Lead FPGA Design Engineer

Overview

The FPGA Lead Engineer is responsible for leading FPGA design, development, integration, and debug activities for complex server, storage, networking, AI infrastructure, and rack-level platforms. This role provides technical ownership for FPGA architecture, RTL implementation, verification readiness, hardware bring-up, and cross-functional issue resolution to ensure programmable logic solutions meet system requirements, schedule commitments, manufacturability expectations, and customer quality targets.

• Technical Leadership:
  Lead development teams, conduct design reviews, and oversee requirement traceability. Act as the technical liaison between cross-functional partners, system architects, and program managers.
• Hardware Validation:
  Lead debugging and testing campaigns on physical PCBs using lab equipment like digital oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and function generators.
• Project Management:
  Plan and manage technical, cost, and schedule objectives. Monitor technical risks and handle configuration.
• Own investigation and closure of complex FPGA, hardware, and firmware integration issues during bring-up, validation, manufacturing ramp, and customer escalation.
• Partner with Electrical, BIOS, BMC, Systems, Validation, Manufacturing, and customer teams to resolve cross-domain issues and align technical decisions.
• Support FPGA verification readiness, lab debug, hardware validation, and release criteria by ensuring requirements traceability and disciplined issue management.
• Mentor junior engineers and contribute to reusable design practices, coding standards, documentation quality, and engineering best practices.
• Communicate technical direction, risks, tradeoffs, milestone health, and resolution plans clearly to leadership, customers, and cross-functional stakeholders.

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical field;
  Master’s degree preferred.
• 5–10 years of relevant experience in FPGA design, programmable logic development, hardware integration, or related platform engineering work.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strong expertise in FPGA design flows, RTL development, simulation, synthesis, timing analysis, constraints, and lab-based debug.
• Experience with common FPGA tool chains and devices from vendors such as AMD/Xilinx, Intel/Altera, or equivalent platforms is required. Strong understanding of standard digital interfaces like SPI, I2C, UART, Ethernet, PCIe, or JESD protocols
• Experience with server, storage, networking, accelerator, PCIe-based, or other complex compute platforms is preferred.
• Ability to lead technical decisions, drive root cause analysis, and align multiple engineering disciplines toward successful execution.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex programmable logic issues clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders.