Embedded Engineer

Bright Purple; Aberdeen City, City of Edinburgh; Hybrid; GBP 63,000 - 77,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private healthcare

Life insurance

Pension contributions

33 days holiday

Job summary

Bright Purple is seeking an embedded engineer to join its expanding R&D team, developing downhole and surface tools with in‑house firmware. You'll collaborate with electronics and mechanical engineers, shaping designs from first sketch through field deployment.

Key focus areas include minimising power consumption, safe failure modes, and applying robust software design principles. Role offers mentoring, flexible career growth, and a culture that values practical problem solving.

Qualifications

• Strong experience writing embedded C.
• Solid understanding of coding for microcontrollers.
• Working knowledge of digital electronics (analogue exposure a bonus).
• Familiarity with solid software design principles and practices.
• Strong mathematical ability with custom algorithms experience.
• A lateral thinker who enjoys unconventional design challenges.
• Good communication skills and a genuine team player.

Responsibilities

• Own the full development lifecycle of downhole and surface tools from concept to field deployment.
• Collaborate with electronics and mechanical teams to shape design decisions early.
• Minimise power consumption and design safe failure modes.
• Build on an established toolchain to avoid starting from scratch; seek innovative solutions.
• Take ownership with mentoring support; scope adapts to candidate level.

Skills

Embedded C

Microcontrollers

Digital electronics

Software design

Mathematics

Lateral thinking

Communication/ teamwork

Job description

We are working with a leading global oil and gas technology company who is looking for an Embedded Engineer to join its growing R&D function. With a strong family-business culture and a presence across the UK, the Middle East, the US and beyond, this is a chance to work on genuinely innovative tools that operate in some of the most demanding environments in the industry.

What is in it for you:

• Salary up to £70,000, depending on experience
• Aberdeen or Edinburgh - 4 days office and 1 day remote per week
• 33 days holiday, rising with long service, plus long-service awards
• Private healthcare, life insurance, and strong company pension contributions
• A culture built on teamwork and genuinely empowering engineers to make a difference
• Real ownership of your designs, from first sketch to field deployment

The role

• You'll join an expanding R&D team responsible for the full development lifecycle of downhole and surface tools, from initial concept and design, through coding and testing, to field deployment. Because all firmware is built in-house, you'll work closely with the electronics and mechanical teams, shaping design decisions early rather than just coding to a fixed spec.
• A handful of priorities run through everything: minimising power consumption, designing in safe failure modes so faults degrade gracefully, building on an established suite of tools rather than starting from scratch, and finding genuinely innovative solutions where no off-the-shelf answer exists.
• You'll be trusted to take real ownership of your projects, with support and mentoring on hand from experienced colleagues rather than close oversight. The scope of the role flexes around the person appointed. A more junior candidate can expect a supported learning curve, while a more experienced engineer could quickly pick up broader responsibility, including input into firmware architecture and mentoring others.

To be considered:

• Strong experience writing embedded C
• Solid understanding of the specific challenges and constraints of coding for microcontrollers
• Working knowledge of digital electronics (some exposure to analogue electronics an advantage)
• Familiarity with sound software design principles and practices
• Strong mathematical ability, with experience designing custom algorithms
• A lateral thinker who enjoys finding unconventional solutions to tricky design problems
• Good communication skills and a genuine team player

This is a brilliant opportunity to join a market-leading name in downhole technology, working on cutting-edge embedded systems within a supportive, development-focused environment. Whether you're early in your career or a seasoned engineer, if you can write robust embedded code and enjoy solving hard, unconventional problems, this role offers genuine scope to grow.

Bright Purple is an equal opportunities employer: we are proud to work with clients who share our values of diversity and inclusion in our industry.