With upgrades planned at several x-ray light sources, including improvements to beam quality and brilliance at high energies (> 20 keV), corresponding advances in area detector technology are needed. Pixel array detectors (PADs) are one class of detectors that can meet these needs. PADs feature highly customizable CMOS circuitry for signal processing and data streaming, which facilitates high frame rates and the exploration of various dynamic range extension techniques. The custom CMOS readout chip is mated at a pixel level to a sensor layer that may be chosen independently, providing a testbed for exploring sensors beyond silicon. Here, the development of a fast-framing, wide-dynamic-range PAD intended specifically for use at x-ray energies > 20 keV will be described. © 2018 IEEE.