Staff Engineer, FPGA Design

About the role

Shieldai creates intelligent systems to keep service members and civilians safe through advanced autonomy. As a Staff Engineer, you will build FPGA-based communication modules for our autonomous aircraft platforms. You will influence our technical direction while ensuring our hardware meets the demands of global operations.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Architect and build FPGA communication modules for UAV platforms.
• Create systems for timing synchronization and redundancy within flight controllers.
• Work with engineering teams to merge FPGA designs into broader system architectures.
• Manage the full design flow including synthesis, implementation, timing closure, and bitstream creation.
• Test and refine designs to improve throughput, latency, and reliability.
• Assist PCB designers during hardware validation and board bring-up.
• Lead architecture discussions and document technical designs.

Requirements

• B.S., M.S., or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related STEM field such as Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering.
• Proven experience designing, implementing, and verifying FPGAs using SystemVerilog or VHDL.
• Ability to construct high-performance digital communication systems.
• Deep knowledge of system-level integration, clock domain crossing, and timing closure.
• Proficiency with Git version control.
• Ability to solve complex problems and debug hardware in a changing environment.

Nice to have

• Experience with the Xilinx Vivado ecosystem and toolchains.
• Background in network stack and ethernet implementation.
• History of developing flight computers or safety-critical real-time systems.
• Familiarity with memory-mapped interfaces, AXI-Stream, and AXI4.
• Skills in TCL scripting for build automation.
• Understanding of CI/CD workflows for FPGA projects.

Skills & tools

• FPGA Design
• VHDL
• SystemVerilog
• Timing Analysis
• Git
• Xilinx Vivado
• AXI4 / AXI-Stream
• TCL Scripting

Practical notes

Compensation includes a base salary, bonus, equity, and benefits. Final pay is determined by experience, certifications, skills, and location. Employment is subject to a background check. Shieldai is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. Please notify us if you require disability accommodations during the hiring process.