FPGA Design Engineer

COMPANY PROFILE Location:                            Waterbeach, UK Department:                       Engineering Reports to:                         Engineering Manager  Type:                                   Full-time, Permanent   Company Profile Thermoteknix Systems Ltd, founded in 1982 and based in Cambridge, is a world leader in thermal imaging, night vision, and augmented reality systems. Our award-winning technologies are trusted by defence, security, and industrial customers in over 70 countries. With in-house R&D, cutting-edge innovation, and a global reputation for quality, we design and manufacture solutions that perform in the toughest environments. ABOUT YOU Role Overview The Junior Electronics Engineer will support the design, development, testing, and maintenance of electronic hardware used across Thermoteknix products. Working closely with senior electronics engineers and other members of the R&D team, the successful candidate will gain hands-on experience across the full product development lifecycle, from concept and prototype testing through to production support.   This role would suit a recent graduate, early-career engineer, or someone with practical electronics experience who is looking to develop their skills within a technically challenging engineering environment.   Key Responsibilities * Support the design and development of electronic circuits and assemblies for new and existing products. * Assist with schematic capture, component selection, design calculations, and technical documentation. * Support PCB design activities under the guidance of senior engineers. * Build, test, debug, and modify prototype electronic hardware. * Carry out board-level testing, fault finding, and verification activities. * Use electronic test equipment including oscilloscopes, multimeters, logic analysers, and power supplies. * Assist with the integration of electronics with firmware, software, sensors, displays, power systems, and communication interfaces. * Support environmental, EMC, and compliance testing where required. * Help produce and maintain test procedures, design notes, bills of materials, and manufacturing documentation. * Work with production and test teams to investigate and resolve hardware issues. * Support component sourcing, alternative part reviews, and obsolescence investigations. * Participate in design reviews, project meetings, and technical discussions. * Maintain clear records of test results, design changes, and engineering investigations.   Required Skills & Experience * Degree, HNC/HND, apprenticeship, or equivalent practical experience in Electronic Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related discipline. * Good understanding of basic analogue and digital electronics. * Practical experience building, testing, or debugging electronic circuits. * Ability to read schematics and understand electronic circuit operation. * Experience using common electronic test equipment such as oscilloscopes, multimeters, and bench power supplies. * Basic understanding of embedded systems, microcontrollers, sensors, or communication interfaces. * Good problem-solving skills and a practical approach to engineering tasks. * Strong attention to detail and willingness to learn. * Good written and verbal communication skills. * Ability to work effectively as part of a multidisciplinary engineering team.   Desirable Skills & Experience * Experience with schematic capture or PCB design tools such as Altium Designer, KiCad, OrCAD, or similar. * Experience with prototype assembly, soldering, rework, or wiring. * Familiarity with communication interfaces such as SPI, I²C, UART, USB, Ethernet, CAN, MIPI, or LVDS. * Basic understanding of power supply design, battery-powered products, or low-power electronics. * Exposure to embedded C, Python, firmware development, or FPGA-based systems. * Interest in imaging systems, thermal cameras, night vision, displays, augmented reality, or electro-optical products. * Understanding of EMC, environmental testing, or design for manufacture. * Previous experience in a commercial, industrial, defence, aerospace, scientific, or high-technology engineering environment.   Personal Attributes * Practical, hands-on, and comfortable working with real hardware. * Strong problem-solving mindset with good attention to detail. * Able to work independently while contributing effectively to a wider team. * Comfortable working in a fast-moving engineering environment with changing priorities. * Curious, technically driven, and keen to develop new skills. * Takes ownership of tasks and follows through to completion. * Able to balance innovation with manufacturability, reliability, and commercial requirements. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK at the time of application. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide visa sponsorship for our roles. WHY US? * Opportunity to work on advanced thermal imaging, night vision, and augmented reality systems. * Involvement in the full product development lifecycle from concept to production. * A varied and technically challenging role within a specialist UK engineering company. * Training and career development opportunities. * Competitive salary and benefits package.

MEET ARAGO AND THE ARAGONIANS Arago is an AI and computer hardware company whose mission is to drive the course of history forward. We do so by accelerating breakthroughs at the intersection of AI and semiconductors. Founded in 2024 by AI researchers and physicists with deep expertise in photonics, electronics, software, mathematics, and machine learning, Arago brings together a lean team of engineers and scientists from the world’s top companies and research labs. Composed of nine nationalities and operating from hubs in France, North America, and Israel, we believe in great science and fast achievements. Our work is guided by these core principles: 1. Do great things: we deliver work we’re proud to sign our name to. 2. High velocity: speed matters. We move quickly, one step at a time. 3. One unit: we’re all in this together, with relationships grounded in trust, respect, and camaraderie. Arago is backed by executives from Apple, Arm, Nvidia, Microsoft, and Hugging Face, as well as prominent US and European deeptech venture firms and exited founders. WHAT YOU’LL DO Design and verify custom digital hardware components and architectures that enable high-performance, tightly integrated computation workloads and interface Arago’s custom tensor unit for advanced AI/ML applications. RESPONSIBILITIES * Design, implement, and verify RTL blocks for memory, control, and compute subsystems within Arago’s custom multiphysics computation unit. * Collaborate with Arago’s system software and architecture teams to define block-level specifications and ensure alignment with performance and integration goals. * Develop and maintain functional verification infrastructure to validate design correctness across simulation and hardware testbenches. * Support synthesis, timing analysis, and backend integration, working closely with Arago’s physical design and CAD engineers. * Contribute to architectural exploration and hardware-software co-design efforts to shape future iterations of Arago’s compute platform. REQUIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE * Extensive experience in RTL design (Verilog/SystemVerilog) for control logic, datapaths, memory subsystems, and specialized processing units. * Strong understanding of digital architecture, including pipelining, arbitration, memory hierarchy, and system-level integration. * Proficiency in functional verification, including testbench development, assertions, coverage metrics, and debugging (UVM experience is a plus). * Familiarity with ASIC and FPGA design flows, including synthesis, timing closure, and DFT. * Comfortable working across the full hardware stack — from architectural specification and microarchitecture to physical implementation support. * Language: English at a proficient level. French is a plus. PAY AND BENEFITS * Competitive cash compensation, with final package based on location, experience, and the pay of team members in similar positions. * Meaningful stock option plan offered at the earliest stage of the company (included in the majority of full time offers). * Relocation bonus and coverage of moving expenses for relocation within 20 minutes of the company’s location. * Healthcare coverage (including family-friendly options), pension contributions, professional development support, and 25 days of PTO, in addition to public holidays. * Ownership of a key technical domain, with significant vertical and/or horizontal growth opportunities, based on performance and individual drive. * Reimbursement of 50% of the public transport subscription fee. * A high-paced, multicultural (with 9 nationalities), and engineering-led environment. OUR HIRING PROCESS: YOUR JOURNEY TO ARAGO * Screening Call : Get to know you beyond your CV. * Technical meeting : Deep dive into your past projects and technical achievements. * CEO Interview : Assess the fit with the team’s culture and long-term vision. * Reference Calls: Mandatory calls with your former managers to validate strengths, weaknesses, and work style. * Technical Assessment: Take-home technical assignment crafted to the role you’re applying for. * Final Interview : Discuss your technical assignment and address any remaining questions with team members.