Senior FPGA Engineer — Wireless Networking Group (WNG)

Senior FPGA Engineer - Wireless Networking Group (WNG)

Wireless Networking Group

Deadline for receipt of applications: August 30, 2026 23:59 AoE (31 August 2026, 13:59h)

The Wireless Networking Group at IMDEA Networks Institute, led by Prof. Joerg Widmer, invites applications for a Senior FPGA Engineer position. The successful candidate will lead the FPGA design effort behind the next generation IMDEA ISAC prototyping platform, building on the MIMORPH and HELIX experimentation platforms developed in the group. The work focuses on the on fabric integration of advanced Integrated Sensing and Communication algorithms and on the integration of machine learning mechanisms such as sparse and spiking neural networks for efficient real time processing of RF and channel data.

Responsibilities

Lead the architecture, RTL design and continuous evolution of the FPGA fabric of the platform.

Implement ISAC accelerators directly on the FPGA, including high resolution channel estimation, range Doppler and micro Doppler processing, and multi node coherent capture.

Integrate sparse neural network and spiking neural network inference engines on the FPGA fabric for low latency, low power processing at the edge of the radio.

Co-design hardware blocks with software running on embedded ARM cores and host servers.

Drive integration of the platform with mm-wave and sub-THz front ends.

Mentor junior engineers and PhD students and contribute to open source releases of the platform.

Requirements

MSc or PhD in Telecommunications, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science or related field.

At least 7 years of professional FPGA design experience.

Strong RTL design skills in VHDL and SystemVerilog.

Solid experience with Xilinx RFSoC and UltraScale+ devices and the Vivado and Vitis toolchain.

Experience with high throughput AXI based datapaths, on chip memory hierarchies and timing closure.

Solid background in DSP for wireless physical layers (OFDM, channel estimation, channel coding, beamforming, carrier aggregation).

Prior experience with wireless experimentation platforms or software defined radios is a strong plus.

Experience with FPGA implementation of neural networks is a plus.

Proficiency in written and spoken English.

We offer

A leading role in a flagship internal project of the Wireless Networking Group.

A vibrant international research environment in Madrid with collaboration opportunities at top European and industrial partners.

Access to state of the art RF and FPGA laboratory infrastructure.

A competitive compensation package, positioned at the upper end of the Spanish market for senior FPGA profiles, commensurate with experience.

IMDEA Networks Institute aims to increase the proportion of women and therefore qualified female applicants are explicitly encouraged to apply. Until a balanced ratio of men and women has been achieved at the institute, preference will be given to women if applicants have similar qualifications. IMDEA Networks Institute actively promotes diversity and equal opportunities. Applicants are not to be discriminated against in personnel selection procedures on the grounds of gender, ethnicity, religion or ideology, age, sexual orientation (anti-discrimination). People with disabilities who have the relevant qualifications are expressly invited to apply.