FPGA Engineering Manager

Position Title: FPGA Engineering Manager
Requisition ID: 1769
Position Location: Sterling, VA
Position Reports To: Manager, Space Electronics
Supervises Others: Yes

At Trident Systems Space Electronic Systems (SES) division, we believe in the power of using strong engineering principles to drive innovation and solve complex problems. We foster a culture of rigorous engineering and continuous improvement, leveraging the full knowledge of our organization through collaborative product development processes that include design and peer reviews. We combine our expertise in space electronics with right-sized development processes to create innovative, high-performance space-based electronic systems that meet our customers' evolving needs.

We are a mission partner supporting DoD, Intelligence Community, and Civil space customers. We develop complex, radiation effects mitigated, designs that balance competing requirements in modern space programs, delivering cutting-edge solutions that enable our customers to achieve more in space.

Position Summary

The FPGA Engineering Manager leads FPGA engineering efforts supporting spaceborne power electronics, avionics, and compute platforms. This is a highly technical leadership role intended for an experienced FPGA engineer who remains deeply engaged in architecture, design, implementation, verification, integration, and technical problem solving.

The role will initially focus heavily on modular power electronics and embedded control applications, while maintaining flexibility to support broader compute and avionics programs as business needs evolve. Unlike traditional management-focused roles, this position is expected to remain primarily hands-on, directly contributing to FPGA development activities while also providing functional leadership through mentorship, technical oversight, engineering standards development, and support of staffing and team growth.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Architect, design, implement, and verify FPGA-based digital systems for modular power electronics, avionics, and compute applications
• Serve as technical lead for FPGA development efforts including architecture reviews, implementation strategy, debug, and integration
• Perform RTL development in Verilog, SystemVerilog, and/or VHDL
• Perform FPGA implementation including synthesis, place-and-route, timing closure, CDC analysis, and hardware debug
• Develop or review simulation environments, verification strategies, and validation methodologies
• Support board bring-up, integration, and root cause analysis of hardware/system issues
• Develop and promote reusable FPGA architectures, design methodologies, and engineering best practices
• Mentor FPGA engineers through design reviews, technical coaching, and day-to-day engineering guidance
• Help coordinate FPGA staffing assignments, technical priorities, and engineering workload across programs
• Support recruiting, interviewing, onboarding, and engineering team growth
• Interface directly with electrical, software, systems, integration, manufacturing, quality, and test teams
• Support technical proposals, customer reviews, and business growth activities
• Perform other duties as assigned

Required Qualifications

• B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field with 9+ years of related experience (or Graduate degree with 6+ years)
• Significant experience designing FPGA-based digital systems using Verilog, SystemVerilog, and/or VHDL
• Experience with FPGA implementation including timing closure, CDC analysis, simulation, debug, and integration
• Experience leading technical FPGA development efforts
• Experience mentoring engineers and providing technical leadership
• Strong written and verbal communication skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior functional leadership or technical team leadership experience
• Experience with power electronics control, battery systems, telemetry, sequencing, protection logic, or embedded control systems
• Experience with aerospace, space electronics, or other high-reliability applications
• Experience with radiation effects mitigation or fault-tolerant design
• Experience with embedded SoC FPGA platforms, processor integration, DMA, or compute-oriented FPGA systems
• Experience establishing FPGA development processes, design standards, or verification methodologies

Trident Systems reserves the right to change or assign other duties to this position.

Benefits

Hired applicants may be eligible for benefits including but not limited to:

• Health benefits
  • Medical
  • Dental
  • Vision
  • Basic life with AD&D
  • Short term disability
  • Long term disability
  • Ancillary (Voluntary life with AD&D, accident, critical illness, hospital, and pet)
  • Spending accounts (HSA, FSA, and DCFSA)
• Paid time off
• Holidays
• 401(k) (including company match)
• Tuition reimbursement
• Leaves (Parental, maternity, and military)
• Annual discretionary bonus (for eligible roles)

Trident Solutions is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. To request reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact recruiting@tridsys.com.

Pay Transparency: The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor's legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)