ASIC / FPGA System Architect - 4G / 5G Communication Systems

New opportunity with a major player in ASIC's, SW, Multibeam electronically steered antennas and complete systems for communication satellites.

The System Engineer / Systems Architect will be responsible for defining, designing, capturing and overseeing the architecture of existing and future ASIC-based solutions with a strong focus on modem and RF communication systems. This senior role requires deep expertise in ASIC/FPGA design trade-offs, communication algorithms, and system integration, as well as the ability to balance performance, power, cost, and schedule constraints.

The architect will serve as a bridge between the product team as well as VLSI, hardware, firmware, and software teams, ensuring end-to-end system coherence. The role also requires strong leadership in requirements definition, traceability, and verification and validation planning to deliver robust solutions.

Key responsibilities

  • Define and/or document system architecture for ASIC/FPGA-based communication/modem solutions
  • Evaluate and make decisions on SW/HW trade-offs
  • Translate customer and product needs into system requirements, ensuring requirements are captured, tracked, and traceable across the lifecycle
  • Define test cases and test plans to validate performance, functionality, and compliance with standards
  • System modelling and feasibility studies for communication algorithms, modulation schemes, and signal processing flows
  • Collaborate with RTL design, verification, physical design, and firmware/software teams to ensure architectural compliance
  • Perform trade-off analysis across performance, power, area, and cost
  • Stay current with communication standards (5G/6G, Wi-Fi, IoT protocols)
  • Provide technical mentorship to junior engineers and influence product roadmap planning
  • Ensure solutions meet industry standards, quality, and interoperability requirements

Requirements

  • Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics, or related field
  • 8+ years of relevant experience in FPGA/ASIC/system architecture with a focus on communication/modem systems
  • Background in Satellite industry / Aviation/Automotive industry – an advantage
  • Solid understanding of digital and mixed-signal FPGA/ASIC design flows
  • Deep knowledge of communication system design
  • Expertise in signal processing, channel coding, and modulation. DVB-S2 / S2X is an advantage
  • Proficiency with modelling tools (MATLAB, C/C++)
  • Strong background in requirements engineering (capturing, tracking, validating)
  • Hands-on experience defining test plans, verification and validation strategies, and traceability to requirements as well as guiding the verification and validation teams
  • Familiarity with system integration of RF, baseband, firmware, and software components
  • Experience in productisation at both system and chip levels

Job Details

Company
IC Resources
Location
Slough, Berkshire, UK
Employment Type
Full-time
Posted