What are the responsibilities and job description for the FPGA Design Engineer position at Sperry Rail?
Position Summary
We are seeking an experienced FPGA Design Engineer with strong expertise in VHDL programming for Altera (Intel) FPGA platforms. The ideal candidate will bring a proven track record in digital design and FPGA workflows, with exposure to Xilinx FPGAs being a strong advantage. This role is critical to the ongoing development and maintenance of our high-performance, real-time systems.
Essential Responsibilities
- Design, implement, and verify FPGA logic using VHDL for mission-critical embedded systems.
- Develop, optimize, and maintain FPGA architectures across Intel Quartus (Altera) platforms; familiarity with Xilinx Vivado/ISE is a plus.
- Collaborate with cross-disciplinary hardware and software teams to define FPGA requirements, interfaces, and integration workflows.
- Perform simulation, synthesis, place-and-route, and timing closure to meet performance and reliability targets.
- Create and execute test benches (e.g., in GHDL/ModelSim) to validate design functionality.
- Debug FPGA designs using logic analyzers, JTAG debuggers, SignalTap, and Chipscope/ILA.
- Support system bring-up, validation, and troubleshooting in both lab and field environments.
- Document designs, maintain coding standards, and manage version control.
Organizational Relationship/Scope
- Reports to Director, Systems Engineering
- Interacts at all levels within the organization
- Interacts with customer personnel at various levels
- Interacts across departmental boundaries
- Scope: Actions have a significant impact on customer relationships and the financial conditions of the Company
Working Conditions
- Location: Onsite – Shelton, CT.
- Work Environment: Collaborative, engineering-driven, and innovation-focused culture with opportunities to work on high-impact projects.
Safety Compliance
Adhere to all company safety policies and procedures to ensure a safe work environment. Report any safety violations or near misses.
Additional Duties
Other duties may be assigned with or without accommodation as business needs require.
DISCLAIMER:
The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of employees assigned to this position.
Equal Opportunity Employer: We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all qualified individuals regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field.
- 3 years of hands-on experience in FPGA design with a focus on VHDL.
- Proficiency in Intel Quartus Prime (Altera FPGA toolchain).
- Strong knowledge of digital design fundamentals: finite state machines, FIFOs, DSPs, memory architectures, and timing analysis.
- Experience with test bench creation and simulation tools (ModelSim, Questa, or equivalent).
- Strong debugging skills using FPGA development tools and hardware instrumentation.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with Xilinx FPGA toolchains (Vivado/ISE).
- Knowledge of Verilog, SystemVerilog, or High-Level Synthesis (HLS).
- Familiarity with high-speed communication interfaces (PCIe, Ethernet, DDR, JESD204).
- Exposure to embedded processors and FPGA SoCs (Nios II, MicroBlaze, ARM cores).
- Experience with revision control systems (Git, SVN) and CI/CD pipelines for FPGA projects.
