Senior FPGA Engineer
Astranis
$175,000 - $240,000 / year
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Description
Astranis builds advanced satellites for high orbits, expanding humanity’s reach into the solar system. Today, Astranis satellites provide dedicated, secure networks to highly-sophisticated customers across the globe— large enterprises, sovereign governments, and the US military. With five satellites on orbit and many more set to launch soon, the company is servicing a backlog of more than $1 billion of commercial contracts.
Astranis is the preferred satellite communications partner for buyers with stringent requirements for uptime, data security, network visibility, and customization. Astranis has raised over $750 million from some of the world’s best investors, from Andreessen Horowitz to Blackrock and Fidelity, and employs a team of 450 engineers and entrepreneurs. Astranis designs, builds, and operates its satellites out of its 153,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Northern California, USA.
Senior FPGA Engineer
As a Senior FPGA Engineer you'll be responsible for the architecture, the design, the verification, and test of RTL designs for the FPGAs that go into the spacecraft and on the ground station. You will work closely with the software, DSP and hardware teams to achieve design requirements.
Role
- Design RTL for high performance systems including software defined radios, avionics and ground systems, for commercial and US Government projects
- Work with multiple FPGAs and toolchains
- Interface FPGAs with high speed data converters, memories, MCUs
- Design, implement and test radiation mitigation schemes on FPGA
- Collaborate closely with DSP/radio algorithm designers
- Collaborate closely with embedded firmware and software engineers
- Assist in recruiting, interviewing, and hiring additional teammates to our rapidly-growing team.
Requirements
- Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering, computer science, computer engineering, or equivalent
- 5+ years of experience
- A passion for hardware development, including working in a fast-paced environment and hands-on design and development
- Experience in designing, implementing, and testing high throughput systems implemented on FPGAs
- Familiarity with system level estimates and implications of power, thermal, and real estate
- Strong proficiency with Verilog/SystemVerilog for both synthesis and verification
- Writing test benches and FPGA verification at module level and at top/system level
- Experience with C/C++ bit accurate modeling of RTL modules.
Bonus
- MS or PhD in computer engineering or equivalent
- Considerable expertise in at least 1 domain beyond just the logic design. This could be DSP/radio design, software, encryption, FEC encoding/decoding.
- Experience with Xilinx Ultrascale/Ultrascale+/Versal FPGA’s
- Experience with Vivado IDE, TCL
- Experience with high speed data converters (ADCs, DACs, JESD204)
- Experience with UVM and DPI simulation methodologies
- Experience with circuit level debugging
- Experience with digital communication theory and implementation, DVB-S2X modulation/demodulation, FEC encoding/decoding as LDPC, Turbo, Reed-Solomon, Channelization, FIR/IIR filtering, I/Q signaling.
- Experience with space-based systems, Radiation tolerant design, such as TMR and ECC
- Experience with UVM
Base pay is just one component of Astranis’s total rewards package. Your compensation also includes a significant equity package via incentive stock options, high-quality company-subsidized healthcare, disability and life insurance, 401(k) retirement planning, flexible PTO, and free on-site catered meals.
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Benefits
- 401(k)
- paid time off
- stock options
- life insurance
About this role
Astranis operates satellites in high orbit serving government and enterprise customers with demanding security and uptime requirements, and this role sits at the core of that mission. As a Senior FPGA Engineer, you'll own the architecture, design, verification, and test of RTL for the FPGAs powering both spacecraft and ground station systems—including software-defined radios and avionics for commercial and US Government projects. You'll work across multiple FPGA toolchains and collaborate closely with DSP, radio algorithm, firmware, and software teams to translate system requirements into high-performance hardware.
The role demands strong fundamentals: at least five years of hands-on FPGA design experience, fluency in Verilog/SystemVerilog for synthesis and verification, and the ability to reason through power, thermal, and physical constraints at the system level. You should be comfortable designing radiation mitigation schemes, interfacing with high-speed data converters, and writing comprehensive test benches from module to top-level. Experience with C/C++ bit-accurate modeling and familiarity with Xilinx tools are expected; deeper expertise in DSP, radio design, digital communications, or space systems will strengthen your candidacy.
Beyond technical depth, you'll help grow the team by participating in recruiting and hiring. The position requires US citizenship or equivalent status due to export regulations. Compensation ranges from $175K to $240K base, plus equity, comprehensive healthcare, and other benefits. This is an in-office role in San Francisco at a well-funded company with five satellites already operational and a substantial contract backlog.
How this employer is doing
solid
- News: Recently Raised Funding
- Hiring Mentioned
- Recently Raised Funding
In the news
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Pay for this role
$175,000 to $240,000 per year
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