FPGA Verification & Control Systems Engineer

FPGA Verification & Control Systems Engineer

Full-Time 56700 - 69300 £ / year (est.) No working from home possible
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At a Glance

  • Tasks: Design and verify FPGA systems for cutting-edge photonic and MEMS technologies.
  • Company: Join a deep-tech rocketship with a mission to create breakthrough technology.
  • Benefits: Enjoy share options, pension, private medical insurance, and a transparent compensation framework.
  • Other info: We value diversity and inclusion, encouraging all backgrounds to apply.
  • Why this job: Make a real impact in digital control and signal processing while working hands-on.
  • Qualifications: Strong digital design fundamentals and hands-on FPGA experience required.

The predicted salary is between 56700 - 69300 £ per year.

The Role

As an FPGA / Digital Systems Engineer, you own real-time digital control and signal processing that directly interfaces with MEMS and photonic hardware.

Your work directly determines lock stability, noise floors, measurement fidelity, and whether demos succeed or fail.

This is a hands-on role.

Verification quality, timing discipline, and physical intuition matter more than clever architectures.

If you write the code, you own proving that it is correct.

The role sits close to R&D: the FPGA is part of discovering system truth, not just implementing a frozen design.

  • What You’ll Do
  • Digital control & signal processing
  • Design, implement, and verify FPGA systems interfacing with photonic sensors, MEMS devices, and high-speed ADCs/DACs

• Implement and stabilise real-time systems such as

  • PLLs
  • AGC
  • force-to-rebalance control
  • Reason explicitly about timing, latency, jitter, phase noise, quantisation, and numerical stability
  • Digital ↔ physical reasoning
  • Translate mathematical models and control theory into discrete-time digital implementations
  • Understand how RTL decisions affect mechanical motion, optical phase, thermal drift, and noise coupling
  • Treat the FPGA as part of the physical system, not an isolated digital block
  • Hardware interfaces & IO
  • Implement and debug SPI, I²C, UART, GPIO, and high-speed ADC/DAC interfaces
  • Design safe clock-domain crossings intentionally
  • Build reliable data logging and streaming under real-time constraints
  • Verification & observability (non-negotiable)

• Build proper verification environments

  • structured testbenches
  • assertions tied to invariants
  • deterministic stimuli
  • Verification must be automated, repeatable, and explainable
  • Eyeballing oscilloscope traces is not verification
  • Design for observability with internal instrumentation and clear failure modes
  • Tooling, lab work & data
  • Write clean, disciplined RTL (Verilog / System Verilog)
  • Use Python as a first-class tool for test automation, bring-up, verification support, and data analysis
  • Be fluent with lab instrumentation and understand their limitations, not just their outputs
  • Required Background

You must have

  • Strong fundamentals in digital design and real-time systems
  • Solid grounding in control theory or signal processing
  • Hands-on experience bringing up FPGA designs on real hardware
  • Experience implementing and verifying control loops, PLLs, or equivalent feedback systems
  • Comfort working at the boundary between digital logic, analog signals, and physical systems
  • High personal standards around correctness, verification, and documentation
  • Experience with ASIC flows is a plus, not a requirement
  • Who This Role Is For

This role is not for

  • simulation-only designers
  • FPGA developers who avoid lab work
  • people who “verify” by visual inspection
  • engineers uncomfortable with noise, timing, or pressure
  • What This Role Is Not

This is not

  • a pure web, Saa S, or framework-driven role
  • a narrowly scoped backend position
  • a job for people who only write one-off scripts and move on
  • a place for over-abstracted code no one can debug
  • a role for people who wait for perfect specifications
  • How You Show Up
  • You are motivated by the underlying mathematics, not just by making something work
  • You do not ship what you cannot explain
  • You treat verification as a core engineering discipline
  • You communicate clearly, especially under pressure
  • You design margins so systems work without heroics
  • What Success Looks Like

After 6–12 months

  • FPGA-based control loops are stable, low-noise, and explainable
  • Verification is trusted because it is systematic and repeatable
  • Timing closure is boring because it was designed correctly
  • Demos work because margins exist, not because of last-minute tuning
  • Bugs are found early and are diagnosable when they do occur
  • The FPGA is a transparent, instrumented part of the system - not a black box
  • Working with us

Compensation : Our framework is built on fairness and transparency, with regular reviews to reflect growth and performance.

