Sr FPGA Design Engineer - Milpitas, CA, United States
$167,300 - $245,367 USD yearly
Originally posted 25 September 2026 by the employer.
About the role
This role is within KLA's Electrical Engineering organization, responsible for defining, developing, and verifying FPGA firmware for embedded sensing and communication systems. The work supports reticle inspection solutions within the RAPID division of the Semiconductor Products and Customers business unit.
What you'll do
- Define FPGA firmware requirements and specifications, and develop designs from concept through production release. - Design, implement, and debug FPGA firmware for embedded sensing and communication systems, including cameras, sensors, motors, and other peripherals. - Design testbenches for simulation, perform timing analysis and closure, and verify FPGA functionality. - Collaborate with hardware and embedded software engineers to develop FPGA firmware for high-performance mixed-signal systems. - Gather project specifications and performance requirements at the board and system levels while adhering to project schedules. - Create and maintain technical documentation that meets established quality standards.
What you'll need
- Bachelor's degree with 12 years of experience, Master's degree with 8 years of experience, or Doctorate with 5 years of related work experience. - Hands-on experience with complex FPGA firmware designs using Xilinx or Intel/Altera FPGAs. - Proficiency in hardware description languages such as Verilog or System Verilog. - Proficiency with FPGA simulation and design tools such as Vivado, ModelSim, or equivalent. - Strong understanding of FPGA timing analysis and the ability to resolve timing-related issues. - Hands-on experience with laboratory equipment such as logic analyzers and oscilloscopes. - Solid knowledge of interface protocols, including PCIe, Aurora, DDR4, 10GbE, SPI, and I²C. - Solid knowledge of networking concepts and Embedded Linux build systems.
This role has been open 29 days — well below the 64-day median for FPGA Design roles.
FPGA Design · RTL Design
|
Open roles in category
105
|
Median days open
64 d
|
Median salary
$162k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, and who else is hiring
| Metric | KLA Corporation | All employers we track in this specialty (105 roles · 25 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 2 | 105 |
| Median days open | 54 d | 64 d (−10 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $162k |
Who's hiring in this category
- Altera · 33 open roles · median 58 d
- AMD · 11 open roles · median 61 d
- Teradyne · 9 open roles · median 76 d
- Qualcomm · 8 open roles · median 48 d
- Microchip Technology · 7 open roles · median 77 d
- Keysight Technologies · 6 open roles · median 6 d
How we counted: 105 open FPGA Design (RTL Design) roles from 25 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 24 Oct 2026. Specialty figures count only roles carrying this exact specialty label, so an employer's related work in neighbouring specialties is not included there. Figures refresh nightly.