FPGA Engineer (Space)

About us

One team. Global challenges. Infinite opportunities. At Viasat, we're on a mission to deliver connections with the capacity to change the world. For more than 35 years, Viasat has helped shape how consumers, businesses, governments and militaries around the globe communicate. We're looking for people who think big, act fearlessly, and create an inclusive environment that drives positive impact to join our team.

What you'll do

As a senior FPGA Engineer on the Space Infrastructure team, you will design, implement, and deliver high speed signal-processing algorithms, cryptography, and/or network protocols in FPGAs. You will be responsible for the full design phase starting from the requirements phase to documentation, block diagrams, implementation of source code, simulation, place and route, testing in hardware, and integration. You will collaborate with other engineers from different fields and must be capable of working in both a small team setting and a larger team setting. You will be able to use your engineering experience to support the next generation of advanced communications products and systems.

The day-to-day

• Own the architecture, design, and implementation of FPGA based digital systems
• Develop RTL in Verilog, SystemVerilog, or VHDL for control, data processing, and communication functions
• Integrate and deploy designs on FPGA and FPGA SoC platforms
• Collaborate with team members to jointly develop high-speed digital signal processing and waveform processing algorithms supporting satellite communications applications
• Develop timing constraints, analyze timing results, and implement design changes required to close timing
• Support bring up, integration, and debug in the lab using logic analyzers, scopes, and other instrumentation
• Participate and lead system level trade studies, FPGA utilization, design, and code reviews
• Maintain and control FPGA code revision history
• Create clear documentation and support test, validation, and production efforts
• Contribute to improving FPGA design standards, workflows, and development practices
• Works autonomously with little instruction to solve well-defined problems

What you'll need

• Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering or a related field
• 6+ years FPGA design experience, including Xilinx Vivado
• Strong knowledge of System Verilog and/or VHDL
• Foundational knowledge of digital logic and timing considerations
• Experience with RTL design for various signal processing blocks, including but not limited to equalizers, correlators, filters, FEC encoders and decoders
• Experience with Programmable Logic EDA tools, such as AMD/Xilinx ISE/Vivado, Intel/Altera Quartus, Siemens/Mentor Graphics, Synopsys Synplify
• Proven track record to design and implement FPGA modules with simulation and testbench development
• Experience designing and coding for re-use, maintainability and scalability
• Experienced in the use of lab equipment including logic analyzers, DMM, spectrum analyzers
• Ability to read schematics and work closely with hardware design teams
• Good oral and written communications skills
• US citizenship
• Ability to travel up to 10%

What will help you on the job

• MSEE degree preferred
• Familiarity with TCL, Perl, Python or another scripting language
• Experience with high-speed interfaces like SERDES, DDR2/3/4, LVDS
• System Verilog design verification techniques, UVM, or other sophisticated verification methodologies
• RTL optimization
• Experience and familiarity with Linux-based development environments
• Experience with GitHub
• Experience with Matlab
• Familiarity with CI/CD practices
• Familiarity with AI Agents (e.g. Copilot, Claude, Cursor, etc.)
• Strong troubleshooting skills
• Understanding and knowledge of Satellite communication waveforms and standards

Salary range

$132,500.00 - $209,500.00 / annually. For specific work locations within San Jose, the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, the base pay range for this role is $164,500.00- $246,500.00/ annually

At Viasat, we consider many factors when it comes to compensation, including the scope of the position as well as your background and experience. Base pay may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Additional cash or stock incentives may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to a range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the position offered. Learn more about Viasat's comprehensive benefit offerings that are focused on your holistic health and wellness at https://careers.viasat.com/benefits.

EEO Statement

Viasat is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, seeking to create a welcoming and diverse environment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital status, genetics, age, or veteran status or any other applicable legally protected status or characteristic. If you would like to request an accommodation on the basis of disability for completing this on-line application, please click here.