Senior FPGA Engineer

Freeform

PRINCIPAL ELECTRICAL ENGINEER (HARDWARE DESIGN) Freeform builds AI-native manufacturing systems that unify software, hardware, and physics to produce industrial-scale parts at the speed of human ideation. By treating manufacturing as a single integrated system, we unlock a new era of innovation where complex hardware is designed, built, and scaled without limits. As a Principal Electrical Engineer at Freeform, you will play an integral role in the design and development of custom electronics and compute systems that bring our AI-native metal 3D printing factory systems to life. You will solve challenging problems in fields such as high-performance compute, high speed communications, embedded hardware, motion control, autonomous robotic systems, and much more. You will use a first principles approach to solving problems and tackling new areas within electrical engineering that you may not have directly worked on before. The ideal candidate is capable of running projects from cradle to grave, acting as a technical lead, and has the ability to work effectively with other engineering disciplines. 3D printing experience is not required to be successful here - rather we look for smart, motivated, collaborative engineers who love solving hard problems and creating amazing technology! Responsibilities:  * Rapidly design, develop and test highly reliable electronics and compute systems that enable complex autonomous systems to perform reliability, repeatedly, and scalable  * Serve as the senior engineer on the team, driving technical direction, electrical architecture, product requirements, component selection, analysis, schematic capture, prototyping, bring-up, debugging, documentation, productization, manufacturing, and testing * Challenge assumptions and learn new design approaches * Drive component selection, analysis, schematic capture, prototyping, bring-up, debugging, documentation, manufacturing, and test * Hands-on debugging of the unexpected via the use of laboratory test equipment, custom instrumentation, and testing setups * Model and simulate circuit designs for analysis and performance * Act as a technical lead, driving schedule and ensuring a continuous rate of innovation Basic Qualifications:  * Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or similar engineering discipline * 15+ years of professional experience designing and delivering complex electrical hardware * Broad electrical engineering background; well versed in electrical engineering fundamentals and comfortable taking a first-principles approach to solving problems * Experience operating as a technical lead and system owner, responsible for architectural decisions, execution quality, and technical accountability across the full lifecycle Nice to Have:  * Advanced degree (Master's or PhD) in electrical engineering * Experience with heterogeneous compute environments, including FPGA, GPU, and mixed architecture systems, with the ability to make thoughtful tradeoffs across performance, latency, and system complexity. * Experience with sensors, high speed cameras/imaging systems, and similar physical telemetry systems * Experience with embedded microcontroller design and firmware * Experience with high-speed data acquisition systems, high-accuracy motion systems, high-speed scanning systems, optomechanical assemblies, and complex electromechanical systems * Familiarity with industrial automation technologies and robotics Location:  * Based in Hawthorne, our vertically integrated facility brings technology development, R&D, and production together under one roof. We operate at the center of LA’s deep tech ecosystem, surrounded by some of the most ambitious hardware innovation happening anywhere in the country. * Our fast-paced, cross-functional environment is built on close collaboration, and as such, this role requires full-time onsite presence (five days a week), with very limited exceptions. What We Offer:  * We have an inclusive and diverse culture that values collaboration, learning, and making deliberate data-driven decisions.  * We offer a unique opportunity to be an early and integral member of a rapidly growing company that is scaling a world-changing technology.  * Benefits   * Significant stock option packages  * 100% employer-paid Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance (premium PPO and HMO options)  * Life insurance  * Traditional and Roth 401(k)  * Relocation assistance provided  * Paid vacation, sick leave, and company holidays  * Generous Paid Parental Leave and extended transition back to work for the birthing parent  * Free daily catered lunch and dinner, and fully stocked kitchenette  * Casual dress, flexible work hours, and regular catered team building events  * Compensation     * Our intent is to offer a salary that is commensurate for the company’s current stage of development and allows the employee to grow and develop within a role.  * In addition to the significant stock option package, the estimated salary range for this role is $160,000-$300,000. The upper end of the range is reserved for individuals who demonstrate exceptional experience, deep domain mastery, and a proven history of high performance and impact.  * Freeform is an Equal Opportunity Employer that values diversity; employment with Freeform is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

