We are seeking a highly motivated FPGA Design Engineer with experience developing high-performance digital designs.
The ideal candidate will be responsible for designing, implementing, verifying, and debugging FPGA-based solutions for complex avionics solutions for cutting-edge Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). This role requires strong digital design fundamentals, experience with AMD/Xilinx development tools, and the ability to collaborate across hardware, firmware, and software teams.
What you'll do:
- Design and develop FPGA-based communication modules for advanced UAV platforms.
- Develop solutions that enable precise timing synchronization and redundance across flight controllers.
- Integrate FPGA solutions with system-level architecture in collaboration with cross-functional engineering teams.
- Perform synthesis, implementation, timing closure, bitstream generation.
- Debug, test, and optimize for reliability, latency, and throughput.
- Collaborate with PCB designers during board bring-up and hardware validation.
- Contribute to FPGA architecture discussions and help define long-term technical direction within the platform.
- Participate in design reviews and maintain engineering documentation.
Required qualifications:
- B.S., M.S, PhD degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering or STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics) discipline, such as Aerospace, Mechanical, or Electrical Engineering
- Strong experience with FPGA design, implementation, and verification using VHDL or SystemVerilog.
- Demonstrated ability to build reliable, high-performance digital communication systems.
- Solid understanding of timing closure, clock domain crossing, and system-level integration.
- Comfortable working in a fast-paced, collaborative environment with evolving requirements.
- Strong debugging and problem-solving skills.
- Knowledge of FPGA timing analysis and timing closure techniques.
- Familiarity with version control tools such as Git.
- Strong debugging and problem-solving skills.
Preferred qualifications:
- Experience with Xilinx FPGA ecosystem (Vivado, toolchains, etc).
- In-depth understanding of ethernet and network stack implementation.
- Experience developing flight computers
- Experience designing solutions for safety-critical real-time systems.
- Experience with AXI4, AXI-Stream, and memory-mapped interfaces.
- Experience using TCL scripting to automate FPGA build flows.
- Knowledge of CI/CD practices for FPGA development.
Skills Required
- B.S., M.S., or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related STEM discipline
- Experience with AMD/Xilinx development tools
- FPGA design, implementation, and verification using VHDL or SystemVerilog
- Design and build reliable, high-performance digital communication systems
- Understanding of timing closure, clock domain crossing, and system-level integration
- Knowledge of FPGA timing analysis and timing closure techniques
- Experience with synthesis, implementation, timing closure, and bitstream generation
- Familiarity with version control tools such as Git
- Strong debugging and problem-solving skills
- Ability to collaborate across hardware, firmware, and software teams; work in a fast-paced environment
What the Team is Saying
Shield AI Compensation & Benefits Highlights
-
Healthcare Strength — Company materials describe excellent medical, dental, and vision coverage alongside a mental‑health EAP. Site perks such as an onsite gym in DC and a gym discount in San Diego support a health‑focused offering.
-
Retirement Support — Careers materials highlight a 401(k) with company match as part of the standard package. A Total Rewards overview emphasizes retirement features within a broader, transparent compensation view.
-
Career-Linked Recognition & Rewards — Compensation for in‑demand technical and senior go‑to‑market roles is described as competitive, with visible engineering ranges and top‑end packages. This points to meaningful upside tied to role, level, and scarce skills.
Shield AI Insights
What We Do
At Shield AI, you won't wait years to see your work reach the field. You'll build hardware and software that operates in the real world right now, in the hands of the people who depend on it. Hivemind, our AI pilot, has been flying since 2018. It has flown more than 30 platforms, including an F-16, and it now sits under a U.S. Air Force production contract for Collaborative Combat Aircraft. When you write code or shape a system here, you contribute to technology with a proven flight record and a clear production future. V-BAT flies intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions with an operational record that stretches from Ukraine to the Indo-Pacific. It delivers eyes where they matter most, in the most demanding conditions on earth. The teams behind it watch their work get tested where the stakes are real. X-BAT takes its first flight this year. It's an AI-piloted fighter that needs no runway, built to operate where traditional aircraft can't. Join now and you help shape a program at its earliest, most formative stage. That's the kind of ground-floor work that defines a career. Do the most impactful work of your life, on problems that matter. Autonomy at this level asks a lot of you. You'll take on problems in perception, planning, and control that few teams anywhere are equipped to solve. You'll work across disciplines, from aerospace and robotics to machine learning and systems engineering, alongside people who hold themselves to an exacting standard and expect the same from you. Our mission is clear: protect service members and civilians with intelligent systems. That purpose runs through every decision, every design review, and every deployment. It's why the work here carries a weight you can feel. Ready to join our mission? Explore our open roles and find where you fit.
Why Work With Us
Founded in 2015 by a former Navy SEAL, Shield AI builds AI pilots and uncrewed aircraft. Veterans aren't an afterthought here, they're at every level. It's why the work carries weight: AI pilots and uncrewed aircraft flying real missions, from Ukraine to the Indo-Pacific, protecting service members and civilians.
Gallery
%203.jpg)
Shield AI Teams
.jpg)
Shield AI Offices
Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
