FPGA Engineer (Chicago)

Our client is a leading technology-driven trading firm operating at the forefront of electronic financial markets. With a strong emphasis on engineering excellence, the business develops sophisticated hardware and software solutions to solve complex, performance-critical challenges.

Technology is central to its success, with engineering teams working closely with trading professionals to develop innovative systems that deliver measurable results. The environment encourages technical ownership, rigorous problem-solving and continuous improvement, offering engineers the opportunity to work on challenging projects where performance, reliability and precision are essential.

The Role:

The firm is seeking an FPGA Hardware Engineer to design and develop bespoke hardware solutions that enhance the performance of high-speed trading systems and network infrastructure.

You will take ownership of hardware development from initial research and architectural design through to implementation, testing and integration. Working alongside software engineers, traders and infrastructure specialists, you will identify opportunities to accelerate critical systems, explore emerging technologies and translate complex requirements into robust, low-latency hardware solutions.

Key responsibilities include:

• Design and implement FPGA-based solutions to accelerate trading systems, network infrastructure and other performance-critical components.
• Research emerging hardware platforms and low-latency techniques, assessing their potential to improve existing systems.
• Lead hardware development throughout the engineering lifecycle, from initial concept and design through verification and deployment.
• Collaborate with software developers, traders and infrastructure engineers to deliver integrated hardware and software solutions.
• Evaluate, integrate and optimise third-party hardware, ensuring compatibility with advanced server architectures and FPGA platforms.
• Develop bespoke hardware solutions where existing commercial products do not meet performance or integration requirements.
• Manage relationships with external hardware vendors to support technical development and platform integration.

About You:

You are an experienced hardware engineer with a strong digital design background and a genuine interest in solving complex engineering challenges. You enjoy working across hardware and software boundaries, taking ownership of technical problems and delivering reliable solutions in performance-sensitive environments.

You will ideally bring:

• A Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science or a related technical discipline.
• Practical experience designing, developing, testing and verifying FPGA and/or ASIC-based systems.
• Proficiency in hardware description languages, including VHDL, Verilog or SystemVerilog, alongside C or C++ programming experience.
• Experience with RTL synthesis and defining timing, area and other design constraints.
• Familiarity with digital simulation tools and the development of self-checking testbenches.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with an appreciation for design quality, system reliability and performance optimisation.
• The ability to collaborate effectively with software engineers and other technical stakeholders to deliver integrated systems.

Desirable Experience:

The following experience would be advantageous:

• Post-silicon bring-up, hardware validation and debugging.
• Integrating FPGAs with high-performance server hardware and network interfaces.
• Developing low-latency hardware architectures or accelerating computationally intensive workloads.
• Working with third-party hardware vendors and evaluating emerging technologies for production use.

What's on Offer:

• Competitive compensation: An indicative base salary of $150,000–$300,000 USD, depending on experience, qualifications and technical expertise.
• Performance-related rewards: Eligibility for discretionary bonuses and participation in a global profit-sharing programme.
• Retirement benefits: 401(k) matching of up to 50%.
• Comprehensive healthcare: Medical, dental, vision, mental health, disability and life insurance coverage.
• Generous leave: 25 days of paid annual leave, in addition to market holidays.
• Collaborative engineering culture: Work alongside talented professionals from a broad range of technical and international backgrounds.
• Supportive working environment: Access to office amenities, meals, social events, clubs and sporting activities.
• Meaningful technical challenges: The opportunity to develop bespoke hardware solutions in an environment where performance, reliability and engineering innovation directly influence business outcomes.

Apply:

If you are passionate about digital hardware design and want to apply your FPGA expertise to technically challenging, performance-critical systems, we would welcome the opportunity to speak with you.

Apply today to find out more about this opportunity and how your experience could contribute to the development of next-generation trading technology.