FPGA Engineer · Space Systems

Caroline
Hagen

Building the hardware brains of spacecraft. I design FPGA logic for satellites.

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About

Who I Am

I'm a hardware engineer specializing in FPGA design for space systems, currently at Astranis Space Technologies building satellites for high orbits. My work lives at the intersection of digital logic, embedded systems, and the extreme demands of the space environment.

Before Astranis, I spent a year at Blue Origin as an FPGA Engineer on the Lunar Permanence program, and before that at Intellian Technologies designing RTL logic for user terminals (one of the earth-dwelling components of a satellite network). My career started at Cobham Advanced Electronic Solutions (CAES) designing PCB's for defense applications. At CAES I learned the fundamentals of PCB design and debug.

I earned my B.S. in Electrical & Computer Engineering from Temple University and am now pursuing my M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering.

4 Companies in aerospace & defense
4+ Years of FPGA experience
Temple B.S. ECE · 2021
JHU M.S. CE · 4.0 GPA
Experience

Where I've Worked

Systems FPGA Engineer II
Sep 2025 — Present · 6 mos
Astranis Space Technologies · San Francisco, CA
Building satellites for high orbits. Designing and verifying FPGA logic for geostationary systems where reliability is non-negotiable and every design decision has to survive the harshness of space.
RTL Development FPGA GEO Satellites Space Hardware
FPGA Engineer II, Lunar Permanence
Aug 2024 — Aug 2025 · 1 yr 1 mo
Blue Origin · Renton, WA
Full-time FPGA engineer on the Lunar Permanence program — Blue Origin's effort to establish sustained human presence on the Moon. Developed RTL for mission-critical embedded systems in a fast-paced, high-stakes hardware environment.
RTL Development FPGA Lunar Systems Embedded Hardware
FPGA Engineer
Jun 2023 — Aug 2024 · 1 yr 3 mos
Intellian Technologies · Rockville, MD
Designed FPGA logic for satellite communication antenna systems. Developed RTL and contributed to the full design cycle from specification through verification and hardware bring-up.
RTL Development FPGA Satellite Comms Antenna Systems
Digital Engineer
Jan 2022 — Jun 2023 · 1 yr 6 mos
Cobham Advanced Electronic Solutions (CAES) · Full-time · Lansdale, PA
Digital PCB design in Altium.
Embedded Systems RTL Development Defense Electronics Digital Design
Skills

What I Know

FPGA & HDL
Verilog / SystemVerilog
RTL Design
Timing Closure
Simulation & Verification
VHDL
CAES JHU · FPGA Design JHU · FPGA SOC
🛰️ Space Systems
GEO Satellite Hardware
Avionics Systems
Space-Grade Design
🔧 Tools & EDA
Xilinx Vivado
Libero SoC
Linux
Bazel
Git / Version Control
Claude Code
🔌 Interfaces
SPI
UART
I2C
Ethernet
AXI-S
SpaceWire
Education

Where I Studied

M.S. Electrical & Computer Engineering
Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering
2024 — 2027
Courses
  • Embedded Microprocessor Systems · EN.525.615
  • FPGA Using VHDL · EN.525.642
  • System-on-a-Chip FPGA Design · EN.525.742
  • Systems Engineering for Space · EN.675.600
B.S. Electrical & Computer Engineering
Temple University
2017 — 2021
Courses
  • Operating Systems · CIS 3207
Hobbies

Outside the Lab

🏓 Ping Pong
🏔️ Hiking
✏️ Crossword

I like crossword puzzles and I made my own. Play it here ↗

Flash Cards

Caroline's Super Important Flashcards

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Contact

Let's Connect

Interested in FPGA design for space, working together, or just want to talk hardware? I'd love to hear from you.