Hardware Engineer

MNRecruit; Greater London; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Travel opportunities

Early-stage team experience

Job summary

MNRecruit is seeking a hands-on hardware engineer to own the end-to-end development of marine hardware from concept to deployment. You’ll sketch, build, test and iterate across design engineering, prototyping, fabrication, integration and field testing.

You’ll work with sensors, electronics and integrated hardware systems, taking ownership in a fast-paced startup setting and collaborating with software, robotics and oceanography specialists to deliver real-world deployments.

Qualifications

• Hands-on engineer with experience turning concepts into working hardware.
• Experience designing, building and testing real hardware, not just CAD.
• Ability to take a project from concept through deployment.
• Experience with sensors or integrated hardware systems.
• Willingness to work across disciplines and offshore environments.

Responsibilities

• Own early-stage hardware development end-to-end, from concept to deployment.
• Design, build and iterate marine hardware including buoys, sensor housings, enclosures and mooring systems.
• Produce and work from engineering drawings for practical fabrication and deployment.
• Rapidly prototype, assemble and test hardware and adapt designs to changing requirements.
• Integrate, calibrate and validate marine sensors (salinity, temperature, pressure, optical).
• Design waterproof, corrosion‑resistant enclosures and sensor layouts for harsh environments.
• Work with multiple manufacturing processes (3D printing, machining, welding, rotomoulding).
• Manage hardware projects across engineering and delivery, coordinating moving parts to deployment.
• Collaborate with software, robotics and oceanography teams to ensure system integration.
• Support field deployment and maintenance in the UK and overseas.

Skills

Hardware design

Prototyping

Testing & validation

System integration

Electronics experience

CAD familiarity

Tools

3D printing

Machining

Welding

Rotomoulding

Sensor integration

Job description

London (Hoxton) with occasional UK and international travel

Foundational role for an entrepreneurial builder

This is not a maintenance role.

This is not a “design it and hand it off” role.

This is a from-zero-to-ocean role.

You’ll be the person who turns bold ideas into working marine hardware - sketching, designing, building, testing, breaking, fixing and ultimately deploying systems that need to perform in some of the harshest environments on Earth.

You’ll have genuine ownership from concept through to deployment, working across design engineering, prototyping, fabrication, integration and field testing.

If you enjoy actually building things, solving problems as they emerge and seeing your work deployed in the real world, this could be a very interesting opportunity.

What You’ll Do

You’ll own early-stage hardware development end-to-end, including:

Taking concepts from initial design through prototyping, testing, integration and field deployment

Designing, building and iterating marine hardware including buoys, sensor housings, enclosures, mooring systems and edge‑compute units

Producing and working from engineering drawings, developing practical designs that can actually be fabricated and deployed

Rapidly prototyping, assembling and testing hardware, adapting designs quickly as requirements and timelines inevitably change

Integrating, calibrating and validating marine sensors including salinity, temperature, pressure and optical systems

Designing and iterating waterproof, corrosion‑resistant enclosures and sensor layouts for demanding marine environments

Working with different manufacturing and fabrication processes, potentially including 3D printing, machining, welding and rotomoulding

Supporting small‑batch fabrication and working with external suppliers and manufacturers

Managing hardware projects from a technical and practical perspective, coordinating multiple moving parts through to delivery

Working closely with software, robotics and oceanography specialists to ensure hardware and systems integrate effectively

Supporting field deployment, maintenance and troubleshooting in the UK and overseas

Thinking beyond initial deployment - considering corrosion, biofouling, maintenance cycles, error warnings and long‑term reliability

Documenting designs, test results and iterations so that hardware can continually improve

In short, you’ll be involved in actually building stuff rather than simply designing it on paper.

Who You Are

You’re a hands‑on engineer and natural problem solver who enjoys working in environments where the answer isn't always obvious.

You might come from a design engineering, hardware R&D, marine technology, robotics, instrumentation or product development background.

We’re looking for someone who:

Has strong experience designing, building and testing real physical hardware, rather than purely producing CAD models

Can take a project from concept through to deployment

Understands engineering drawings, prototyping, fabrication and practical design

Has experience working with sensors, electronics or integrated hardware systems

Is comfortable managing projects as well as getting hands‑on with the engineering

Is resilient and able to keep moving when timelines, specifications and priorities change

Learns quickly and can get up to speed with unfamiliar technologies and processes

Enjoys working across disciplines and figuring things out as they go

Is comfortable working in workshops, labs, harbours and potentially offshore environments

Has a genuine builder/maker mentality - someone who would rather make and test something than spend weeks theorising about it

Marine experience would be highly valuable

You don't necessarily need to have worked on exactly this type of technology before, but experience with marine hardware, sensors, buoys, subsea systems, maritime engineering or other harsh-environment equipment would be a strong advantage.

Experience in a start‑up or early‑stage environment would also be valuable, particularly where you've had to take ownership and work across the boundaries between engineering, project management and delivery.

Nice-to-haves

Not all of these are required, but experience with any of the following would be useful:

Small solar systems and lithium battery design

LoRa, 4G or low‑power telemetry

Marine‑grade materials and corrosion management

Maritime standards or regulations

3D printing, machining, welding or rotomoulding

Marine sensors and instrumentation

Field deployment and maintenance of hardware

Experience integrating multiple hardware and software components

Why Join?

A mission‑driven role at the intersection of oceans, climate and frontier technology

A genuine opportunity to shape core hardware IP from day one

Significant equity and the opportunity to become an important part of an ambitious early‑stage team

Direct involvement in projects from concept to deployment

The chance to see things you've designed and built operating in the real world

A role where your engineering judgement and practical problem‑solving will have a visible impact

UK and international travel to support testing and deployment