Principal FPGA Engineer

Overview

We're looking for an experienced Senior FPGA Engineer to lead the design and development of FPGA-based solutions for advanced airborne imaging and sensor systems.

You'll own the FPGA architecture behind video processing, sensor integration, stabilisation and control systems, working closely with electronics, software and systems engineers to take products from concept through to flight-ready deployment.

This is a highly hands-on role within a fast-paced engineering environment where you'll have real ownership of technical decisions and see your designs deployed on operational platforms.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead FPGA and SoC design for video processing and control systems.
• Develop RTL using VHDL and/or SystemVerilog.
• Perform simulation, synthesis, timing closure and hardware bring-up.
• Design and implement video processing pipelines including sensor capture, image correction, stabilisation and metadata handling.
• Develop real-time interfaces for control and stabilisation systems.
• Support the development of in-house electronics from prototype through to production.
• Define and execute FPGA verification activities, including testbenches and hardware-in-the-loop testing.
• Debug and resolve hardware, firmware and interface issues.
• Review PCB schematics, FPGA constraints and hardware architectures.
• Maintain engineering standards, configuration control and design documentation.
• Mentor junior engineers and support technical reviews.

Essential Experience

• Degree in Electronics Engineering or a related discipline.
• 10+ years FPGA development experience.
• Strong VHDL and/or SystemVerilog expertise.
• Experience with Xilinx/AMD, Intel or similar FPGA toolchains.
• Proven delivery of FPGA-based video or imaging systems.
• Experience with camera interfaces and high-speed serial protocols.
• Understanding of embedded processor and FPGA integration, including drivers, register maps and boot architectures.
• Strong hardware debugging experience using oscilloscopes, logic analysers and protocol analysers.
• Able to review and work from Altium schematics.

Desirable Experience

• Aerospace, defence or airborne systems experience.
• EO/IR payload, imaging or gimbal systems knowledge.
• Real-time image processing experience.
• Experience taking products from development into production.