Electronic Engineer

ORCA Computing Ltd; Greater London; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

ORCA Computing Ltd in London is seeking a hands-on hardware engineer to advance the PT-Series photonic quantum computing platform, accelerating AI and ML workloads. You will contribute across the full hardware lifecycle from concept to validated, production-ready designs.

You will collaborate with physicists, optical engineers, and software developers to deliver integrated electronics. A degree in electronics and 2–4 years’ experience are essential.

Qualifications

• A degree in electronic engineering, electrical engineering, physics, or a closely related discipline.
• 2–4 years of professional experience in hardware or electronics engineering (industry experience preferred; strong academic laboratory research will also be considered).
• Solid understanding of analogue and mixed-signal design principles: amplification, filtering, signal conditioning, low-noise techniques, and ADC/DAC interfacing.
• Hands-on PCB design experience, including simulation, schematic capture and layout using tools such as SPICE, Altium Designer, KiCAD, or equivalent.
• Comfortable using standard bench instruments to bring up, debug, and characterise electronic hardware.
• Some experience with or understanding of embedded firmware and microcontroller-based systems.
• A methodical, practical approach to design and debugging, you run structured experiments, follow the data, and iterate with purpose.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop analogue and mixed-signal circuitry for precision quantum photonic hardware, covering signal conditioning, low-noise amplification, DAC interfaces, and driver electronics for opto-electronic components.
• Own the PCB design process for your modules: schematic capture, layout, design review, and iteration through to a working, characterised board.
• Work hands-on in the lab: characterise your designs using oscilloscopes, spectrum analysers, signal generators, and other bench equipment to verify performance and debug issues systematically.
• Collaborate with the software team to define hardware/software interfaces and support integration of your electronics into the wider PT-Series system.
• Support EMC and regulatory compliance work as hardware matures toward product-ready status.
• Document your designs thoroughly: schematics, test reports, design reviews, and specifications so the wider team can build on your work.
• Work cross-functionally with physics, optics, and software teams to understand system-level requirements and translate them into practical electronic designs.

Skills

Analogue design

Mixed-signal design

PCB design

Lab bench testing

Embedded firmware

SPICE

Altium Designer

KiCad

Education

Electronic engineering degree

Tools

Altium Designer

KiCad

SPICE

Job description

ORCA Computing (“ORCA”) is at the forefront of a new era in high-performance computing, developing full-stack photonic quantum systems designed to transform how organizations tackle machine learning, generative AI, and complex optimization challenges. Headquartered in London, ORCA has delivered eleven on-premises quantum computers worldwide – demonstrating that its technology is not theoretical but already delivering real world results.

At the core of ORCA’s innovation is its hybrid quantum-classical architecture, engineered for seamless integration into existing AI and HPC infrastructure. Its current PT-2 system, a rack-mounted quantum computer, connects directly to GPU clusters via NVIDIA’s CUDA-Q platform, enabling accelerated AI workloads with significantly lower energy consumption than traditional silicon-based systems. Backed by a strong portfolio of patent families spanning photonic integrated circuits, quantum memory, and multiplexing technologies, ORCA is enabling enterprises, research institutions, and HPC operators to unlock new levels of performance, efficiency, and scalability.

As ORCA prepares to launch its next-generation PT-3 system, the company is entering a pivotal phase of growth and technological advancement. Its solutions are already being embedded into generative AI pipelines, delivering measurable improvements in model performance, while also addressing the rising energy demands of large-scale AI adoption. With a focus on practical deployment and a clear roadmap to fault-tolerant quantum computing, ORCA is leading the development and deployment of quantum technology, providing a commercially viable path to the future of computing.

What will you do

This is a hands-on hardware engineering role at the heart of ORCA’s R&D team, working directly on the development of the PT-Series – our photonic quantum computing platform designed to accelerate AI and machine learning workloads. You’ll work across the full hardware development cycle, from early concept through to validated, production-ready designs, collaborating closely with physicists, optical engineers, and software developers to bring genuinely novel hardware to life.

• Design and develop analogue and mixed-signal circuitry for precision quantum photonic hardware, covering signal conditioning, low-noise amplification, DAC interfaces, and driver electronics for opto-electronic components.
• Own the PCB design process for your modules: schematic capture, layout, design review, and iteration through to a working, characterised board.
• Work hands-on in the lab: characterise your designs using oscilloscopes, spectrum analysers, signal generators, and other bench equipment to verify performance and debug issues systematically.
• Collaborate with the software team to define hardware/software interfaces and support integration of your electronics into the wider PT-Series system.
• Support EMC and regulatory compliance work as hardware matures toward product-ready status.
• Document your designs thoroughly: schematics, test reports, design reviews, and specifications so the wider team can build on your work.
• Work cross-functionally with physics, optics, and software teams to understand system-level requirements and translate them into practical electronic designs.

What will you bring – required

• A degree in electronic engineering, electrical engineering, physics, or a closely related discipline.
• 2 – 4 years of professional experience in hardware or electronics engineering (industry experience preferred; strong academic laboratory research will also be considered).
• Solid understanding of analogue and mixed-signal design principles: amplification, filtering, signal conditioning, low-noise techniques, and ADC/DAC interfacing.
• Hands-on PCB design experience, including simulation, schematic capture and layout using tools such as SPICE, Altium Designer, KiCAD, or equivalent.
• Comfortable using standard bench instruments to bring up, debug, and characterise electronic hardware.
• Some experience with or understanding of embedded firmware and microcontroller-based systems.
• A methodical, practical approach to design and debugging, you run structured experiments, follow the data, and iterate with purpose.

Nice to have

• Exposure to RF design fundamentals: impedance matching, transmission lines, RF signal conditioning.
• Familiarity with EMC testing or compliance processes (CE marking, UKCA, or similar).
• Experience integrating electronics with opto-electronic or photonic systems.

Who we are looking for

• Ownership mindset: You take designs from concept to validated hardware and care about the outcome at every step — not just your schematic, but whether the system works end-to-end.
• Hands‑on curiosity: You’re most comfortable with an oscilloscope probe in one hand and a design question in the other. You enjoy the lab as much as the desk.
• Collaborative by nature: You work well alongside physicists, optical engineers, and software developers who don’t all speak the same technical language. Translating between disciplines energises you rather than frustrating you.
• Bias toward action: You iterate quickly, run structured tests to isolate problems, and don’t wait to be told when something needs attention.
• Attention to detail: You understand that in precision quantum hardware, the difference between a good design and a great one often comes down to layout decisions, grounding choices, and the trade‑offs that aren’t visible until bring‑up.

Joining ORCA Computing offers the opportunity to work at the forefront of quantum technology, where innovation is already delivering real-world impact. Across commercial, operational, and product roles, you’ll collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to bring advanced quantum systems to market and help integrate quantum capabilities into modern AI and data centre ecosystems.

ORCA provides a rare chance to contribute to a pivotal moment in the evolution of computing. With a culture built on ownership, collaboration, and ambition, the company empowers individuals to solve complex challenges and shape how next‑generation quantum technologies are developed, deployed, and scaled across industries – driving a more efficient and powerful future for AI and compute.