Sr. Staff Embedded Firmware/FPGA Systems Engineer

Becton Dickinson Medical Devices•Milpitas, CA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Waters Corporation (NYSE: WAT), a global leader in life sciences, is seeking a technically strong engineer to drive embedded firmware and FPGA development on ARM-based instrumentation platforms. This role involves end-to-end system architecture, defining the partitioning between on-board FPGA logic, ARM SoC firmware, and off-board compute. The engineer will design RTL for FPGA, develop Linux BSP components, and optimize data-path performance across memory, DMA, and high-speed I/O boundaries. The position emphasizes technical leadership and collaboration within a distributed global team to deliver complex instrumentation systems.

Requirements

BS degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field required; MS preferred.
10+ years of experience in embedded firmware and FPGA development, including technical leadership roles.
Proficiency in Verilog, VHDL, or SystemVerilog; experience authoring RTL for FPGA, developing simulation testbenches, and driving synthesis and timing closure using Xilinx Vivado or Intel Quartus.
Familiarity with AXI4/AXI-Stream interconnects and DMA controller design.
Experience with Python, C/C++, version control systems, and modern development tools.
Experience with common hardware interfaces such as SPI, I2C, UART, PCIe Gen 3/4/5, JESD204B/C, DDR3/DDR4, or equivalent.
Strong understanding of embedded Linux systems, including kernel configuration and demonstrated driver development skills.
Strong understanding of test bench development; simulations (ModelSim, VCS) and developing verification plans.
Ability to communicate complex technical concepts effectively and influence technical direction while championing engineering excellence and best practices.
Demonstrated success collaborating across multidisciplinary teams, applying systems-level thinking to develop and deliver robust, integrated product solutions.

Nice To Haves

Technically competent with a broad understanding of system-level needs and cross-functional roles.
Experience in FPGA-based data acquisition systems in Flow Cytometry, Genomics, or similar high-throughput biomedical instrumentation.
Experience with high-speed FPGA interfaces such as JESD204B/C (ADC/DAC connectivity), PCIe, DDR4/LPDDR, or USB 3.x in instrumentation or adjacent high-throughput domains.
Experience improving legacy codebases and guiding teams toward sustainable engineering practices.

Responsibilities

Provide technical direction and architectural guidance for embedded firmware and FPGA development across multiple product lines.
Own the development and architecture of embedded firmware and programmable logic for complex instrumentation systems.
Define architecture, balancing on-board (ARM SoC/DSP/FPGA) and off-board compute.
Develop Linux BSP Components, kernel configuration, boot loaders, HALs and device drivers.
Build embedded services in C/C++ and develop python-based automation for testing, validation and workflows.
Collaborate with a distributed global team to deliver on goals.