About
A few years ago, when the tech industry was going through a rough round of cuts and no one felt entirely untouchable, I set out to prepare for hardware engineering interviews. Twenty years of industry experience, and the resources available were, frankly, a mess.
Multiple books covering the same ground superficially. Blog posts with no clear structure. And a growing flood of AI-generated content that looked authoritative and was frequently wrong. Nothing consolidated. Nothing that treated the reader like a working engineer.
So I started writing. First on Substack — which I quickly abandoned. Weekly email newsletters don't really cater well to the interview prep domain.
Then here, on fpgadesign.io.
And eventually, in a book.
About the Author
I'm Milind Parelkar — Principal Engineer and Manager at Qualcomm, where I lead hardware architecture for advanced research programs. Over twenty years specializing in FPGA and RTL design: timing closure, system architecture, and building the prototyping infrastructure for 5G and 6G development.
I've served on interview committees and managed engineering teams across multiple sites. I know what the gap looks like between what universities teach and what the job actually demands. That gap is why this site exists.
About the Book
Demystifying the Digital Design Interview is the resource I wish had existed when I was preparing for my first job interview.
It's not a question bank.
It's a structured, concept-first guide built on a simple premise: understanding the why behind design decisions is what holds up in a real interview. Memorized answers don't.
The goal is specific. Walk into your next interview without gaps. No "I've never heard of this topic." No "I know this — I just can't recall it right now." Those two moments are what cost candidates the most. Both are preventable.
Get Your Copy of the Book on Amazon
A Note on the Content
The internet has no shortage of AI-generated hardware content. Some of it sounds plausible and is technically wrong — and this audience will catch it immediately.
Every article on this site is written by me, grounded in real design experience, and verified for accuracy. I use AI tools occasionally to tighten phrasing. The engineering judgment is mine.
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For questions, topic suggestions, or professional inquiries: milind@fpgadesign.io