Electronics Hardware Design Engineer with Low-Level Firmware Skills

Cortech Talent Solutions Ltd; Cambridge; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discretionary bonus

Enhanced parental leave

Generous staff discounts

Socials and team lunches

Job summary

Cortech Talent Solutions Ltd in Cambridge seeks a Senior / Principal Electronics Hardware Design Engineer with low-level firmware skills to own end-to-end hardware and embedded software development for mass-produced products. The role involves hands-on design, debugging, and documentation across PCB layout, schematics, and RTOS-based firmware.

The candidate will drive new tech evaluation, EMC testing, supplier coordination, and quality-regulatory alignment, with opportunities to sponsor and grow

Qualifications

• Degree in Electronics Engineering required.
• Hands-on electronics and firmware experience stated.
• Experience with schematic capture and PCB layout a must.

Responsibilities

• Take full ownership of electronics hardware and embedded firmware development from concept to final product.
• Hands-on design, development and testing across hardware and firmware for all products.
• Evaluate new technologies relevant to product development.
• Organise EMC testing and rapid iteration of fixes to meet requirements.
• Create and maintain complete design documentation and source code.
• Troubleshoot faults at code, component and system level; root-cause analysis.
• Drive continuous improvement of existing products for cost and performance.
• Provide technical support to Quality, Repair and Customer Services.
• Write technical requirements and stay current with tech and regs.
• Manage external electronics, firmware and software design contractors as needed.
• Experience dealing with Far East suppliers.
• App development experience for iOS or Android devices.

Skills

Electronics design

Firmware development

Microcontroller development

Embedded C

Schematic capture

PCB layout

Debugging circuits

EMC/EMI knowledge

Low-power SMPS

LED drive circuits

IoT protocols

ISO 13485 knowledge

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electronics Engineering

Tools

Mentor Graphics PADS

Job description

Role: Senior / Principal Electronics Hardware Design Engineer with Low-Level Firmware Skills

Location: Cambridge

Salary: Competitive, based on experience , we'll pay what we need for the right talent

We may also be able to sponsor

Below is a very long list of skills but we are open to hiring a either strong electronics design engineer or Firmware engineer so please get in touch even in you only have half of these skills!

About the Role

Join a fast-growing tech company where your designs will power real-world products used by thousands. We're on the hunt for a hands-on Electronics Hardware Design Engineer with low-level firmware skills, who thrives on solving complex problems, building from scratch, and delivering market-ready solutions.

An immediate piece of work involves enhancing the audio functionality of an existing product encompassing hardware changes, PCB re-routing, and firmware updates, all to commercial mass production quality. This will form the basis of your initial confirmation in role.

Who You Are

You are a motivated and passionate engineer with a strong interest in embedded software and electronics design. You enjoy writing code, building and simulating circuits, and have a good intuitive understanding of discrete components. You're organised, methodical, and take pride in doing things well.

You love debugging code, troubleshooting circuits, and always seek to understand the fundamental root cause when things don't work. You're capable of developing code from a blank slate or building on an existing codebase, and you understand the need for good documentation — you don't see it as an impediment. You're a team player who enjoys bouncing technical ideas with colleagues.

What You Bring

• Hands-on experience in electronics and firmware design
• Degree in Electronics Engineering (industry experience is valued above postgraduate academic qualifications)
• Strong skills in schematic capture and PCB layout (Mentor Graphics PADS or similar)

Technical Expertise

• Transistor-level and analogue circuit design
• Low-power DC-DC SMPS (under 50W)
• LED drive circuits and standard high-speed microcontroller communication circuits (SPI, USB, etc.)
• General analogue electronics design including small signal handling and processing
• PCB layout, design from scratch, and EMC-compliant design
• Prototyping, soldering fine-pitch components, and use of common lab equipment (oscilloscopes, spectrum analysers)

Firmware

• Bare-metal and RTOS microcontroller development in C (not FPGA or application CPU)
• Register-level understanding of microcontroller peripherals
• Ability to write clean, non-blocking, maintainable and reusable code
• Ability to add firmware features to existing codebases over time

Connectivity & IoT

• Wi-Fi, BLE, MQTT

Quality & Compliance

• Experience working within ISO 13485 or ISO 9001 quality systems
• Awareness of validation and verification procedures
• Familiarity with CE directives including MDR, EMC, RED and LVD (desirable)

Main Responsibilities

• Take full ownership of electronics hardware and embedded firmware development, from concept to final product
• Hands-on design, development and testing of electronics hardware and firmware across all products
• Evaluate new technologies relevant to product development
• Organise and manage EMC testing, including onsite test lab visits, rapid iteration of fixes, and delivering viable solutions to meet requirements
• Create and maintain complete design documentation — schematics, design notes, BOMs, PCB fabrication and assembly files, source code, programming instructions, and validation and verification documentation
• Troubleshoot faults at code, component and system level; root cause analysis and resolution

Drive continuous improvement of existing products for performance, cost reduction and part obsolescence management

Provide technical support to Quality, Repair and Customer Services functions

Write technical requirements and reports; stay current with developments in technology and regulations

Manage external electronics, firmware and software design contractors as required

Experience dealing with Far East suppliers

App development experience for iOS or Android devices

What We Offer

• Discretionary bonus scheme
• Enhanced parental leave
• Generous staff discounts on products
• Socials and team lunches
• A genuine opportunity to play a key role in a high-growth business

Our team comes from a variety of backgrounds and we embrace our differences, striving to build an inclusive culture as we continue to grow.