FPGA Senior Design Engineer

The Firewall Hardware Team at Cisco is dedicated to designing high-performance, secure firewall hardware platforms that safeguard enterprise, data center, and cloud networks from cyber threats. They focus on advanced hardware solutions, including FPGA-based crypto accelerators and network processing units, ensuring exceptional throughput, low latency, and robust security features.

Responsibilities:

• Own the end-to-end FPGA development process for next-generation products.
• Take ownership of complex FPGA sub-modules from micro-architecture definition to RTL implementation using Verilog/SystemVerilog or VHDL.
• Define, architect, and implement high-performance digital logic for FPGAs.
• Develop comprehensive, self-checking testbenches to verify FPGA functionality using simulation tools.
• Manage the entire FPGA tool flow, including synthesis, placement, routing, and static timing analysis.
• Integrate and verify internal and third-party IP cores, such as high-speed memory controllers and PCIe endpoints.
• Collaborate with hardware, software, and systems engineers for system integration and debugging.
• Create and maintain detailed design specifications and verification plans.
• Analyze and optimize designs for efficiency, focusing on resource utilization and power consumption.

Qualifications:

• 8+ years of experience with a Master's degree or 10+ years with a Bachelor's degree in ASIC/FPGA design.
• Experience in the end-to-end FPGA development process.
• Hands-on experience with EDA tools such as VCS, Spyglass, and nLint.
• Expertise in verifying complex blocks and top-level designs.
• Practical knowledge of System Verilog constraints and structures.

Skills:

• Familiarity with TCL and/or Python scripting for automation tasks.
• Strong domain expertise in protocols like PCIe, Ethernet, DMA, and DDR.
• In-depth knowledge of L2/L3/L4 networking protocols and cryptography technologies.
• Structured approach to design and effective problem-solving skills.
• Experience in x86 and ARM-based board design.
• Expertise in Ethernet interface design across various speeds (1G/10G/40G/100G/400G).