Senior/Staff FPGA/DSP Engineer

Santa Cruz, CA eVTOL Full-time $133k to $199k Posted Oct 22, 2026
Apply on Joby Aviation (opens in a new tab) Sourced via careers-jobyaviation.icims.com · Posted 2026-10-22

About this role

Joby Aviation is hiring a Senior/Staff FPGA/DSP Engineer, full-time, on-site in Santa Cruz, CA, in the eVTOL sector.

Company Overview

Imagine a piloted air taxi that takes off vertically, then quietly carries you and your fellow passengers over the congested city streets below, enabling you to spend more time with the people and places that matter most. At Joby, we've been working to make that dream a reality since 2009 and we're now in the final stages of certifying our aircraft with the FAA. With plans to launch our aircraft in the US and Dubai, we're now scaling manufacturing and preparing for the launch of our commercial service.

Overview

The successful candidate will play a crucial role in building and optimizing the dependable sensing and computing systems needed to bring the dream of Urban Air Mobility to market. They will contribute to a team that is focused on implementing signal processing and algorithm accelerators in a combination of hardware and software. The successful candidate will excel in a highly collaborative environment to design and modify processing systems that can be rigorously defined, designed, characterized, and verified, ensuring the safe operation of our aircraft.

Responsibilities

Work with FPGA, hardware, motor control, software, data, safety, and systems engineers to understand current and future DSP and processing needs, constraints, and challenges.

Design new and optimize existing fault-tolerant FPGA-based DSP blocks for sensor acquisition, motor control, navigation, and hardware emulation applications.

Develop directed testbenches for DSP blocks based on bit-accurate reference models and assist FPGA verification engineers as needed for more formal verification.

Work in a rigorous aircraft certification-focused development environment and create the required models and documentation for the definition, validation, and verification of requirements as needed.

Required

S./M.S./Ph.D. in relevant discipline (Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Mechatronics, Physics, Mathematics, or similar field; or portfolio of designed and utilized FPGA/ASIC projects).

5+ years’ experience in FPGA or ASIC design in VHDL, Verilog, or SystemVerilog.

Experience using MATLAB, Simulink, Python, or C for modeling signal processing systems.

Experience implementing fixed-point DSP blocks in RTL, such as IIR and FIR filters, PWM generators, delta-sigma modulators, PLLs, DFT/FFT processors, and CORDIC processors.

Familiarity with development in a Linux environment.

Desired

Experience with DO-254 FPGA compliance.

Experience with SEU mitigation for aviation or automotive applications.

Experience with C/C++ on embedded processing systems.

Experience with processor architecture and communications protocols, such as AXI, DMA, I2C, UART, SPI, SENT, and ethernet.

Experience with Xilinx FPGAs (Zynq, Artix) and Vivado toolchain experience, including creation of complex timing constraints.

Experience with model-based design and associated automated code generation tools.

Additional Information

Compensation at Joby is a combination of base pay and Restricted Stock Units (RSUs). The target base pay for this position is $132,800 - $199,300. The compensation package will be determined by job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

Joby also offers a comprehensive benefits package, including paid time off, healthcare benefits, a 401(k) plan with a company match, an employee stock purchase plan (ESPP), short-term and long-term disability coverage, life insurance, and more.

Description from Joby Aviation's official posting. Always confirm details on the company careers page.

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About Joby Aviation

Joby Aviation

eVTOL air taxi developer with FAA Part 135 certification and Toyota partnership. Santa Cruz, CA.

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Larry Sherwood Jr.

About Larry Sherwood Jr.

Talent Acquisition Leader specializing in mobility, EV, and frontier tech. 1,000+ hires across roles ranging from production technicians to VPs, including 48 hires for the AFEELA U.S. launch at Sony Honda Mobility (98% offer acceptance, $1.5M+ agency savings). SHRM-CP certified. Build recruiting functions from scratch, no agencies.

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Curated by Larry Sherwood Jr. on the free Mobility Jobs board. Pulled nightly from company applicant tracking systems. Apply directly on the source link above to be considered.