Principal Engineer - FPGA

Principal FPGA & Embedded Software Engineer Are you a Technical Support Engineer looking for an interesting and inspiring opportunity? Would you enjoy designing innovative software for energy products? Partner with the best Baker Hughes is a global energy technology company serving the oil and gas sector across more than 120 countries.

The Commercial & Sales organization drives growth by building strong customer partnerships, commercializing hydrocarbons, and delivering integrated equipment and service solutions. With a focus on digital transformation and energy transition, the team leverages data-driven insights to optimize sales performance and maximize customer value.

Join our Waygate Team The Waygate Technologies site in Skaneateles, NY specializes in Remote Visual Inspection equipment, with our industrial borescope leading the world with our measurement capability. A typical application would use our borescopes to peer inside the combustion chamber of a jet engine to locate and measure a dent, crack, or other defect to within several thousandths of an inch! Everything is located right in Skaneateles, NY, from R&D, manufacturing, software development, and repair leading to constant collaboration between teams.

Fuel your passion We are seeking a Principal FPGA & Embedded Software Engineer to serve as the technical owner of our FPGA architecture and image data pipeline. This is a hands on individual contributor role with significant influence over system architecture, HW/SW partitioning, and long-term technology direction. You will be the expert for FPGA design and image chain implementation, working closely with electrical, software, and mechanical engineers. As the organization grows, this role has a clear path to technical or team leadership, based on interest and performance.

You will be responsible for FPGA & Image Pipeline Architecture

Owning the FPGA architecture for image acquisition, processing, and data movement across image sensors, memory, processors, and display/recording subsystems. Designing, implementing, and optimizing FPGA logic with a focus on timing closure, resource efficiency, determinism, and scalability. Developing and integrating FPGA IP related to image sensors, high-speed video/data interfaces, DMA, and control paths. Documenting FPGA design, build, validation, and deployment processes.

Embedded Linux & HW/SW Co Design

Developing and maintaining Linux kernel drivers and low-level software for FPGA IP in a Xilinx Petalinux environment. Defining HW/SW partitioning and system interfaces (FPGA CPU GPU/DSP). Supporting system bring-up, debugging, and performance tuning across FPGA, bootloader, kernel, and user space. Collaborating with software teams on control, visualization, and automation strategies.

To be successful in this role you will:

• Have a B.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering or related engineering degree from an accredited college or university
• Have strong experience in FPGA development (Verilog/VHDL/SystemVerilog).
• Have a proven ability to achieve timing closure and resource optimization on complex designs.
• Have experience developing Linux kernel drivers or low-level embedded software for FPGA-based systems.
• Have familiarity with Xilinx toolchains, including Petalinux and associated build flows.
• Have experience with image sensors, video pipelines, or high-bandwidth data paths.
• Have hands‑on system bring‑up and debugging experience on custom hardware.

Preferred

• Have experience influencing or reviewing schematic and PCB designs (Altium or similar).
• Have a background in DSP concepts related to imaging or signal processing.
• Have experience supporting manufacturing test and production ramp‑up.
• Have prior technical leadership or architecture ownership in an R&D environment.

Work in a way that works for you

We recognize that everyone is different and that the way in which people want to work and deliver at their best is different for everyone too. In this role, we can offer the following flexible working patterns: The position requires individuals to be on-site so they can work with the various design and development teams along with supporting the manufacturing operations. Working hours are Monday-Friday, 8AM-5PM.

Working with us

Our people are at the heart of what we do at Baker Hughes. We know we are better when all of our people are developed, engaged and able to bring their whole authentic selves to work. We invest in the health and well‑being of our workforce, train and reward talent and develop leaders at all levels to bring out the best in each other.

Working for you

Our inventions have revolutionized energy for over a century. But to keep going forward tomorrow, we know we have to push the boundaries today. We prioritize rewarding those who embrace change with a package that reflects how much we value their input.

Join us, and you can expect:

• Contemporary work-life balance policies and wellbeing activities
• Comprehensive private medical care options
• Safety net of life insurance and disability programs
• Tailored financial programs
• Additional elected or voluntary benefits

This position requires current work authorization in the country of employment. The employer is unable to provide or continue work authorization sponsorship for this role. The annual pay scale for this position is between $136,000.00 - $252,540.00. Candidates for this role (office-based/ hybrid/ remote) must be located in or near the locations displayed above. The pay range/scale displayed above represents Baker Hughes’ good faith estimate of the minimum and maximum for this position at the time of this posting and applies to the possible locations for this position. Baker Hughes will issue a non-bias competitive offer; the salary range posted for this position reflects the projected hiring range for new hires, full-time salaries in some U.S. locations, not including equity or benefits. Where an applicant will ultimately fall within the pay range/scale depends on a variety of factors, including, for example, geographic work location, skillset, qualifications, internal pay alignment, level of experience, and demonstrated performance over time. Please keep in mind that the range stated above is the full base salary range for the role and does not include other forms of compensation.

You will be eligible to participate in Company-sponsored benefit programs, including health & welfare programs and the Thrift Plan (401k). You will have a choice of coverage options that best suit your needs. Coverage options and contribution amounts are related to your benefit elections, base salary level, and specific requirements of each of these plans. This position is eligible for our comprehensive and competitive benefits package, which can be found here, and is further eligible for additional forms of compensation such as bonuses subject to the terms of the applicable benefit plans or policies.

The Baker Hughes internal title for this role is: Technical Leader, Product Design and Engineering

At Baker Hughes, we are transforming the future of energy. With operations in over 120 countries, we are developing and deploying industry-leading technologies and services to take energy forward. For more than a century, our inventions have revolutionized energy. Today, we are bringing our expertise to make oil and gas safer, cleaner, and more efficient. Our people are the trusted experts, relied on to solve customer challenges big and small. We invest in the health and well‑being of our workforce, train and reward talent, and develop leaders at all levels to bring out the best in each other. We believe in creating an environment of diversity and inclusion, without bias. We know we are better when all of our people are developed, engaged, and able to bring their whole authentic selves to work. We're makers, inventors, and leaders who aren't afraid of the tough challenges. We believe pushing boundaries will help to lead the way for a new energy future.