Benefits : Share options, pension, and private medical insurance.

Culture : A deep-tech rocketship backed by leading investors. We’re building breakthrough technology with real commercial impact. Pace is high. Standards are higher.

Zero Point Motion is determined to foster belonging and empowerment at work.

We are committed to providing a work environment where there’s a zero-tolerance approach to discrimination, and everyone is treated with respect.

Equity, diversity and inclusion are central to our mission, and we strongly encourage candidates of all different backgrounds and identities to apply.

If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please contact us.

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FPGA Verification & Control Systems Engineer employer: Zero Point Motion

At Zero Point Motion, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work culture that thrives on innovation and collaboration. Our commitment to employee growth is reflected in our transparent compensation framework, regular performance reviews, and a strong focus on equity, diversity, and inclusion. Located in a fast-paced environment, our team is empowered to push the boundaries of technology while enjoying benefits such as share options, pension plans, and private medical insurance.

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Contact Details:

Zero Point Motion Recruitment Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫

We think this is how you could land FPGA Verification & Control Systems Engineer

Get Involved in Control Systems Communities

Dive into control systems forums and relevant LinkedIn groups to showcase your expertise. Engage in discussions, answer questions, and share your knowledge—this can help us get noticed by potential employers looking for someone just like you!

Attend Industry Conferences and Workshops

Join conferences or workshops specifically tailored to control systems engineering, like the IEEE conference. These events are goldmines for networking with industry leaders and might just lead us to that perfect role at Zero Point Motion.

Get Practical Experience Through Projects

Start or contribute to projects that highlight your control systems skills. Whether it’s a simulated environment or real-world application, having tangible results will give us a huge edge when chatting with Zero Point Motion.

Choose Job Boards Wisely

Focus on niche job boards that specialise in engineering roles. Channels like Engineers.co or similar can help ensure that we’re not only applying to random jobs but targeting positions that align perfectly with our control systems engineering skills!

We think you need these skills to ace FPGA Verification & Control Systems Engineer

FPGA Design
Digital Control Systems
Signal Processing
Real-Time Systems
Control Theory
Verification Environments
Test Automation (Python)

Some tips for your application 🫡

Highlight Your Technical Skills:When applying for the FPGA Verification & Control Systems Engineer role, make sure to showcase your technical expertise in control systems. Be specific about the software and programming languages you’ve worked with—mention anything from MATLAB to PLC programming. This will help us see your proficiency in the tools that are essential for the job.

Quantify Your Achievements:In the engineering world, numbers speak volumes! Use your CV to quantify your achievements—whether it’s a percentage improvement in system efficiency or successful project completions under budget. This will not only make your application stand out but also showcase your problem-solving capabilities to us.

Tailor Your Cover Letter:Don’t hesitate to get personal in your cover letter! Talk about why you’re passionate about control systems engineering and how your previous experiences have prepared you for this role at Zero Point Motion. We want to see your genuine interest and motivation to contribute to our projects.

Professional Documentation:For a full-time role, ensure that your application documents are professional and well-structured. Include a clear CV format and cover letter that highlights key projects or systems you've worked on. Don’t forget to mention any relevant certifications or training that would make you a valuable addition to us at Zero Point Motion.

How to prepare for a job interview at Zero Point Motion

Brush Up on Control Systems Concepts

Make sure we're up to speed with control systems theory—think stability analysis, PID tuning, and state-space representation. Revising these fundamentals will help us answer technical questions more confidently and demonstrate our expertise during the interview.

Familiarise Yourself with Simulation Tools

Get hands-on with popular simulation tools like MATLAB/Simulink or LabVIEW. A lot of interviews might include technical assessments or practical tasks to gauge our understanding of system modelling and control design using these tools, so being proficient could really set us apart.

Be Ready for Problem-Solving Scenarios

We should expect scenario-based questions where we'll have to solve real-world control system challenges. Practising how to approach problems logically and articulately will help us show our analytical thinking to the interviewer at Zero Point Motion.

Show Your Passion for Engineering

As this role is full-time, it's crucial we convey our genuine enthusiasm for control systems engineering. Sharing personal projects or experiences where we tackled interesting engineering tasks can illustrate our commitment and eagerness to contribute to the team at Zero Point Motion.