FPGA Engineer, MQS Center for Quantum Computing

Amazon is hiring an FPGA Engineer, MQS Center for Quantum Computing. It pays $144k-$194k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Amazon.

Level's read on this job

Little AI ●○○○ is how Level rates this role: aI is not part of the work.
The posting mentions FPGA, Verilog and Vhdl among its tools and skills.
Level classes it as a mid-level role.
Amazon has 20,000+ other open roles on Level.

AI in this role

Develop RTL designs and embedded software for quantum control platforms and error correction protocols.

FPGAVerilogVhdl

rtl-designembedded-softwarequantum-computinghardware-integration

The Models, Quantum, and Silicon (MQS) Center for Quantum Computing (CQC) is a multi-disciplinary team of scientists, engineers, and technicians, on a mission to develop a fault-tolerant quantum computer.

We are looking for an FPGA Engineer to contribute to our quantum control platform. As a part of the control stack team, you will develop and integrate RTL designs and embedded software with an eye towards overcoming novel challenges in experimental quantum computing, such as high-throughput device characterization & calibration, or enabling real-time quantum error correction protocols. The ideal candidate will help us work backwards from our broader experimental goals, driving improvements to our control platform at the hardware/software interface while ensuring that high-level requirements (e.g. latency, bandwidth, resource utilization) are met.

This position is on-site at our lab, located on the Caltech campus in Pasadena, CA.

Work/Life Balance
At the MQS CQC, we understand that developing quantum computing technology is a marathon, not a sprint. Mental and physical wellness is encouraged within our team and throughout AWS. The work/life integration within Amazon encourages a culture where employees work hard and have ownership over their downtime. We are exploring more structured wellness elements including meditation scheduling, running group meet-ups, and a culture of sharing wellness tips.

Mentorship and Career Growth
We are committed to the growth and development of every member of the Center for Quantum Computing. You will receive career-growth-minded management and mentorship from a software and science team, and also have the opportunity to participate in Amazon's mentorship programs. You will work closely with quantum research scientists and have opportunities to learn about quantum computing technology and contribute to the development of scientific software for quantum computing at AWS.

Inclusive and Diverse Culture
Here at AWS, we embrace our differences. We are committed to furthering our culture of inclusion. We have ten employee-led affinity groups, reaching 40,000 employees in over 190 chapters globally. We have innovative benefit offerings, and we host annual and ongoing learning experiences, including our Conversations on Race and Ethnicity (CORE) and AmazeCon conferences. Amazon’s culture of inclusion is reinforced within our 16 Leadership Principles, which remind team members to seek diverse perspectives, learn and be curious, and earn trust.

Key job responsibilities
- Work with stakeholders to understand and refine hardware/software requirements.
- Propose architectural or micro-architectural updates to our control platform to meet requirements.
- Implement RTL subsystems in Verilog or SystemVerilog.
- Develop embedded software in C, C++ or Rust for high-performance near-real-time tasks.
- Verify & validate designs, both in simulation and in bench-top / real-world conditions.
- Ensure new features are successfully integrated into our Python-based experimental software stack.

We are looking for candidates with strong engineering principles, resourcefulness and a bias for action, superior problem-solving and excellent communication skills. Working effectively within a team environment is essential. As a member of a research organization, you will have the opportunity to work on new ideas and stay abreast of the field of experimental quantum computation.

A day in the life
The majority of your time will be spent on projects that extend the functional capabilities or performance of our existing control platform. This requires working backwards from the needs of our science staff in the context of our larger experimental roadmap. You will translate hardware and software requirements into design proposals balancing implementation complexity against time-to-delivery. Once a design proposal has been reviewed and accepted, you will drive the implementation and coordinate with internal stakeholders to ensure a smooth roll out. Because many high-level experimental goals have cross-cutting requirements, you’ll often work closely with other software or hardware engineers on the team.

About the team
You will be joining the Software team within the MQS Center of Quantum Computing. Our team is comprised of scientists and software engineers who are building scalable software and hardware that enables quantum computing technologies.

Basic qualifications

- 3+ years of non-internship professional software development experience
- Bachelor's degree or foreign equivalent in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field
- 3+ years of industry experience with FPGA development
- Experience with a scripting language (bash, TCL, Python, etc.)
- 2+ years of experience in developing embedded software in C, C++, or Rust
- Experience performing hardware bring-up/debugging (e.g. Ethernet network adapters, SPI/I2C devices, etc...)
- Experience with standard communication interfaces (USB, PCIe, Ethernet)

Preferred qualifications

- M.Sc. degree, or equivalent, in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics, or Computer Science
- Experience with soft core RISC-V implementation
- Experience with Xilinx SoC platforms
- Experience with high-level synthesis tools
- Experience developing real-time operating system (RTOS) applications
- Experience with low-level device driver and kernel development (esp. on Xilinx MPSoC or other ARM architectures)
- Experience with high-performance networking technologies (e.g. DPDK, RDMA)
- Experience with low-latency distributed computation
- Knowledge of Linux kernel internals and networking or storage subsystems architecture

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.

Los Angeles County applicants: Job duties for this position include: work safely and cooperatively with other employees, supervisors, and staff; adhere to standards of excellence despite stressful conditions; communicate effectively and respectfully with employees, supervisors, and staff to ensure exceptional customer service; and follow all federal, state, and local laws and Company policies. Criminal history may have a direct, adverse, and negative relationship with some of the material job duties of this position. These include the duties and responsibilities listed above, as well as the abilities to adhere to company policies, exercise sound judgment, effectively manage stress and work safely and respectfully with others, exhibit trustworthiness and professionalism, and safeguard business operations and the Company’s reputation. Pursuant to the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.

The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.

USA, CA, Pasadena - 143,700.00 - 194,400.00 USD annually

How we rate this

FPGA Engineer, MQS Center for Quantum Computing at Amazon rates 0 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Little AI (AI Level 1 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.

Classification

Little AI. AI is not part of the work.

●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
●○○○ Little AI0 to 39

Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.

Key facts

FPGA Engineer, MQS Center for Quantum Computing is an open job at Amazon.
Level rates this role AI Level 1 of 4: Little AI.
The listed salary is $144k-$194k a year.
The role is based in US, CA, Pasadena.
The job was posted on September 17, 2026.
Seniority: mid.
Applications are handled by Amazon. Apply on Amazon

Prepare for this job

Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.

Skills and AI tools this role asks for

Rtl DesignEmbedded SoftwareQuantum ComputingHardware IntegrationFPGAVerilogVhdl

Questions you could be asked

Tell me about a project where rtl design was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where embedded software was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where quantum computing was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where hardware integration was part of your work. What did you do?
Walk me through how you've used FPGA in your day-to-day work.

Adapt your resume

List these exact terms on your resume: Rtl Design, Embedded Software, Quantum Computing, Hardware Integration, and FPGA. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.

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