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Altera_Forum's avatar
Altera_Forum
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16 years ago

multi-tasking or design centre?

By sheer coincidence I came across this job spec(supposed to be for an FPGA design engineer).

Is it multi-tasking or a design centre that they ask for.

Shouldn't thet want a human being interfacing as FPGA engineer...

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Job Spec:

Essential:

Digital hardware design – experience with digital video and audio, MPEG, and Data systems.

Experience designing with Microchip PIC devices.

Fluent in Assembler programming skills.

Experience designing with Xilinx FPGAs and CPLDs.

VHDL programming skills.

Embedded system design – experience with microcontroller based systems and interfacing with PC based controllers, user interfaces, communicating via RS232, USB, I2C and SPI, power supply control and monitoring, controlling a wide range of devices including RF synthesisers, attenuators, etc.

Desirable:

• Analogue hardware design – experience with analogue video and audio, motor drive and feedback systems, and basic RF designs.

• Creating and maintaining product specifications, Bill of materials, production build and assembly information, and test procedures.

• Experience of EMC issues.

• Knowledge of Satellite communication system components and their interfaces, e.g. Encoders, Modulators, etc.

• C programming skills.

• Schematic and PCB entry skills, Experience with ZUKEN CADSTAR and NUMBER ONE SYSTEMS EASY_PC schematic and PCB software.

• Experience with AUTOCAD

• Experience with mechanical / enclosure design.

• Experience with Matlab.

• Experience Designing for environmental specifications of up to IP68 and -40 to + 80 ºC

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4 Replies

  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
    Icon for Honored Contributor rankHonored Contributor
    16 years ago

    Design center isn't a bad idea.

    Seriously, an engineer who meets the specification (more or less) most likely won't feel a need to apply for the job, because he's supposed to work as a consultant, R&D director or similar. In the other words, the author of the above spec apparently misses some sense of reality.
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    16 years ago

    I had a job interview with a company before that was basically "Maintain object oriented c, c++ (about 300,000 lines of code that wasn't documented very well), fpga controllers, design DC/AC motor controllers/hardware to steer solar panels, power supplies, work with multi kilovolt electricity, and bring the boss coffee" and I'm only joking about the last coffee part. By the end of the interview, I found out the engineer who supposedly did all this had died recently and not left much documentation behind. I declined even being considered, since I could only do the C++ and FPGA part and because it killed the last engineer evidently.

  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    16 years ago

    For a permanent position(obviously a misnomer) you are supposed to do everything and make the boss happy, they call it flexibility(willing to learn, enthusiastic, etc.)

    However, if you apply for a contract position, believe me if they are going to use xilinx and you only have excellent altera experience, then you wouldn't get it and vice versa...that is called rigidity...

    Alt1000: did they actually do post-mortem on the poor guy, I doubt if he died of natural causes. Did they put flowers on the interview desk? We all have to meet our almighty designer...
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    16 years ago

    It was a phone interview so I didn't get check if there were any flowers. I hope he gets to take some vacation time in the great beyond.