Principal FPGA Designer – TeraWave

Application close date:

At Blue Origin, we envision millions of people living and working in space for the benefit of Earth. We’re working to develop reusable, safe, and low-cost space vehicles and systems within a culture of safety, collaboration, and inclusion. Join our team of problem solvers as we add new chapters to the history of spaceflight!  

At Blue Origin, we envision millions of people living and working in space for the benefit of Earth. We're working to build a future where access to space is reliable, cost-effective, and routine. Joining our team means you'll be part of a mission-driven organization that values curiosity, collaboration, and bold thinking.

We are seeking a talented and experienced Principal FPGA Designer to join our TeraWave program. In this role, you will provide technical leadership in the design, development, and verification of complex FPGA-based systems supporting high-speed data processing, communications, and signal processing applications. You will work in a dynamic, fast-paced environment where your contributions will directly shape next-generation space systems.

As part of a small, nimble team, you must be comfortable working across disciplines and taking ownership of deliverables from concept through flight. We are looking for someone who shares our passion for our mission and is eager to achieve big things through technical excellence and collaboration.

• →Lead FPGA designs through the full development lifecycle: requirements capture, architecture definition, RTL design, functional simulation, synthesis, place-and-route, timing closure, and hardware bring-up
• →Comply with and refine FPGA design methodologies, coding standards, and best practices throughout the development process
• →Develop and maintain comprehensive verification environments, including testbenches, constrained-random stimulus, and functional coverage models
• →Partner closely with other program stakeholders to define interfaces and ensure end-to-end system performance
• →Support hardware integration and troubleshooting efforts, including lab board bring-up and debug
• →Conduct and participate in design reviews (preliminary, critical, and peer-level) and provide constructive technical feedback
• →Mentor and develop junior and mid-level FPGA engineers; provide technical direction and foster a culture of engineering excellence
• →Evaluate and select FPGA devices, IP cores, EDA tools, and vendor solutions to meet program requirements
• →Contribute to program planning by providing accurate development estimates, identifying technical risks, and proposing opportunities and risk mitigation strategies
• →Develop and maintain design documentation, interface control documents, and test plans in compliance with program configuration management standards
• →Support qualification, acceptance testing, production and on-orbit operations as needed
• →Include features to support DFT and DFM for a high-volume production environment

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical discipline
• 12+ years of hands-on FPGA design and verification experience, with demonstrated leadership at a principal or senior level
• Proficiency in VHDL, Verilog and System Verilog for RTL design and simulation
• Experience with industry-standard FPGA families (AMD Versal, IGLOO and equivalent devices)
• Demonstrated experience with toolchains for synthesis, P&R, and timing analysis
• Strong understanding of high-speed digital design principles, including signal integrity, clock domain crossings, and SERDES-based interfaces (e.g., PCIe,  GTH/GTY transceivers)
• Experience with digital signal processing (DSP) architectures implemented in FPGAs
• Familiarity with hardware/software co-design and embedded processor integration (e.g., AMD Versal devices)
• Demonstrated ability to close complex timing constraints and optimize resource utilization
• Experience with simulation and verification methodologies and tools
• Experience working in a structured engineering environment with configuration management, formal design reviews, and requirements traceability
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; ability to communicate complex technical concepts to diverse audiences

• Master's degree or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field
• Familiarity with space-grade design practices, including single-event effect (SEE) mitigation strategies such as TMR, scrubbing, and fault detection
• Experience with high-speed communications systems or modem development in FPGAs
• Hands-on experience with formal verification tools or UVM-based constrained-random verification environments
• Demonstrated experience mentoring, and technically developing FPGA engineers
• Previous experience in a space, defense, or satellite communications program environment

Base Pay Range for:

Don’t meet all desired requirements? Studies have shown that some people are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single desired qualification. At Blue Origin, we are dedicated to building an authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every desired qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Applicants for employment at Blue Origin must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (i.e. current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

• Required for all positions: Blue’s Standard Background Check
• Required for Certain Job Profiles:  Defense Biometric Identification System (DBIDS) background check if at any time the role requires one to be on a military installation
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• Required for certain Job Profiles: Ability to obtain and maintain Merchant Mariner Credential, which includes pre-employment and random drug testing as well as DOT physical

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