Staff FPGA Engineer

AI is growing faster than any technology in history and the explosion in demand has created a massive infrastructure gap; we can no longer build chips or power stations fast enough to keep up. The industry is still leaning on a ten-year-old hardware blueprint that has reached its limit. A new paradigm that is faster and more efficient will be the biggest economic opportunity of the next century and create the most important company of the next decade. OLIX is building this next paradigm; the Optical Tensor Processing Unit (OTPU) achieves performance and energy efficiency that is impossible to match from existing architecture.

We are seeking a highly experienced Staff FPGA Engineer to lead the architecture and implementation of FPGA-based prototyping and emulation systems in direct support of our OTPU ASIC development.

This is a senior individual contributor role embedded within the ASIC design team, focused on owning the pre-silicon prototyping and emulation environments. You will translate evolving ASIC RTL into a high-fidelity multi-FPGA prototypes and emulation-accelerated environments - enabling early hardware–software co-development, functional validation, and system-level debug before tape-out.

You will define how the ASIC is represented in FPGA, lead partitioning and mapping onto Cadence Protium or equivalent multi-FPGA prototyping platforms, and develop the infrastructure required to ensure the prototype is both accurate and usable.

You will work closely with ASIC, hardware, software, and verification teams, as well as our FPGA engineering team in London, to ensure alignment across the broader FPGA programme.

This role is not focused on production FPGA systems—the primary deliverable is a trusted, maintainable prototype platform that accelerates silicon and software development. Additional experience with commercial prototyping and emulation platforms is a plus!

• Own the FPGA prototyping architecture for the OTPU ASIC, from RTL bring-up through to pre-silicon software validation.

• Lead RTL partitioning, synthesis, and mapping of large ASIC designs onto Cadence Protium or equivalent multi-FPGA prototyping platforms.

• Own prototyping platform infrastructure (e.g. Protium or equivalent), including board bring-up, inter-FPGA connectivity, clocking, reset distribution, and configuration management.

• Design and maintain memory SHIMs to replace ASIC memory macros (SRAMs, ROMs, register files) with FPGA-compatible implementations while preserving functional and software-visible behaviour.

• Establish design methodologies, build flows, and scripting infrastructure for repeatable, scalable prototype builds as the ASIC design evolves.

• Manage incremental prototype updates to maintain alignment with a continuously changing RTL baseline.

• Partner with ASIC designers to identify and resolve RTL constructs that are incompatible with or inefficient on FPGA.

• Work with software and firmware teams to enable early driver development, OS bring-up, and application testing on the prototype platform.

• Define and implement prototype-level debug strategies using ILAs, logic analysers, and platform debug infrastructure.

• Lead system-level debugging of complex hardware–software interactions on the prototype platform.

• Ensure the prototype is observable, diagnosable, and trusted by downstream teams.

• Partner with the ASIC DV team to accelerate testbenches in an emulation environment

• Mentor engineers and provide technical leadership across FPGA and prototyping efforts.

• 8+ years of FPGA design experience, with significant focus on ASIC prototyping, emulation, or pre-silicon validation.

• Hands-on experience with Cadence Protium, Synopsys HAPS or equivalent multi-FPGA prototyping

• Deep experience in multi-FPGA partitioning for large, complex ASIC designs.

• Strong expertise in memory SHIM development, replacing ASIC memory macros with FPGA-compatible implementations while maintaining interface fidelity.

• Strong understanding of ASIC vs FPGA differences, including timing, clocking, reset architecture, and resource constraints.

• Hands-on experience of emulation platform (Palladium, ZeBu)

• Experience supporting pre-silicon software bring-up, including low-level driver development, firmware, and early OS boot.

• Experience working on large-scale FPGA prototypes where compile time, partitioning strategy, and interconnect constraints are key considerations.

• Expert-level proficiency in Verilog.

• Strong Python and scripting skills for build automation, tooling, and prototype management.

• Experience with Xilinx/AMD UltraScale+ or Versal FPGA architectures.

• Advanced verification experience (COCOTB, UVVM, OSVVM, or equivalent) in a pre-silicon context.

• Demonstrated ability to lead technical direction without formal management authority.

• Strong system-level debugging and problem-solving skills.

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field.

Compensation & Equity

• Competitive Salary: $335,000+, commensurate with your experience, skills, and location.

• Equity & Ownership: Meaningful stock options. You’re not just joining the mission; you’re owning a piece of it.

• Proximity Bonus: We value your time. To minimise your commute and maximise your life, we offer a $36k annual Living-Local Bonus if your residence is within 20 minutes of the office.

Time Off

• Time Off: 33 days of paid time off (PTO), including US federal holidays.

Health & Wellbeing

• Healthcare Coverage: Multiple high-quality medical plan options, including family coverage.

• Health Savings Account: A high-deductible medical option with a company-funded health savings account (HSA).

• Dental & Vision: Dental and vision coverage.

• Additional Coverage: Life insurance, plus short- and long-term disability.

• Wellbeing Support: Mental health resources, fertility and family-building support.

• Commuter Benefits: Pre-tax commuter and parking benefits.

Retirement

• 401(k): Access to a 401(k) retirement plan with a 4% employer match, with both traditional and Roth contribution options. Employees also have access to a dedicated financial advisor to support portfolio selection and long-term planning.

The Workspace & Tech

• M4 Macs come as standard, with M4 Pro upgrades for our engineering team. We will provide whatever you need to do your best work.

• High-spec noise-cancelling headphones and a fully ergonomic workstation designed for deep focus.

• Rapid Prototyping: Access to our high-performance 3D printing lab for work, experimentation, and personal creative projects.

Life at the Office

• Chef-prepared meals: if you need to work late.

Relocation & Global Mobility

• Visa Sponsorship: We hire the best in the world. We offer full UK and international visa sponsorship.

Seamless Relocation: Whether you’re moving across the country or across the globe, our dedicated relocation partner provides funding and concierge support to get you settled.

Due to U.S. export control regulations, candidates’ eligibility to work at OLIX depends on their most recent citizenship or permanent residency status. We are generally unable to consider applicants whose most recent citizenship or permanent residence is in certain restricted countries (currently including Iran, North Korea, Syria, Cuba, Russia, Belarus, China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Venezuela). Applicants who have subsequently obtained citizenship or permanent residency in another country not subject to these restrictions may still be eligible.