Freeform

SENIOR ELECTRICAL ENGINEER (HARDWARE DESIGN) Freeform builds AI-native manufacturing systems that unify software, hardware, and physics to produce industrial-scale parts at the speed of human ideation. By treating manufacturing as a single integrated system, we unlock a new era of innovation where complex hardware is designed, built, and scaled without limits. As a Senior Electrical Engineer at Freeform, you will play an integral role in the design and development of custom electronics that bring our advanced metal 3D printing factory systems to life. You will be solving challenging problems in fields such as high performance compute, high speed communications, embedded hardware, motion control, autonomous robots, and much more. You will use a first principles approach to solving problems and tackling new areas within electrical engineering that you may not have directly worked on before. The ideal candidate is capable of running projects from cradle to grave and has the ability to work effectively with other engineering disciplines. 3D printing experience is not required to be successful here - rather we look for smart, motivated, collaborative engineers who love solving hard problems and creating amazing technology! Responsibilities:  * Rapidly design, develop and test highly reliable electronics for metal printing * Drive electrical architecture, product requirements, component selection, analysis, schematic capture, prototyping, bring-up, debugging, documentation, product management, productization, manufacturing, and test * Challenge assumptions and learn new design approaches * Drive component selection, analysis, schematic capture, prototyping, bring-up, debugging, documentation, manufacturing, and test * Hands-on debugging of the unexpected via the use of laboratory test equipment, custom instrumentation, and testing setups * Model and simulate circuit designs for analysis and performance Basic Qualifications:  * Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or similar engineering discipline * 5+ years of professional experience designing and delivering complex electrical hardware * Broad electrical engineering background; well versed in electrical engineering fundamentals and comfortable taking a first-principles approach to solving problems * Experience designing, developing, and testing analog and digital circuits (e.g. generating electrical schematics, analyzing circuits, breadboarding prototypes, designing circuit boards, etc. Nice to Have:  * Advanced degree (Master's or PhD) in electrical engineering * 8+ years of electronic product experience designing hardware from concept through production; strong emphasis on full life cycle development of new hardware products ­and not small incremental updates to legacy hardware * Familiarity with industrial automation technologies and robotics * Working knowledge of data acquisition systems * Experience with sensors, embedded microcontroller design and firmware, and FPGA hardware and software development * Experience with high-speed data acquisition systems, high-accuracy motion systems, high-speed scanning systems, optomechanical assemblies, and complex electromechanical systems Location:  * Based in Hawthorne, our vertically integrated facility brings technology development, R&D, and production together under one roof. We operate at the center of LA’s deep tech ecosystem, surrounded by some of the most ambitious hardware innovation happening anywhere in the country. * Our fast-paced, cross-functional environment is built on close collaboration, and as such, this role requires full-time onsite presence (five days a week), with very limited exceptions. What We Offer:  * We have an inclusive and diverse culture that values collaboration, learning, and making deliberate data-driven decisions.  * We offer a unique opportunity to be an early and integral member of a rapidly growing company that is scaling a world-changing technology.  * Benefits   * Significant stock option packages  * 100% employer-paid Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance (premium PPO and HMO options)  * Life insurance  * Traditional and Roth 401(k)  * Relocation assistance provided  * Paid vacation, sick leave, and company holidays  * Generous Paid Parental Leave and extended transition back to work for the birthing parent  * Free daily catered lunch and dinner, and fully stocked kitchenette  * Casual dress, flexible work hours, and regular catered team building events  * Compensation     * Our intent is to offer a salary that is commensurate for the company’s current stage of development and allows the employee to grow and develop within a role.  * In addition to the significant stock option package, the estimated salary range for this role is $130,000-$200,000. The upper end of the range is reserved for individuals who demonstrate exceptional experience, deep domain mastery, and a proven history of high performance and impact. * Freeform is an Equal Opportunity Employer that values diversity; employment with Freeform is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

