FPGA Design Engineer (R5347)

The role

You will design, build, test and debug FPGA-based communication modules and timing solutions for UAV avionics. You will work with hardware, firmware and software teams, and take part in design reviews.

What you will do

• Design and develop FPGA-based communication modules for advanced UAV platforms.
• Develop solutions for precise timing synchronization and redundancy across flight controllers.
• Integrate FPGA solutions with system-level architecture with cross-functional teams.
• Perform synthesis, implementation, timing closure and bitstream generation.
• Debug, test and optimize for reliability, latency and throughput.
• Collaborate with PCB designers during board bring-up and hardware validation.
• Contribute to FPGA architecture discussions and long-term technical direction.
• Participate in design reviews and maintain engineering documentation.

Required qualifications

• B.S., M.S. or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering or a STEM discipline such as Aerospace, Mechanical or Electrical Engineering.
• Strong experience with FPGA design, implementation and verification using VHDL or SystemVerilog.
• Demonstrated ability to build reliable, high-performance digital communication systems.
• Solid understanding of timing closure, clock domain crossing and system-level integration.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, collaborative environment with evolving requirements.
• Strong debugging and problem-solving skills.
• Knowledge of FPGA timing analysis and timing closure techniques.
• Familiarity with version control tools such as Git.

Nice to have

• Experience with the Xilinx FPGA ecosystem (Vivado, toolchains, etc.).
• In-depth understanding of Ethernet and network stack implementation.
• Experience developing flight computers.
• Experience designing solutions for safety-critical real-time systems.
• Experience with AXI4, AXI-Stream and memory-mapped interfaces.
• Experience using TCL scripting to automate FPGA build flows.
• Knowledge of CI/CD practices for FPGA development.

Benefits

• Bonus for full-time regular employees.
• Benefits for full-time regular employees.
• Equity for full-time regular employees.
• Temporary benefits package for temporary employees, applicable after 60 days of employment.

Before you apply

• All offers are contingent on a cleared background check and possible reference check.
• Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits.

About the company

Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company that builds intelligent systems to protect service members and civilians. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation technologies.