The Role
Lead end-to-end FPGA RTL architecture, design, verification, timing closure, bring-up and on-board validation for high-speed digital, video, and optical-interfacing systems. Collaborate with electronics, RF, and photonics teams and maintain RTL documentation, verification evidence, and coding standards.
Summary Generated by Built In
We are looking for a Senior FPGA Engineer to architect, design, implement, and verify FPGA RTL for our optical interconnect development. The work centres on high-speed digital logic, video processing and framing, high-speed serial interfaces, and the on-chip logic that connects our electronics to optical devices.
This is a focused, senior RTL role that runs from architecture and RTL design through simulation, verification, and timing closure to FPGA bring-up and characterisation on the bench. You will own the FPGA design end to end and set the RTL standard for others to follow.
This is a focused, senior RTL role that runs from architecture and RTL design through simulation, verification, and timing closure to FPGA bring-up and characterisation on the bench. You will own the FPGA design end to end and set the RTL standard for others to follow.
You will work closely with the electronics, RF, and photonics engineers who design the surrounding hardware and optical interfaces.
Key Responsibilities
- Architect, design, implement, and verify FPGA RTL for high-speed digital, video, and optical-interfacing systems.
- Develop FPGA designs in VHDL or Verilog/SystemVerilog, including high-speed serial interfaces, video processing, framing, and on-chip instrumentation.
- Bring up and configure high-speed serial transceivers and clock-data recovery, and implement line coding, pattern generation, and error-rate instrumentation.
- Design digital video interfaces and the associated framing, timing, and data-handling logic.
- Develop functional verification: testbenches, simulation, and timing closure across multiple clock domains.
- Lead FPGA bring-up, debug, and on-board validation, resolving issues across the hardware and firmware boundary.
- Author and maintain RTL documentation, verification evidence, and coding standards, and contribute to design reviews.
- Collaborate across electronics, RF, photonics, and systems engineering, and support the path from prototype to product.
Skills, Knowledge and Expertise
- Degree (BEng/MEng) or PhD in Electronic Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics, or a related field, with substantial relevant experience at senior level.
- Strong FPGA RTL design in VHDL or Verilog/SystemVerilog.
- High-speed serial transceiver and clock-data-recovery bring-up, and serial protocols such as line coding and PRBS.
- Functional verification: testbench development, simulation, and timing closure.
- Sound clock-domain-crossing and high-speed digital design discipline.
- Digital video interfacing (for example HDMI) or comparable high-bandwidth digital protocols.
- FPGA toolchain proficiency, and a willingness to work across vendor toolchains as required.
Advantage
- Schematic capture and high-speed PCB design using eCAD tools such as Altium.
- Knowledge of high-speed PCB layout techniques: controlled impedance, differential routing, length/skew matching, and power integrity.
- Signal-integrity simulation (for example HyperLynx, Ansys SI, ADS, or similar).
- Electronic interfacing to optical or other sensor/transducer devices.
- Test-and-measurement awareness — eye diagrams, error-rate measurement, and high-speed serial debug.
- A proven track record of delivering FPGA firmware into a product.
Benefits
- Pension scheme
- Private medical & dental insurance
- 28 days’ holiday + bank holidays
- Relocation support
- Visa support available
About
About PlesseyWe’re building the hardware foundation for next-era computing.Plessey is a world-leading technology company driving the next generation of photonic devices and systems. With over 70 years of innovation, we combine research, materials science, process engineering, and manufacturing under one roof. We’re recognised as a global authority in microLED displays, optical computing, and optical interconnects.Join us to work on breakthrough technologies shaping the future of light-based technology and computing.LeadWe don’t follow industry trends; we create them, pushing boundaries and setting standards others aspire to. Every team member has the power to make decisions, drive change, and deliver excellence. We support each other, challenge one another for the best solutions, and lead by example. Together, we build industries and technologies that shape the future and scale toward our vision of the next era of computing.GrowWe expand our capabilities every day — deepening our expertise, improving how we work, and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. Curiosity fuels us: we question assumptions, explore new ideas, and innovate with light-based technologies. By investing in and empowering our people, we strengthen Plessey’s impact and help shape the future of optical technology.TrustWe operate like a family—honest, reliable, and supportive. We have each other’s backs, own our actions, and uphold the highest standards of integrity and safety. We trust each other to deliver, our customers to challenge us, and our expertise to guide the way. Together, trust enables the collaboration essential for breakthrough innovation and lasting impact.
Skills Required
- Degree (BEng/MEng) or PhD in Electronic Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics, or related field
- Substantial relevant experience at senior level
- Strong FPGA RTL design experience in VHDL or Verilog/SystemVerilog
- Experience with high-speed serial transceivers, clock-data recovery, line coding, and PRBS/pattern generation
- Functional verification skills: testbench development, simulation, multi-clock-domain timing closure
- Sound clock-domain-crossing and high-speed digital design discipline
- Digital video interfacing experience (for example HDMI) or comparable high-bandwidth protocols
- Proficiency with FPGA toolchains and willingness to work across vendor toolchains
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The Company
What We Do
Plessey is a UK-based technology company specializing in the design and manufacturing of advanced microLED display solutions. They utilize a proprietary GaN-on-Silicon platform to produce high-performance, high-density RGB pixel arrays for applications in Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and other head-mounted display systems. The company operates integrated manufacturing facilities in Plymouth, England, focusing on the next generation of photonic technologies for computing and display engines.
