FPGA Engineering Manager

The Recruitment Studio is delighted to be supporting an exciting opportunity for an experienced FPGA Engineering Manager to join a rapidly growing Electronic Engineering function within a leading technology and engineering organisation.

This is an excellent opportunity for an inspirational engineering leader who is passionate about developing people, driving technical excellence and helping shape future engineering capabilities.

You will lead a high-performing team of FPGA and digital design engineers, combining strong technical expertise with people leadership, strategic thinking and delivery focus.

Working across complex, high-performance products and systems, you will have the opportunity to influence technology strategy, develop engineering capability and contribute to the delivery of innovative FPGA-based solutions from initial concept through to production.

As FPGA Engineering Manager, you will provide both technical and people leadership, ensuring the team has the capability, direction and support required to deliver world-class engineering solutions. Your responsibilities will include:

Leadership and people management

• Lead, mentor and develop a team of FPGA and digital design engineers.
• Create a culture of technical excellence, innovation, collaboration and accountability.
• Set clear objectives, provide technical guidance and support continuous performance development.
• Recruit, develop and retain high-calibre engineering talent.
• Build team capability and support the development of future technical leaders.
• Champion engineering best practice across design methodology, verification and documentation.
• Encourage knowledge sharing, continuous improvement and innovation across the team.

Technical leadership

• Provide technical direction across the architecture, design and implementation of FPGA solutions.
• Oversee and contribute to the development of high-performance, low-latency and high-throughput FPGA systems.
• Provide technical leadership across RTL design, simulation, synthesis, timing closure and hardware validation.
• Work with VHDL, Verilog and/or SystemVerilog-based design environments.
• Define and maintain design standards, IP reuse strategies and verification methodologies.
• Ensure designs achieve required performance, power, area and reliability targets.
• Work closely with system architects to determine appropriate partitioning between FPGA, ASIC and software.
• Collaborate with hardware, software, systems and verification engineering teams to deliver integrated solutions.
• Keep up to date with FPGA technology developments and roadmaps, helping to shape future technology and engineering strategy.

Project and delivery leadership

• Take ownership of FPGA project execution from concept through to production release.
• Lead planning, estimation and scheduling of FPGA engineering deliverables.
• Monitor project progress, identify technical and programme risks, and develop appropriate mitigation strategies.
• Work closely with programme management and key stakeholders to ensure projects are delivered on time and to the required quality standards.
• Balance technical innovation with disciplined engineering execution.

We’re looking for an experienced FPGA or digital hardware engineering professional who has developed into a strong technical leader or engineering manager. You are likely to have:

• A Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD in Electronic Engineering, Computer Engineering or a related discipline.
• 10+ years’ experience in FPGA or digital hardware design.
• At least 3 to 5 years’ experience in a technical leadership or engineering management position.
• A proven track record of delivering complex FPGA systems from concept through to production.
• Strong experience in RTL design, simulation, synthesis and timing analysis.
• In-depth knowledge of high-speed interfaces, digital signal processing (DSP), control logic and/or image processing.
• Strong understanding of hardware/software co-design and embedded system integration.
• Excellent knowledge of FPGA development tools and toolchains.
• A solid understanding of verification methodologies and experience with test automation.
• Strong system architecture and performance optimisation experience.
• Knowledge of scripting and engineering automation.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal and leadership skills.
• The ability to lead through influence and build effective relationships across multiple engineering disciplines.

Experience working in sectors such as aerospace, defence, telecommunications, data centres or high-performance computing would be highly relevant. Exposure to hardware security, functional safety and/or DO-254-compliant design would be advantageous.

We’re looking for someone who combines technical depth with genuine leadership capability. You’ll be a strategic thinker who is still comfortable engaging with complex technical challenges and supporting engineers when needed.

You’ll also be someone who:

• Inspires confidence and credibility with engineers, technical specialists and senior stakeholders.
• Enjoys developing people and building high-performing engineering teams.
• Is a strong problem solver who thrives in technically complex and fast-paced environments.
• Is passionate about learning, mentoring and continuous improvement.
• Can balance innovation and long-term technology strategy with practical delivery.
• Communicates clearly and is comfortable influencing decisions across organisational boundaries.

This is an opportunity to take a significant leadership role within a growing electronic engineering environment, with the chance to influence both people and technology. You’ll be able to:

• Lead and develop a talented team of FPGA and digital design engineers.
• Shape future FPGA engineering capability and technology strategy.
• Work on technically complex, high-performance products and systems.
• Influence architecture and engineering decisions at a senior level.
• Work across multiple engineering disciplines and functions.
• Develop your own leadership and technical career over the long term.
• Play a key role in delivering next-generation engineering solutions.

Alongside a competitive and negotiable salary, the role offers a comprehensive benefits package including:

• Company bonusUp to 21%, dependent on company performance and subject to annual variation.
• PensionTotal employer and employee contributions of up to 14%.
• Flexible workingFlexible working arrangements are welcomed where appropriate.
• Compressed hoursAvailable for this role, subject to agreement.
• Parental leaveUp to 26 weeks for maternity, adoption and shared parental leave, with enhancements available for paternity leave, neonatal leave and fertility-related support.
• Site facilitiesIncluding subsidised meals, free car parking and more.
• Healthcare cash planSupport towards everyday healthcare expenses including optical, dental, health and wellbeing costs.
• Relocation supportMay be available depending on circumstances and eligibility.

Due to the nature of the work, security clearance requirements apply. Applicants must be British Citizens or dual UK nationals holding British citizenship. Restrictions and/or limitations relating to nationality and right to work may apply depending on the specific role and project.

As a minimum, following an offer of employment, successful candidates will be required to undergo HMG Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks. Some positions may require a higher level of security clearance, potentially including Developed Vetting (DV).