Staff Electrical Engineer, FPGA Development

True Anomaly•Long Beach, CA

4d•$165,000 - $230,000•Onsite

About The Position

A new space race has begun. True Anomaly seeks those with the talent and ambition to build innovative technology that solves the next generation of engineering, manufacturing, and operational challenges for space security and sustainability. OUR MISSION The peaceful use of space is essential for continued prosperity on Earth—from communications and finance to navigation and logistics. True Anomaly builds innovative technology at the intersection of spacecraft, software, and AI to enhance the capabilities of the U.S., its allies, and commercial partners. We safeguard global security by ensuring space access and sustainability for all. OUR VALUES Be the offset. We create asymmetric advantages with creativity and ingenuity What would it take? We challenge assumptions to deliver ambitious results It’s the people. Our team is our competitive advantage and we are better together YOUR MISSION True Anomaly is seeking an exceptional Staff FPGA Developer to serve as the cross-team technical authority for reconfigurable logic architecture across our spacecraft avionics and payload systems. You will define the common frameworks, digital interface standards, and verification methodologies the entire engineering organization builds upon — and lead the development of a real-time FPGA-based image processing pipeline for on-orbit spacecraft detection, identification, and tracking. You architect solutions that span teams, codify durable patterns, and drive program-level outcomes with calm precision.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field (Master's preferred)
8+ years of professional FPGA design experience, with demonstrated staff or principal engineer-level contributions
Deep expertise in VHDL and/or Verilog, FPGA synthesis flows, and multi-clock domain design
Demonstrated experience designing real-time image processing pipelines in FPGA fabric
Experience designing high-speed Ethernet interfaces including MAC/PHY integration and Layer 2 Ethernet switch development
Proven ability to architect cross-team solutions, manage ambiguity, and drive program-level delivery

Nice To Haves

Experience with space-qualified or radiation-hardened FPGA families (PolarFire, ProASIC3, SmartFusion2, etc.)
Experience with computer vision algorithms in FPGA fabric (object detection, centroiding, correlation-based tracking)
Familiarity with SpaceWire, PCIe, and embedded bus protocols (SPI, I2C, UART)
Exposure to C, C++, or Python for firmware integration and test automation
Experience working in a fast-paced, startup environment or a similarly dynamic setting

Responsibilities

Define and own reconfigurable logic architectures across avionics and payload systems, ensuring common frameworks and IP reuse
Lead the design and development of a real-time FPGA-based image processing pipeline for on-orbit spacecraft detection and tracking from payload camera and RPO sensor inputs
Establish digital interface standards, FPGA reliability standards, and component qualification strategy across programs
Own the FPGA verification methodology across multiple concurrent projects, ensuring reuse and integration with system-level test
Design and implement high-speed Ethernet interfaces, including MAC/PHY integration, Layer 2 switch development, and high-throughput data path design
Optimize avionics architecture at the system level, informing trade studies across performance, cost, reliability, and schedule
Run multi-stream FPGA development efforts, coordinating delivery and holding accountability for program-level outcomes
Coach engineers across teams, codify best practices, and build reusable, scalable design patterns