Principal FPGA Engineer - Medical Diagnostics
X4 Life Sciences are partnered with an innovative medical diagnostics company seeking a Principal FPGA Engineer to provide technical leadership in the development and sustainment of next-generation diagnostic systems.
This is a high-impact senior role where you will lead FPGA architecture, HDL development, verification, integration, and system-level design within a regulated medical device environment, while also driving process maturity and cross-functional alignment across hardware and software teams.
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead FPGA architecture definition, HDL design, verification, validation, and release activities
- Own FPGA integration within hardware and embedded software system architectures
- Serve as a technical authority across hardware, software, and systems engineering teams
- Perform complex technical trade-off analyses and drive engineering decisions
- Support system-level debugging, troubleshooting, and product release activities
- Lead and mentor engineers while influencing technical direction across projects
- Support CAPA, complaint investigations, and continuous improvement initiatives
- Drive improvements in FPGA/firmware development processes and engineering workflows
- Ensure disciplined documentation and predictable execution of engineering work
- Identify and mitigate engineering risks, especially in sustaining/obsolescence programs
Key Requirements:
- Strong FPGA technical background is essential
- Extensive experience in regulated environments (IVD medical device experience strongly preferred)
- Proven ability to work within regulated release processes
- Strong understanding of FPGA/firmware lifecycle and modern engineering processes
- Demonstrated ability to identify gaps in engineering processes and implement improvements
- Experience collaborating closely with software teams on hardware/software interface design
- Ability to manage risk in engineering changes, especially in sustaining engineering and obsolescence programs
- Organized, process-driven, and able to plan, execute, and document work in a predictable way
Preferred Skills & Tools:
- Xilinx / AMD FPGA platforms
- Artix-7
Key Skills:
- Regulated Product Development
- Firmware & Software Process Improvement
- Risk Management in Sustaining Engineering
- Technical Documentation & Specifications
- Cross-functional Collaboration (Hardware & Software)
- Technical Leadership & Mentoring