability development
Experience with free-space or fiber optical communication systems — optical communication terminals, coherent/direct-detection modems, or high-speed optical transceivers
Experience implementing Ethernet or other high-speed serial protocol layers (MAC/PCS/PMA) directly in FPGA fabric — a big plus
Understanding of network topology and architecture (routing, switching, protocol stacks) — a bonus
Familiarity with Versal ACAP architecture and Quartus toolflows
Experience with simulation and verification tools such as Questa/ModelSim, Xcelium, or Verilator, and with UVM or other structured verification methodologies
Proficiency with C/C++, Python, and TCL for bring-up, test automation, and tooling
Experience with hardware-in-the-loop testing and automated regression of FPGA designs
Familiarity with fault-tolerant design and radiation effects mitigation (SEU scrubbing, TMR, configuration memory integrity) for space applications
Experience thriving in fast-paced, high-ownership environments with rapid iteration cycles

Responsibilities

Design, implement, and verify HDL/RTL in SystemVerilog/Verilog for the FPGA subsystems of our state-of-the-art optical communication system, from architecture through on-orbit operation
Partner directly with the optical communication team to design and implement FPGA logic for free-space optical communication links, including modem interfacing, framing/synchronization, and high-throughput data pipelines
Develop high-throughput communication pipelines for moving compute and optical-link data from orbit to the ground, including high-speed Ethernet (10/25/40/100GbE) MAC/PCS logic, SERDES/transceiver configuration, and link-layer framing within the FPGA fabric
Build memory-mapped register interfaces (AXI) between FPGA logic and onboard flight software, and define the hardware/software contract with flight software engineers
Own timing closure, synthesis, and implementation across Zynq UltraScale+ and Versal targets using Vivado and related toolchains
Develop testbenches and simulation environments to verify designs before hardware, and validate on the bench with logic analyzers, oscilloscopes, and protocol analyzers
Lead board bring-up and hardware integration for new payload avionics, working closely with electrical and embedded software engineers
Investigate anomalies spanning the optical-link-to-ground and software chain, perform root cause analysis, and drive fixes across hardware/firmware/software boundaries
Document designs and interfaces, and pair with teammates to spread ownership of the FPGA function across the team