FPGA job Prospectus

FPGA is in use across industry since 1985 with the introduction of first commercial FPGA chip from Xilinx. The demand for FPGA engineers has been increased after its adoption in semiconductor industry. Usage of FPGA vary based on applications viz. small logic implementation, small subsystem or complete system.

It is also used to implement complex algorithms requiring power hungry and time critical functions/modules. As we know the main challenge for FPGA engineers is to take care of efficient utilization of resources and latency requirements. This can be achieved by using sophisticated synthesis as well as place and route simulation tools.

FPGA job falls under VLSI domain. VLSI stands for Very Large Scale Integration. Before ASIC fabrication proof of concept can be tried and tested on FPGA with required resources.

FPGA has wide adoption across industries. It covers IT-software and hardware, Aerospace, manufacturing, engineering, semiconductors, networking, healthcare, military, telecom, consumer electronics and more. Following skills are desired for FPGA jobs. There are many FPGA manufacturers such as Xilinx, Lattice, Altera, Cypress, Actel etc.

For FPGA job position knowledge on any one FPGA chip is more than sufficient. The knowledge on HDL languages such as VHDL, Verilog is the basic need for this kind of job profile. FPGA engineers usually need to have basic knowledge of digital logic concepts. In addition if they have knowledge of C or MATLAB language it will be added advantage as they need to convert fixed point C or MATLAB code to either VHDL or Verilog code before porting on the target FPGA. Knowledge of simulation, synthesis and place & route tools for FPGA/ASIC design is a plus.

Skills desired:

• HDL coding: VHDL, Verilog, C
• Basic concepts: Digital design concepts, logic gates etc.
• Domain: DSP, communication system (will vary based on industries)
• Tools: Simulation tool- Xilinx ModelSim, Synthesis/Place & route tools- Xilinx XST/ISE etc.

There are many companies hiring for FPGA related jobs for both FPGA board developments as well FPGA programming work. Few among them are listed below.

Companies hiring for FPGA job:

• NVIDIA
• Procsys
• Wipro
• eInfoChips
• Microsemi
• Dexcel Electronics Designs
• Parker Hannifin
• Synopsys
• Xilinx

Following is the list of payscale for various position levels based on experience in FPGA related jobs. This may vary time to time based on demand and economy of the respective countries.

Expected Salary Range:

Experience Payscale
Entry level $69,200
Junior level $74,805
Mid level $88,063
Senior level $105,658 to $122,390

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FPGA Architecture
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FPGA Kits
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VHDL Language tutorial
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