EMC Electronics Architect

MBDA UK Limited; West of England; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus 21%

Pension plan 14%

Flexible working

Enhanced parental leave

Site facilities

Healthcare plan

Job summary

MBDA UK Limited seeks a dedicated EMC Electronics Architect to lead design for electromagnetic compatibility in complex embedded systems. You will ensure right-first-time compliance, working within a world-class defence environment and across international teams.

You will architect reference designs, mentor engineers, and drive early mitigation strategies using CST/HFSS tools, with hybrid work 3–4 days in the office. Clear communication and security clearance readiness are essential.

Qualifications

• Deep understanding of electronics design for EMC across board, sub-system and system levels.
• Proven experience qualifying complex electronic products to international and defence EMC standards.
• Hands-on lab testing experience and use of EMC analysis/simulation software.

Responsibilities

• Review and translate EMC requirements into design goals for electronics teams.
• Own and approve circuit/system designs from EMC perspective with robust mitigations.
• Guide lab troubleshooting, review test specs and approve compliance results.
• Collaborate with Technical Lead to build reference designs and user guides for interfaces.
• Work with France-based engineers to extend cross-border library of EMC solutions.

Skills

EMC design

EMC testing

FPGA

System architecture

3D EM simulation

GTEM Cell

Tools

CST

HFSS

Job description

Are you interested in developing your career as a technical specialist in electronics design for EMC within a world-class defence environment?

At MBDA, we develop complex embedded electronics sub-systems using state-of-the-art MPSoC FPGAs and AI acceleration hardware to support software-defined radio (SDR), radar signal processing, and sensor fusion applications

Dynamic (Hybrid) working: 3-4 days a week in the office

Security Clearance

British Citizen or a Dual UK national with British citizenship.

Restrictions and/or limitations relating to nationality and/or rights to work may apply. As a minimum and after offer stage, all successful candidates will need to undergo HMG Basic Personnel Security Standard checks (BPSS), which are managed by the MBDA Personnel Security Team. Certain projects or variants of this role will require an elevated level of security clearance, up to Developed Vetting (DV).

What We Can Offer You

• Competitive Salary: Commensurate with experience.
• Long-Term Career Path: A dedicated Technical Expert career trajectory.
• Company Bonus: Annual performance-related bonus of up to 21% of base salary.
• Pension: Outstanding pension scheme with a maximum total contribution of up to 14%.
• Flexible Working: We warmly welcome applicants seeking flexible working arrangements.
• Enhanced Parental Leave: Up to 26 weeks for maternity, adoption, and shared parental leave, with further enhancements for paternity, neonatal leave, and fertility treatments.
• Site Facilities: Fantastic site environments featuring subsidised meals, an on-site gym, cafés, and collaborative workspaces.
• Healthcare Cash Plan: The Healthcare Cash Plan benefit provides the option to claim cash back on everyday healthcare expenses such as optical, dental, health and wellbeing and more.

The Opportunity

Are you interested in developing your career as a technical specialist in electronics design for EMC within a world-class defence environment?

At MBDA, we develop complex embedded electronics sub-systems using state-of-the-art MPSoC FPGAs and AI acceleration hardware to support software-defined radio (SDR), radar signal processing, and sensor fusion applications

Designing for EMC is a critical pillar of our product success; it must be architected from the very inception of a project and steered all the way through to successful compliance testing.

As part of our Electronic Architecture team, you will be the dedicated EMC Electronics Architect. This is an exceptional opportunity for an ambitious engineer looking to consolidate their expertise in complex embedded systems and establish themselves as a recognized technical expert within a leading multi-national company.

Accountabilities & Responsibilities

• Concept Phase: Review, interpret, and understand customer and system-level EMC requirements, effectively flowing down actionable 'Design for EMC' requirements to electronics architects and design teams.
• Design Phase: Take ownership of reviewing and approving circuit and system designs from an EMC perspective, ensuring robust mitigation strategies are integrated early.
• Test Phase: Review test specifications, guide the design team with lab-based troubleshooting support, approve final compliance test results, and capture technical lessons learned to develop future best practices.
• Architecture & Standards: Work alongside the Technical Lead and Electronics Architect to build elegant, optimized systems. You will develop reference designs and user guides for standard interfaces to ensure a 'right first time' compliance approach across the wider engineering team.
• International Collaboration: Collaborate closely with our engineering colleagues in France to maintain, extend, and deploy our cross-border library of Design for EMC solutions.

What We Are Looking For From You

• A deep understanding of electronics design for EMC that spans board, sub-system, and full-system level thinking.
• Proven experience qualifying complex electronic products to international and defence EMC standards.
• Hands-on experience with lab test equipment for troubleshooting, alongside experience using EMC analysis and simulation software to provide theoretical design justification.
• Ability to transform your knowledge into reference designs and clear User Guides to enable smooth adoption by the wider electronics design team.
• A strong desire to drive multi-disciplinary collaboration (across systems, software, firmware, mechanical, and production teams) with an excellent ability to document and configure designs to a high professional standard.
• A strong academic foundation to support this intellectually demanding role, paired with the practical implementation experience needed to bridge theory and practice.
• Experience with specialized 3D electromagnetic simulation software tools such as CST or HFSS.
• Experience with specialized test hardware to identify radiation leaks or susceptibility such as GTEM Cell.
• Use of near-field scan tools to pin-point electromagnetic noise sources.
• Use of direct power injection tools to test susceptibility.

Our company: Peace is not a given, Freedom is not a given, Sovereignty is not a given

MBDA is a leading defence organisation. We are proud of the role we play in supporting the Armed Forces who protect our nations. We partner with governments to work together towards a common goal, defending our freedom.

We are proud of our employee-led networks, examples include: Gender Equality, Pride, Menopause Matters, Parents and Carers, Armed Forces, Ethnic Diversity, Neurodiversity and more

We recognise that everyone is unique, and we encourage you to speak to us should you require any advice, support or adjustments throughout our recruitment process.

Follow us on LinkedIn (MBDA), X (@MBDA_UK), Instagram (MBDA_UK) and Glassdoor or visit our MBDA Careers website for more information