Manager, FPGA Development
Job Summary
The FPGA Manager will lead a team of engineers responsible for developing, implementing, and verifying complex digital designs on Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) for avionics supporting Blue Origin's lunar lander and transport vehicles.
Essential Functions And Responsibilities
Team and technical leadership: Lead, mentor, and manage a team of FPGA engineers, including conducting performance reviews, setting career development plans, and facilitating ongoing training.
Provide technical guidance and oversight throughout the entire FPGA development lifecycle, from architecture definition and requirements gathering to implementation, verification, and validation.
Define and enforce standardized design methodologies, coding standards, and quality assurance processes across all FPGA projects.
Drive continuous improvement within the team by assessing and evaluating new tools, design techniques, and emerging FPGA technologies.
Project and resource management: Manage project schedules, budgets, resource allocation, and technical risks to ensure timely and on-budget delivery of FPGA solutions.
Present project status updates, design reviews, and technical findings to both internal stakeholders and external customers.
Coordinate with other engineering teams—including hardware, software, and systems engineering—to define requirements and manage interfaces.
Partner with the FPGA verification team to ensure designs are verifiable and coverage-closable; align design and DV schedules.
Architecture and design: Direct the architecture and design of FPGA-based solutions for high-performance, real-time applications.
Oversee the implementation of complex digital logic and, where applicable, signal processing algorithms on FPGA platforms.
Ensure designs meet stringent requirements for performance, area, power efficiency, reliability, and security.
Drive the selection and evaluation of appropriate FPGA devices, IP cores, and associated toolchains.
Required Qualifications And Skills
Education: Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
Experience: Minimum of 5+ years of experience in FPGA design and verification. Minimum of 2+ years of experience in technical leadership or management.
Proven experience delivering complex FPGA solutions for real-world products.
Technical skills: Deep expertise in digital design, FPGA architecture, and design tradeoffs. Proficiency with Hardware Description Languages (HDLs) such as SystemVerilog/Verilog/VHDL. Expertise with FPGA vendor toolchains (e.g., AMD/Xilinx Vivado, Intel/Altera Quartus).
Experience with high-speed digital interfaces (e.g., PCIe, DDR4/5, 10/40/100 GbE) and embedded processors on FPGAs (SoC).
Knowledge of standard verification methodologies (e.g., UVM) and tools (e.g., QuestaSim/ModelSim or equivalent).
Familiarity with lab bring-up, debugging tools (e.g., ILA), and high-speed test equipment.
Soft skills: Exceptional leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills. Strong problem-solving, analytical, and critical thinking abilities. Proven ability to work effectively in a cross-functional team environment.
Additional Desirable Skills
Knowledge of specific application areas, such as communications, radar, software-defined radios, or embedded systems.
Familiarity with version control systems (e.g., Git) and project tracking software (e.g., Jira).
Knowledge of digital signal processing (DSP) theory and implementation techniques.
Experience with DO-254 (airborne electronic hardware) or equivalent safety-critical FPGA development processes.
Aerospace, defense, spaceflight, or other high-reliability / safety-critical FPGA background.
Experience managing a geographically distributed team.
Familiarity with formal verification, CDC methodology, and IP reuse strategies.