Waqar Ahmed - FPGA Engineer

Q: Where is Waqar based?

Waqar is based in Karlsruhe, Germany .

Q: What languages does Waqar speak?

Waqar speaks the following languages: English (Advanced), German (Intermediate) .

Q: How many years of experience does Waqar have?

Waqar has at least 11 years of experience. During this time, Waqar has worked in at least 6 different roles and for 5 different companies . The average length of individual experience is 1 year and 4 months . Note that Waqar may not have shared all experience and actually has more experience.

Q: What is Waqar's latest experience?

Waqar's most recent position is Principal Engineer at Microchip Technology .

Q: What companies has Waqar worked for in recent years?

In recent years, Waqar has worked for Microchip Technology , FH Dortmund , TU Darmstadt , and CARE Pvt Ltd .

Q: Which industries is Waqar most experienced in?

Waqar is most experienced in industries like Telecommunication , Information Technology , and Education . Waqar also has some experience in Manufacturing .

Q: Which business areas is Waqar most experienced in?

Waqar is most experienced in business areas like Research and Development , Information Technology , and Product Development . Waqar also has some experience in Quality Assurance .

Q: Which industries has Waqar worked in recently?

Waqar has recently worked in industries like Telecommunication , Education , and Information Technology .

Q: Which business areas has Waqar worked in recently?

Waqar has recently worked in business areas like Research and Development , Information Technology , and Product Development .

Recommended expert

Karlsruhe, Germany

Check rate

Experience

Nov 2025 - May 2026

7 months

Germany

Principal Engineer

Microchip Technology

Acted as an FPGA Subject Matter Expert with hands-on experience in Microchip Technology Libero SoC and PolarFire FPGA/SoC evaluation platforms.
Identified a bug in an application note and provided a solution.
Collaborated with Field Application Engineers (FAEs) to analyze, debug, and resolve customer-reported FPGA issues.
Worked with internal teams to accelerate SPI flash programming by creating an FPGA design that enabled high-speed communication between JTAG and SPI.
Characterized PolarFire FPGA temperature TVS sensors from -40°C to 100°C, comparing estimated and measured surface temperatures and analyzing junction-to-surface temperature estimation using the Psi-JT thermal parameter.

Aug 2024 - Dec 2024

5 months

Germany

Research Engineer

FH Dortmund

Worked on GPU-based hardware acceleration for 5G networks.
Monitored GPU resource utilization by integrating tracing tools with Grafana for visualization.
Emulated complex 5G network topologies using Containerlab for testing and validation.

Apr 2022 - Mar 2024

2 years

Germany

Research Engineer

TU Darmstadt

Worked on a mmWave testbed using SIVERS MIMO antennas as the RF front-end and Xilinx ZCU111 RFSoC as the baseband processor.
Implemented hardware accelerators on FPGA using Verilog and VHDL.
Developed Python scripts to control 5G TX/RX nodes and a motorized antenna positioning system, achieving real-time synchronization with beamforming patterns.
Designed and implemented C drivers on the ARM processing system of Xilinx RFSoC to facilitate communication between programmable logic (PL) and MATLAB via DDR memory.

Oct 2021 - Mar 2022

6 months

Germany

Visiting Researcher

TU Darmstadt

Prototyped 5G mmWave functionality on RFSoCs.
Implemented IEEE 802.11ad beam training method to select optimal beams between wireless nodes.

Jul 2020 - Sep 2021

1 year 3 months

Pakistan

Member of Technical Staff

CARE Pvt Ltd

Implemented time-of-arrival-based localization for wireless nodes.
Developed error correction schemes using Xilinx SDFEC for 5G SDR systems.
Contributed to physical layer communication algorithms to enhance sensitivity and throughput.

Jul 2016 - Jun 2020

4 years

Pakistan

Senior Design Engineer

CARE Pvt Ltd

Designed and implemented burst detection-based fast-convergence AGC algorithm for non-constant envelope waveforms on FPGA.
Reviewed and updated processor architectures to improve throughput of the ASP interface between CODEC, ARM, DAP, and FPGA.
Implemented and tested Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) systems.
Developed high-sensitivity RF scanner using SDR.
Implemented GCM-AES encryption and SHA hashing for Key Management System (KMS) under tight area and timing constraints.
Designed FPGA–microcontroller interface to validate KMS functionality and enable real-time encryption in a secure communication system.

Aug 2014 - Jun 2016

1 year 11 months

Pakistan

Design Engineer

CARE Pvt Ltd

Debugged and verified AES encryption in FPGA for real-time communication systems.
Performed behavioral, post-translate, and post-route simulations.
Designed interface to integrate third-party black box modules.
Worked with high-speed ADCs, DACs, RF synthesizers, and external power amplifiers.

