Principal FPGA Design Engineer

Principal FPGA Design Engineer

up to £70,000 depending on experience

We have opportunities for ambitious FPGA Engineers at Principal level to join our multidisciplinary engineering team at the forefront of additive manufacturing technology.

Our FPGA platforms are central to the control, sensing, communication and real-time processing capabilities of our next-generation products. Working within Research & Development, you will contribute to the full product lifecycle, from concept and architecture through verification, release to production, and long-term support.

These are hands-on engineering roles, combining FPGA design, verification and hardware bring-up with close collaboration across electronics, software, systems, algorithms and mechanical engineering teams. Depending on experience and grade, you will also provide technical leadership, influence engineering strategy, and mentor developing engineers.

The FPGA frequently interfaces with high-speed digital electronics, embedded processors, sensors and analogue circuitry. As such, a strong appreciation of system-level design and hardware/software interaction is essential.

Key Responsibilities

FPGA Design & Development

• Develop FPGA architectures and RTL designs from concept through to production release.
• Design, implement and maintain high-quality VHDL solutions with a focus on performance, reliability, portability and efficient resource utilisation.
• Perform timing analysis, constraint development, timing closure and design optimisation.
• Implement and verify FPGA functionality in both simulation and on target hardware.
• Develop reusable and maintainable IP blocks and design frameworks for use across multiple projects and product generations.
• Support product sustainment, issue investigation and design improvements throughout the product lifecycle.

Verification & Validation

• Develop robust verification environments using modern methodologies including OSVVM and VUnit.
• Create reusable, self-checking testbenches with measurable verification coverage.
• Define verification strategies, plans and acceptance criteria.
• Drive continuous improvement in simulation, regression testing and automated verification workflows.
• Support hardware validation, debugging and system integration activities.

Systems & Product Development

• Capture, analyse and refine requirements, ensuring clear traceability from customer and system requirements through to implementation and verification.
• Work closely with systems, electronics, software, algorithms and test engineers to deliver integrated solutions.
• Evaluate and implement signal processing, control and embedded algorithms within FPGA architectures.
• Contribute to safety, reliability and compliance activities, including design assurance and audit-ready engineering evidence.
• Produce and maintain high-quality technical documentation, including architecture specifications, interface definitions, verification reports and design rationale.

Strategic & Architectural Leadership

• Define FPGA architecture roadmaps and technical direction across multiple products and programmes.
• Assess and introduce new technologies, design methodologies and verification approaches.
• Act as a recognised subject matter expert for FPGA and digital systems engineering.
• Influence system-level architecture decisions and long-term technology strategy.

Essential Requirements

Senior FPGA Engineer

• Degree in Electronic Engineering, Physics, Computer Engineering or a related discipline.
• Strong commercial experience developing FPGA solutions using VHDL.
• Solid understanding of digital design principles, including: Timing analysis and timing closureClock domain crossing techniquesReset architecturesPipelining and resource optimisationHigh-speed digital interfaces
• Experience implementing and verifying FPGA designs in simulation and on hardware.
• Understanding of FPGA development tools and design flows.
• Ability to communicate effectively within a multidisciplinary engineering team.
• Extensive experience leading the architecture and development of complex FPGA-centric products.
• Recognised expertise in FPGA design, verification and system integration.
• Track record of influencing engineering strategy and technology direction.
• Strong capability in technical leadership across multiple programmes and engineering disciplines.
• Experience defining engineering processes, standards and verification methodologies.

Desirable Requirements

• Experience with Intel (Altera) FPGA devices and Quartus development tools.
• Experience of OSVVM, VUnit and modern verification methodologies.
• Familiarity with VS Code, Active-HDL or equivalent simulation environments.
• Knowledge of embedded software development using C, C++ or Python.
• Experience with Git, Azure DevOps and continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) workflows.
• Understanding of DSP, control systems and numerical algorithms.
• Knowledge of high-speed digital design, EMC and mixed-signal electronics.
• Experience working within regulated or safety-conscious product development environments.

Person Specification

You are a passionate and capable engineer who enjoys solving complex technical challenges and delivering robust, high-quality products.

You combine strong FPGA design expertise with a systems-level mindset and are comfortable working across disciplinary boundaries. You communicate clearly, collaborate effectively and take ownership of technical outcomes.

At Principal level, you are a recognised technical authority who influences product architecture, engineering strategy and organisational capability while continuing to engage with hands-on engineering challenges.