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 scheme

Enhanced parental leave

Generous staff discounts on products

Socials and team lunches

Job summary

Cortech Talent Solutions Ltd is seeking a Senior / Principal Embedded Firmware & Electronics Design Engineer in the Cambridge area. You will lead hands-on hardware and firmware development, enhancing audio functionality and delivering market-ready, mass-produced solutions.

The role requires strong PCB/schematic skills, transistor-level analogue design, low-power SMPS, and experience with ISO quality systems. You will collaborate with teams and manage external contractors as needed.

Qualifications

• Hands-on electronics and firmware design experience.
• Degree in Electronics Engineering (industry experience valued).
• Strong skills in schematic capture and PCB layout.

Responsibilities

• Take 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 products.
• Organise EMC testing and rapid iteration of fixes to meet requirements.
• Create and maintain complete design documentation including schematics, BOMs, and source code.
• Manage external electronics, firmware and software contractors as needed.

Skills

Electronics hardware design

Embedded firmware

Circuit design

Education

Electronics Engineering degree

Tools

Mentor Graphics PADS

Job description

Role: Senior / Principal Embedded Firmware & Electronics Design Engineer

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

**We may also be able to sponsor **

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

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.