Mar 2014 - Aug 2014

6 months

Pakistan

Design Engineer

NUST CEME

Developed peripheral interfaces (I2C, SPI, VGA, RS485).
Created custom video controller using NIOS II co-processor on Altera FPGA.
Designed, implemented, tested, and integrated Verilog modules for interface testing.

Industry Experience

See where this freelancer has spent most of their professional time.

Experienced in Telecommunication, Information Technology, Education, and Manufacturing.

Telecommunication

Information Technology

Education

Manufacturing

Business Area Experience

See which departments and functions this freelancer has contributed to most.

Experienced in Research and Development, Information Technology, Product Development, and Quality Assurance.

Research and Development

Information Technology

Product Development

Quality Assurance

Summary

FPGA Engineer with nearly 10 years of experience in RTL design, specializing in high-speed communication and 5G systems, including 5G mmWave prototyping aligned with IEEE 802.11ad/ay standards. Experienced in implementing communication algorithms on SDRs, optimizing throughput and efficiency, and collaborating with algorithm and embedded software teams for end-to-end solutions. Skilled in working with Xilinx UltraScale+ RFSoC and Microchip PolarFire/PolarFire SoC platforms, along with AXI, I²C, SPI, ASP, and RS-485 interfaces. Proficient in MATLAB and Python for modeling, simulation, and validation.

Skills

Fpga
Xilinx/Microchip
Vivado/Libero
Ila/Chipscope Pro
Smart Debug
Identify
Verilog/Vhdl
C/C++
Matlab
Python
Linux
Oscilloscope
Vector Network Analyzer
Spectrum Analyzer

Languages

English

Advanced

German

Intermediate

Education

Sep 2015 - Jul 2019

University of Engineering and Technology Taxila

MS · Electrical Engineering · Pakistan · 3.40/4.0

Sep 2009 - Jul 2013

National University of Sciences and Technology

B.Eng · Electrical Engineering · Pakistan · 3.13/4.0

Statistics

Experience

Total positions 8

Experience in Telecommunication 10 y

Avg length 1 y 4 m

Longest experience 3 y 11 m

Global Experience

Countries worked in 2 (Germany, Pakistan)

Primary country Germany

Expertise

Recent roles Principal Engineer, Research Engineer, Visiting Researcher

Main industries Telecommunication, Information Technology, Education

Main business areas Research and Development, Information Technology, Product Development

Qualifications

Highest degree Master

Profile

Created

August 2026

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Frequently asked questions

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Waqar is based in Karlsruhe, Germany.

Waqar speaks the following languages: English (Advanced), German (Intermediate).

Waqar has at least 11 years of experience. During this time, Waqar has worked in at least 6 different roles and for 5 different companies. The average length of individual experience is 1 year and 4 months. Note that Waqar may not have shared all experience and actually has more experience.

Based on recent experience, Waqar would be well-suited for roles such as: Principal Engineer, Research Engineer, Visiting Researcher.

Waqar's most recent position is Principal Engineer at Microchip Technology.

In recent years, Waqar has worked for Microchip Technology, FH Dortmund, TU Darmstadt, and CARE Pvt Ltd.

Waqar is most experienced in industries like Telecommunication, Information Technology, and Education. Waqar also has some experience in Manufacturing.

Waqar is most experienced in business areas like Research and Development, Information Technology, and Product Development. Waqar also has some experience in Quality Assurance.

Waqar has recently worked in industries like Telecommunication, Education, and Information Technology.

Waqar has recently worked in business areas like Research and Development, Information Technology, and Product Development.

Waqar holds a Master in Electrical Engineering from University of Engineering and Technology Taxila and a Bachelor in Electrical Engineering from National University of Sciences and Technology.

Waqar will be available full-time from October 2026.

Waqar's rate depends on the specific project requirements. Please use the Meet button on the profile to schedule a meeting and discuss the details.

To hire Waqar, click the Meet button on the profile to request a meeting and discuss your project needs.

Salary / Daily Rate Distribution

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<€480 €480-640 €640-800 €800-960 €960-1120 €1120+

The rates shown represent the typical market range for freelancers in this position based on recent contracts on our platform.

Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.

Average rates for similar positions

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800

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400

200

Daily rate avg. 773 €

The average daily rate is the mean of all daily rates from recent contracts of comparable freelancers on our platform.

800

600

400

200

Median rate 760 €

The median daily rate is the middle value of all daily rates — half of comparable freelancers charge less, half charge more. Unlike the average, it is barely affected by outliers.

Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.