Senior FPGA Engineer

Senior FPGA Engineer

Location: Newport
Security Clearance: SC Required on Submission
Nationality Requirement: Sole British Nationals Only
Contract Length: 6 Months Initial Contract (Likely Ongoing Extensions)
Working Pattern: Full Time Onsite | 37 Hours Per Week | 4.5 Day Week
IR35 Status: Off-Payroll Working Rules (IR35) Apply
Rate: Up to £85.00 per hour Umbrella
Interview Process: Virtual Interview followed by Face-to-Face Interview

Senior FPGA Engineer

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Senior FPGA Engineer to join a leading Defence and Aerospace programme, delivering advanced FPGA solutions for cutting-edge technology projects.

This role offers the opportunity to work across the full FPGA development lifecycle, from requirements capture and architecture definition through to implementation, verification and integration. The successful candidate will play a key role in delivering high-quality FPGA solutions within a secure and technically challenging environment while supporting mission-critical programmes and innovative engineering developments.

Experience is valued above qualifications, making this an excellent opportunity for a proven FPGA specialist with a strong track record of delivering complex FPGA designs.

Key Responsibilities

The Senior FPGA Engineer will be responsible for ensuring FPGA solutions meet all customer and product requirements through:

Analysing system requirements and defining FPGA solutions, work packages and development estimates.
Producing FPGA architectural designs, detailed designs and supporting technical documentation.
Developing and implementing FPGA designs using industry-standard methodologies.
Conducting FPGA verification activities to ensure compliance with design requirements.
Integrating FPGA designs onto target hardware platforms.
Providing technical FPGA support across engineering teams and projects.
Leading, mentoring and reviewing the work of other FPGA engineers where appropriate.
Supporting continuous improvement activities relating to FPGA development processes and procedures.
Managing allocated FPGA work packages to agreed cost, quality and delivery targets.
Providing regular progress reporting and technical updates to engineering leadership.

Essential Skills & Experience

Candidates should be able to demonstrate:

Significant commercial experience in FPGA design and development.
Strong proficiency in VHDL.
Experience using FPGA simulation tools.
Experience using FPGA synthesis tools.
Excellent understanding of requirements capture, work package definition and estimation.
Strong knowledge of FPGA development lifecycles, methodologies and best practices.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Strong stakeholder engagement and teamwork capabilities.
Ability to work independently whilst delivering against project milestones.
A proactive, self-motivated and solutions-focused approach.

FPGA Device Experience

Candidates must have recent hands-on FPGA design experience with devices from one or more of the following manufacturers:

Altera
Microsemi
Xilinx

Security Requirements

Must be a Sole British National.
Must hold or be eligible to obtain and maintain SC Security Clearance.
SC Clearance is required at submission stage.

Desirable Experience

Experience with several of the following tools and development environments would be advantageous:

Altera Quartus II
Mentor ModelSim
Microsemi Libero IDE
Microsemi Libero SoC
Xilinx Vivado

What's on Offer?

Competitive contract rates of up to £85.00 per hour Umbrella
Long-term programme with strong potential for extension beyond the initial six-month term.
Opportunity to work on highly advanced Defence and Aerospace technologies.
Exposure to complex FPGA development programmes covering the entire engineering lifecycle.
Collaborative environment alongside experienced engineering specialists.
Opportunity to contribute to innovative, mission-critical projects with real-world impact.

This is an outstanding opportunity for a Senior FPGA Engineer seeking a technically challenging contract position within the Defence and Aerospace sector, where FPGA expertise will directly contribute to the development of next-generation technologies and critical engineering capabilities.

This vacancy is being advertised by Belcan