Senior FPGA Prototyping Engineer

K2 Space Corporation builds high-power satellite platforms for missions ranging from low Earth orbit to deep space. The Senior FPGA Prototyping Engineer will lead FPGA prototyping, firmware enablement, first-silicon bring-up, hardware validation, and automated test infrastructure for next-generation communications ASICs.

Responsibilities

• Develop FPGA-based prototypes to enable early ASIC integration, firmware development, and system validation
• Build hardware platforms that allow software and firmware teams to develop before first silicon
• Support first-silicon bring-up, debug, and functional validation
• Develop automated validation infrastructure for silicon characterization and regression testing
• Configure and validate digital interfaces including high-speed Ethernet SerDes, SPI, UART, GPIO, and other peripheral interfaces
• Develop FPGA-based traffic generators, protocol checkers, and test applications for interface validation
• Debug issues spanning RTL, firmware, software, FPGA prototypes, and silicon using simulation and laboratory instrumentation
• Collaborate closely with ASIC Design, Verification, Firmware, Software, Systems, and DFT teams to accelerate product development

Preferred

• Experience with networking, communications, or satellite systems
• Experience with embedded processors (ARM or RISC-V)
• Experience working with hard real-time embedded systems (bare-metal or RTOS)
• Experience validating high-speed digital interfaces, including Ethernet and SerDes protocols, SPI, and UART
• Experience with silicon bring-up using JTAG, logic analyzers, and oscilloscopes
• Networking experience
• Communications experience
• Satellite systems experience
• Embedded processors experience
• ARM experience
• RISC-V experience
• Real-time embedded systems experience
• Bare-metal experience
• RTOS experience
• High-speed digital interfaces validation
• Ethernet protocols
• SerDes protocols
• SPI experience
• UART experience
• Silicon bring-up experience
• JTAG experience
• Logic analyzers experience
• Oscilloscopes experience

Benefits

• Equity in the company
• Comprehensive benefits package including paid time off, medical/dental/vision/ coverage, life insurance, paid parental leave, and many other perks

Company

• High-power satellite platforms for Earth-orbit and cislunar missions
• Los Angeles, California, USA
• https://www.k2space.com/
• Founded in 2022
• 51-200 employees

Qualifications

• BS or MS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field
• 5+ years of FPGA development experience using Verilog/SystemVerilog and AMD/Xilinx FPGA tools
• Strong understanding of ASIC development and digital system architecture
• Experience with FPGA prototyping for ASIC development
• Experience with firmware/software enablement and hardware bring-up
• Strong hardware debugging skills using JTAG, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and protocol analyzers
• Proficiency with Python and scripting for automation and test infrastructure
• Experience with networking, communications, or satellite systems
• Experience with embedded processors (ARM or RISC-V)
• Experience working with hard real-time embedded systems (bare-metal or RTOS)
• Experience validating high-speed digital interfaces, including Ethernet and SerDes protocols, SPI, and UART
• Experience with silicon bring-up using JTAG, logic analyzers, and oscilloscopes
• 5+ years of FPGA development experience using Verilog/SystemVerilog and AMD/Xilinx FPGA tools.

Required skills

• FPGA Development, Verilog/SystemVerilog, AMD/Xilinx FPGA Tools, ASIC Development, Digital System Architecture, FPGA Prototyping, Firmware/Software Enablement, Hardware Bring-Up, Hardware Debugging, JTAG, Oscilloscopes, Logic Analyzers, Python, Scripting for Automation and Test Infrastructure

Preferred skills

• Experience with embedded processors (ARM or RISC-V)

Experience

• 5+ years