Freeform

SENIOR SOFTWARE ENGINEER (EMBEDDED) Freeform builds AI-native manufacturing systems that unify software, hardware, and physics to produce industrial-scale parts at the speed of human ideation. By treating manufacturing as a single integrated system, we unlock a new era of innovation where complex hardware is designed, built, and scaled without limits. As a Senior Embedded Software Engineer at Freeform, you will be responsible for architecting and implementing critical embedded software systems that enable our advanced metal 3D printing factories to operate fully autonomously at high speeds with precision. This entails developing elegant software solutions for hardware control, high speed data acquisition, and custom high performance compute systems. Your software will effectively act as the nervous system of our fully automated metal printing factories. As a crucial member of the engineering team you will be responsible for driving the pace of innovation, maximizing development speed, and maintaining a standard of excellence within the entire engineering team. 3D printing experience is not required to be successful here - rather we look for smart, motivated, collaborative engineers who love solving hard problems and creating amazing technology! Responsibilities: * Architect state-of-the-art software for an advanced production-scale metal 3D printing system * Design and develop the machine instruction interface to the metal 3D printing system hardware * Develop software to enable the computer vision system, monitor sensor data, perform calibrations, log quality data, and keep track of the health of the printing system over its lifetime * Work with process and control engineers to integrate control algorithms into production software * Work with FPGA developers to develop high-speed data acquisition software * Create software for collection and analysis of process data * Develop software required to implement production automation solutions * Develop, unit test, and deploy functional, scalable, robust, and maintainable software * Generate and maintain documentation of designed software and integrated systems Basic Qualifications: * 5+ years of experience in software development using C/C++ and/or Rust * Experience in real-time embedded system design with Linux OS * Experience in object-oriented programming and design Nice to Have: * Bachelor's, Master's or PhD in computer science, applied mathematics, engineering, or related field * Experience working in a high performance compute environment (FPGAs or GPUs) * Experience with PCIe driver development and troubleshooting * Experience with high speed data acquisition and real time closed-loop-control systems * Excellent knowledge of OS coding techniques, IP protocols, interfaces, and hardware subsystems * Experience writing software for industrial automation systems, robotics, or related hardware * Creative thinker able to apply first-principles reasoning to solve complex problems * Excellent verbal and written communication skills Location: * Based in Hawthorne, our vertically integrated facility brings technology development, R&D, and production together under one roof. We operate at the center of LA’s deep tech ecosystem, surrounded by some of the most ambitious hardware innovation happening anywhere in the country. * Our fast-paced, cross-functional environment is built on close collaboration, and as such, this role requires full-time onsite presence (five days a week), with very limited exceptions. What We Offer: * We have an inclusive and diverse culture that values collaboration, learning, and making deliberate data-driven decisions. * We offer a unique opportunity to be an early and integral member of a rapidly growing company that is scaling a world-changing technology. * Benefits * Significant stock option packages * 100% employer-paid Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance (premium PPO and HMO options) * Life insurance * Traditional and Roth 401(k) * Relocation assistance provided * Paid vacation, sick leave, and company holidays * Generous Paid Parental Leave and extended transition back to work for the birthing parent * Free daily catered lunch and dinner, and fully stocked kitchenette * Casual dress, flexible work hours, and regular catered team building events * Compensation   * As a growing company, the salary range is intentionally wide as we determine the most appropriate package for each individual taking into consideration years of experience, educational background, and unique skills and abilities as demonstrated throughout the interview process. Our intent is to offer a salary that is commensurate for the company’s current stage of development and allows the employee to grow and develop within a role.  * In addition to the significant stock option package, the estimated salary range for this role is $140,000-$250,000. The upper end of the range is reserved for individuals who demonstrate exceptional experience, deep domain mastery, and a proven history of high performance and impact. * Freeform is an Equal Opportunity Employer that values diversity; employment with Freeform is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.