FPGA​/Firmware Manager

Location

Irvine, CA

Full time

On‑site

Spacecraft Engineering

• $175K – $225K

Base salary will vary depending on job‑related knowledge, education, skills, experience, business needs, and market demand. Salary is just one component of our comprehensive compensation package. Full‑time employees also receive company equity, as well as access to a full suite of compelling benefits and perks.

Turion Space is building spacecraft for national security and in‑space operations. From debris removal to space domain awareness to building a more secure space economy, we are a team focused on getting real hardware to orbit fast and scaling capability.

We are looking for an FPGA/Firmware Manager to lead our rapidly growing team in Irvine, CA. In this role, you will manage a high‑performing team responsible for creating the architecture, end‑to‑end design and verification of projects FPGA/SOC systems. This role will guide team growth as well as establish robust documentation and procedures.

This is a full‑time
, exempt position based on‑site at our Irvine, California headquarters.

• Manage and mentor a small team of direct reports
• Own development of HDL and firmware on custom FPGA, FPGA SoC and low‑level embedded systems
• Provide early guidance and input on architecture decision for subsystem and vehicle‑level architectures
• Define requirements and processes to ensure traceability and progress tracking
• Contribute to custom HDL modules for FPGA systems (focus on high speed data movement and handling)
• Design firmware for soft cores (Micro Blaze, RISC‑V, etc.) platforms to interface with FPGA fabric and peripherals
• Write custom HDL to interface with SoC hard cores, drivers and corresponding custom firmware
• Work with electrical engineers and others to support the bring‑up of custom hardware
• Establish performance goals, conduct reviews, and foster a culture of innovation and accountability
• Lead verification of HDL and firmware to ensure flight‑readiness

• 8+ years of experience developing firmware or HDL for FPGAs in a professional environment
• 2+ years of experience managing an engineering team
• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, or related field
• Demonstrated work in RTL design using VHDL, Verilog, and/or System Verilog
• Proficiency with FPGA design tools (Xilinx Vivado, Microchip Libero, or similar)
• Experience developing firmware in bare‑metal or RTOS environments
• Experience developing embedded systems using C/C++
• Strong understanding of digital design and embedded systems principles
• Ability to obtain a Secret and/or TS/SCI security clearance

• Interest in mentoring and developing engineering talent
• Experience with high‑level synthesis (HLS) tools (e.g. Xilinx Vitis HLS, MATLAB FPGA generator)
• Experience with FPGA verification techniques (formal verification, UVM, System Verilog assertions)
• Familiarity with Xilinx Ultrascale, Zynq MPSoC, Versal, and/or Microchip Polar Fire platforms
• Proficiency working with firmware development tools such as JLink, Keil, IAR, or GCC
• Experience with FreeRTOS and embedded Linux
• Strong understanding of FPGA timing, floor planning, and clock domain crossing best practices
• Experience with AMBA bus architectures (AXI, AHB, APB) and custom AXI IP design
• Experience with high‑speed serial interfaces (GbE, PCIe, Aurora, LVDS) and low‑speed interfaces (RS422, UART, I2C, SPI)
• Familiarity with RAM architectures, efficient buffering techniques, and FLASH interfaces (ONFi)
• Experience with image sensors and camera systems

FPGA Manager / Firmware Manager / Hardware Manager: $175,000 – $225,000 USD.

This position may include access to technology and/or software source code that is subject to U.S. export controls. To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

We offer a…