Sr. FPGA Engineer (Starshield)

SR. FPGA ENGINEER (STARSHIELD)

Starshield leverages SpaceX’s launch capability and Starlink technology to support national security efforts. While Starlink is designed for consumer and commercial use, Starshield is designed for government use, with an initial focus on earth observation, communications, and hosted payloads.

The satellite engineering team is hiring for satellite programs that are pushing the boundaries of in-space capabilities. Our missions support scientific research, classified national security space and commercial opportunities. Software engineering and innovation is at the core of these programs.

The satellite software team is building highly reliable in-space networks, designing secure systems to guarantee access to space, and creating autonomous satellite operation systems, and more. Aerospace experience is not required to be successful here – we want our engineers to bring fresh ideas from all areas, love solving problems, and seek to make an impact on an inspiring mission. As we expand this team, we’re looking for versatile, driven, and collaborative engineers.  

As a Sr. FPGA Engineer on the satellite digital design team, you will be designing, developing, and testing FPGAs that supports safety critical logic, sensors, cryptography, and RF/optical communications systems for SpaceX’s satellite constellation. You will engage with other SpaceX engineers to discover the needs of the missions and code highly reliable digital designs which turn the mission into reality. You will be responsible for the complete lifecycle of the FPGA designs you create, including development, testing, and support. 

RESPONSIBILITIES: 

• Own the conceptual, architectural, and design components of digital, signal processing, and communication systems supporting various SpaceX satellite spacecraft  
• Implement logic designs and signals processing algorithms in RTL  
• Integrate designs onto FPGA/SoC platforms  
• Bring up and validate devices that communicate to and fly in space
• Work in close collaboration with RF/antenna, software, and other DSP engineers to design and validate software-defined radio systems  

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:  

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, electrical engineering, math or other engineering discipline and 5+ years of professional software development experience; OR 7+ years of professional experience in software development in lieu of a degree 
• 2+ years experience developing for FPGA platforms 
• 2+ years experience using Verilog, SystemVerilog, or VHDL

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:  

• Experience working with complex digital designs  
• Experience in different stages of FPGA development: RTL design, verification, synthesis, timing analysis, lab bring up/validation  
• Experience integrating logic onto SoC platforms and designing high-throughput PS/PL interfaces  
• Experience developing firmware for Xilinx FPGA platforms using the Xilinx toolchain 
• Experience interfacing with high-rate conversion interfaces (Xilinx RFSoC, AD9361) 
• Experience with common electronic components and comfortable reading circuit design schematics and contributing to hardware design discussions 
• Experience developing software for embedded systems in C or C++, or significant experience in another software language
• Knowledge of DSP concepts including but not limited to spread spectrum, forward error correction, channel estimation, front end theory, impairment recovery, modulation schemes
• Understanding of signal transformations and processing such as FFT, correlation, FIR filter, and IIR filter
• Excellent leadership, communication and teamwork skills 

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS: 

• This position requires successfully obtaining and maintaining a Top Secret Security Clearance as a condition of employment. While the clearance may not be immediately necessary upon hire, we encourage you to initiate the application process promptly upon accepting this offer. Your ability to secure the necessary clearance is essential for fulfilling key responsibilities of the role. Should you be unable to obtain it, SpaceX reserves the right to modify or terminate your employment to align with operational needs
• Must be willing to work extended hours and weekends as needed  

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:  

Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience.