Hardware · Rising fast
FPGA
Why does FPGA matter in quant?
FPGA engineering places the decision hot path into programmable hardware, removing software latency entirely. It is the deepest specialism in high-frequency trading and among the hardest roles in the market to fill.
Firms hire FPGA engineers from telecommunications, defence and semiconductor backgrounds as often as from finance. Chicago and Amsterdam are the densest markets. Because supply is so tight, these roles are frequently reposted - an observable signal of hiring difficulty rather than of expansion.
Demand right now, measured
Medium confidencen=118Live vacancies asking for it
118
Share of quant roles
13.9%
Core quant vacancies mentioning it
Quant signal
2.35×
Versus other roles at the same firms
Firms asking
8
Across 14 cities
This skill: 118 vacancy mentions across 8 employers. Each vacancy is verified first-party and classified by a published rule set you can inspect.
Which roles ask for it
Percentage of that role's live vacancies mentioning FPGA.
- Quant Researcher19% (31)
- Software Engineer8% (27)
- HFT / Low-Latency Engineer65% (15)
- Quant Trader4% (5)
- Quant Developer10% (3)
- Data Engineer3% (1)
- Machine Learning Engineer2% (1)
Roles requiring it
Where demand concentrates
Strategies it serves
- High-frequency trading · Microseconds to seconds
- Market making · Continuous
Backgrounds this comes from
- Telecommunications hardware
- Defence electronics
- Semiconductor design
Other skills
Live opportunities
Roles that use FPGA
Open vacancies we track at quant firms, grouped by role and city. Adverts are anonymised.
Hiring for these roles? Brief the desk on a hire or check your fit for a role.
Research desk
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Last updated September 2026 · KnowQuant 2026.1
Methodology
Figures are expressed as annual total compensation (base salary plus expected performance bonus) in the reference market's local currency, converted from a US dollar base. They describe typical market ranges rather than any individual offer, and exclude sign-on payments, deferred equity and carried interest. Portfolio-manager figures reflect formulaic profit-share arrangements and are therefore far more dispersed than any other role.
KnowQuantIndex 2026.1 · Updated September 2026
Modelled bands describe the market, not an individual offer. Where an employer states pay, the stated figure is used and labelled as such.