Senior Digital Hardware Engineer
About the role
Localizacion : Madrid Tres Cantos, Spain<p style="text-align:inherit"></p><p style="text-align:inherit"></p>Thales Alenia Space people architect and deliver satellite-based systems that help position, connect and observe our planet, and push the boundaries of our understanding of planet's resources. Our systems are in orbit at 400 km, 20000 km, 36000 km and beyond to the edges of the solar system.<p style="text-align:inherit"></p><p style="text-align:inherit"></p>Thales in Spain is a leader in technological solutions applied to Defence, Aeronautics, Security, Transportation and Space and, furthermore, is a global centre for excellence in Space, Security of Critical Infrastructures and Transportation. With a turnover of €320 million and a staff of 1,200, it exports approximately 40% of its total production principally to the Middle East, North Africa and Latin America.<p style="text-align:inherit"></p><p style="text-align:inherit"></p><p>Join one of Europe's leading space engineering teams and design the next generation of telecommunications satellites. Design advanced FPGA-based hardware and work with state-of-the-art digital technologies, high-speed interfaces and space-qualified electronics in an international engineering environment where your designs will fly in orbit for more than 15 years.</p><p></p><p>As part of our Digital Hardware team, you will contribute to the development of cutting-edge telecommunications satellites, working alongside experts in FPGA design, signal integrity, embedded processing and space-qualified electronics.</p><p></p><p><b>What you will do:</b></p><ul><li>Define digital architectures for next-generation telecommunication satellites.</li><li>Design complex boards based on FPGAs, microprocessors and high-speed digital interfaces.</li><li>Develop solutions involving DDR memories, SpaceWire, high-speed serial links and advanced processing architectures.</li><li>You will work with technologies including Xilinx Kintex UltraScale, Microchip PolarFire and RTG4 FPGAs, DDR4 memories, SpaceWire interfaces and multi-gigabit serial links.</li><li>Perform signal integrity and power integrity analyses.</li><li>Lead technical decisions throughout the complete product lifecycle, from concept to qualification.</li><li>Collaborate with international multidisciplinary teams across Europe.</li><li>You will have significant technical ownership of the hardware architecture and will influence key design decisions throughout the project lifecycle.</li></ul><p></p><h3>Required</h3><ul><li>5+ years in digital electronic design.</li><li>FPGA and/or processor-based designs.</li><li>High-speed digital electronics (Such as 1GB+ Ethernet, PCIe, SpaceFibre, Aurora, WizardLink, etc.).</li><li>Board development lifecycle.</li></ul><p></p><h3>Nice to have</h3><ul><li>Space industry experience.</li><li>ECSS standards.</li><li>Radiation-tolerant FPGAs.</li><li>Hyperlynx or equivalent SI tools.</li><li>RISC-V architectures.</li><li>VITA Standard</li><li>Knowledge of design tools: LTspice, Simplis/Simetrix, OrCAD, …</li></ul><p></p><p>We encourage candidates to apply even if they do not meet every preferred qualification. We value potential, motivation and the ability to learn as prior experience.</p><p></p><p><b>Languages:</b></p><ul><li>Good written and verbal Spanish and English as a minimum. French knowledge will be valued.</li></ul><p></p><p><b>What do we offer?</b></p><ul><li>Work on real satellite hardware operating in orbit.</li><li>Long-term participation in flagship European space programs.</li><li>Hybrid working model (40% remote work, 60% work at the Tres Cantos facility).</li><li>Flexible schedule and excellent work-life balance.</li><li>Individual career development plan and technical growth path.</li><li>Continuous training on advanced digital electronics and FPGA technologies.</li><li>Free meals at the office.</li><li>Pension plan.</li><li>28 business days of vacation plus Christmas and Easter weeks.</li></ul><p></p><p>Join us and help design the electronics that will power the next generation of telecommunications satellites. Your work will contribute to systems operating hundreds of kilometers above Earth and serving customers worldwide.</p><p>We will consider being in possession of a certificate of disability.</p><p>Thales is a company committed to equal opportunities between women and men, and for this reason, we work to raise awareness and disseminate information on the subject both internally and externally.</p><p style="text-align:inherit"></p><p style="text-align:inherit"></p>At Thales we provide CAREERS and not only jobs. With Thales employing 80,000 employees in 68 countries our mobility policy enables thousands of employees each year to develop their careers at home and abroad, in their existing areas of expertise or by branching out into new fields. Together we believe that embracing flexibility is a smarter way of working. Great journeys start here, apply now!
Copied from the listing Thales Alenia Space published, verified 31 Oct 2026.
About Thales Alenia Space
Satellites, payloads and space station modules, a joint venture of Thales and Leonardo.
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