Senior FPGA Engineer

The company is a publicly funded research institute based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The company is home to a diverse community of leading scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and researchers from around the globe, dedicated to transforming challenges into pioneering research and technology prototypes that advance society.

The Directed Energy Research Center at the company is seeking a Senior FPGA Engineer to join the Signals, Electronics, and Acoustics team. The successful candidate will be responsible for designing, developing, integrating, and testing complex FPGA systems for scientific experimental setups or prototypes. This role includes collaboration with a multi-disciplinary engineering team under the supervision of a Lead Researcher.

Responsibilities:

• Architecting and leading the implementation of FPGA designs to solve real-world problems.
• Defining system requirements based on project needs and preparing project specifications.
• Designing tests to ensure FPGA designs operate as intended.
• Developing methods to ensure quality and performance of FPGA designs.
• Designing, implementing, testing, and maintaining reusable IP cores and prototype FPGA systems using SystemVerilog and Verilog.
• Optimizing FPGA designs for Power, Performance, and Area (PPA).
• Collaborating with cross-functional teams including software engineers, hardware engineers, and project managers.
• Writing reports and documentation including project budgeting, planning, and design documents.
• Staying current with the latest digital design methodologies and exploring new techniques for FPGA enhancements.
• Performing risk assessments and presenting designs to managers and end-users.

Skills Required:

• Deep understanding of digital electronics concepts such as clock domains, digital circuit design, timing analysis, and debugging.
• Familiarity with high-speed digital design principles and techniques.
• Proficiency in implementing high-performance PC to FPGA interfaces (10Gb Ethernet preferred).
• Experience with open-source FPGA toolchains (LiteX, Amaranth, yosys, nextpnr).
• Fluency in Verilog and SystemVerilog, and experience with scripting languages (Python, TCL).
• Proficiency in embedded programming languages (like C) and reading hardware schematics.
• Knowledge of digital signal processing techniques and basic electronics lab equipment (multimeter, oscilloscope, logic analyzer).
• Familiarity with version control systems (e.g., Git).
• Strong analytical, critical thinking, and technical writing skills, along with the ability to work either independently or in a team.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related engineering field.
• At least 7 years of relevant industry or academic experience.
• Proficient in project definition and planning, aligning business needs with technology solutions.
• Capable of executing program plans in a collaborative, multi-disciplinary environment.
• Good level of English (speaking and writing) is required.