Staff Engineer, FPGA (R3991)

Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed deep-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include the V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, Hivemind Enterprise, and the Hivemind Vision product lines. With nine offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn , X , Instagram , and YouTube .

Shield AI is seeking an exceptional FPGA Firmware Engineer to join the team building our next-generation autonomous UAV platform. This is a rare opportunity to make a direct impact at the earliest stages of development, tackling open-ended design challenges that will shape the future of autonomous flight.

You will collaborate closely with hardware, software, and systems teams to develop high-performance digital designs, enable reliable system communication, and ensure precise synchronization across complex architectures. This is an opportunity to solve challenging technical problems at the forefront of autonomy and aerospace innovation, with a direct impact on fielded capabilities.

WHAT YOU’LL DO:

• Design, implement, and verify FPGA-based communication modules for advanced UAV platforms.
• Develop solutions that enable precise timing synchronization and redundancy across flight controllers.
• Integrate FPGA firmware with system-level architectures in collaboration with cross-functional engineering teams.
• Debug, test, and optimize for reliability, latency, and throughput.
• Add automated tests by integrating with hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) and simulation systems.
• Contribute to FPGA architecture discussions and help define long-term technical direction within the platform.
  
  

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or related field; or equivalent practical experience.
• Strong experience with FPGA design, implementation, and verification using VHDL or SystemVerilog.
• Demonstrated ability to build reliable, high-performance digital communication systems.
• Solid understanding of timing closure, clock domain crossing, and system-level integration.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, collaborative environment with evolving requirements.
  
  

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience with the Xilinx FPGA ecosystem (Vivado, toolchains, etc.).
• In-depth understanding of Ethernet and network stack implementation.
• Familiarity with MIL-STD-1553 avionics data bus.
• Experience designing solutions for safety-critical or real-time systems.
  
  

$166,990 - $250,486 a year

Full-time regular employee offer package:

Pay within range listed Bonus Benefits Equity

Temporary employee offer package:

Pay within range listed above temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment)

Salary compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, licenses and certifications, and specific work location. All offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check. Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits. Please speak to your talent acquisition representative for more information.

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Shield AI is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.