Sr FPGA Engineer

Sr FPGA Engineer

Thermo Fisher Scientific's Life Sciences Mass Spectrometry Division (LSMS) is seeking an Embedded Engineer to lead the architecture, development, and lifecycle ownership of high-performance FPGA-based systems used in advanced mass spectrometry instrumentation.

This is a highly visible role responsible for defining FPGA architecture strategy, driving new product development, and ensuring robust production support for mission-critical scientific instrumentation. The successful candidate will serve as a technical authority within the organization and play a key role in enabling next-generation analytical platforms. This is a full-time, permanent R&D position.

Technical Leadership & Architecture

• Define and lead FPGA architecture for high-performance data acquisition and control systems.
• Drive system-level design decisions in collaboration with electrical, firmware, software, mechanical, and systems engineering teams.
• Lead complex FPGA development from concept through production release.
• Own timing closure, resource optimization, power management, and performance tuning.

Design & Development

• Develop FPGA logic using VHDL, Verilog, and/or System Verilog.
• Perform high-level modeling and simulation.
• Execute synthesis, place & route, constraint development, and timing analysis.
• Implement high-speed interfaces (PCIe, DDR, LVDS, Ethernet, SPI, I2C, etc.).
• Integrate SoC FPGA architectures when applicable.

Verification & Validation

• Define and execute FPGA verification strategies.
• Develop simulation environments and regression frameworks.
• Lead board bring-up, hardware integration, and system validation.
• Ensure compliance with product performance, reliability, and manufacturability requirements.

Production & Sustaining Engineering

• Provide expert-level troubleshooting for FPGA-related production or field issues.
• Perform root-cause analysis and corrective design actions.
• Support continuous improvement in FPGA design standards and tool flows.

Organizational Impact

• Mentor and guide junior engineers.
• Establish best practices in coding standards, documentation, and verification methodologies.
• Contribute to long-term FPGA technology roadmaps within LSMS.

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field (Master's preferred).

Experience

• 10+ years of FPGA design experience in complex embedded systems.
• Expert proficiency in VHDL and/or Verilog/SystemVerilog.
• Deep experience with FPGA toolchains (Quartus and/or Xilinx).
• Strong expertise in timing closure, constraint management, and system integration.
• Proven experience integrating FPGA designs into hardware platforms.
• Experience supporting products through NPI, production release, and sustaining phases.
• Strong analytical, debugging, and root-cause analysis skills.
• Excellent communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in scientific instrumentation, analytical equipment, or precision measurement systems.
• Experience with MATLAB/Simulink (HDL Coder/System Generator) or High-Level Synthesis (HLS).
• Experience with high-speed data acquisition systems.
• Familiarity with FPGA-based signal processing pipelines.

Compensation and Benefits

The salary range estimated for this position based in California is $163,100.00–$244,625.00.

This position may also be eligible to receive a variable annual bonus based on company, team, and/or individual performance results in accordance with company policy. We offer a comprehensive Total Rewards package that our U.S. colleagues and their families can count on, which includes:

• A choice of national medical and dental plans, and a national vision plan, including health incentive programs
• Employee assistance and family support programs, including commuter benefits and tuition reimbursement
• At least 120 hours paid time off (PTO), 10 paid holidays annually, paid parental leave (3 weeks for bonding and 8 weeks for caregiver leave), accident and life insurance, and short- and long-term disability in accordance with company policy
• Retirement and savings programs, such as our competitive 401(k) U.S. retirement savings plan
• Employees' Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) offers eligible colleagues the opportunity to purchase company stock at a discount

For more information on our benefits, please visit: