Junior Electronics Engineer

Octagon Group; Cambridge; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 38,000; Full time

Job summary

Octagon Group in Cambridge is seeking a Junior Electronics Engineer to join a high-technology R&D team. You will gain hands-on exposure across the full product lifecycle, from initial design to testing and production support.

You will work with experienced engineers on electronics circuits, schematic capture, PCB design, testing and integration with firmware and software. A degree or equivalent practical experience is required, with visa/work-rights to operate in the UK.

Qualifications

• Degree, HNC/HND, apprenticeship or equivalent in Electronic Engineering or related discipline.
• Good understanding of analogue and digital electronics.
• Practical experience building, testing or debugging electronic circuits.
• Ability to read and understand electronic schematics.
• Experience using common electronic test equipment.
• Basic understanding of embedded systems, microcontrollers, sensors or communication interfaces.
• Strong problem-solving skills and a practical, hands-on approach.
• Good attention to detail and willingness to learn.
• Ability to work effectively within a multidisciplinary engineering team.

Responsibilities

• Support design and development of electronic circuits and assemblies.
• Assist with schematic capture, component selection and design calculations.
• Support PCB design activities.
• Build, test, debugging and modify prototype hardware.
• Carry out board-level testing, fault finding and verification.
• Use oscilloscopes, multimeters, logic analysers and bench power supplies.
• Support electronics integration with firmware, software, sensors, displays and communication interfaces.
• Assist EMC, environmental and compliance testing.
• Produce test procedures, BOMs and manufacturing documentation.
• Work with production and test teams to investigate and resolve hardware issues.
• Assist with component sourcing, alternative part reviews and obsolescence investigations.

Skills

Analogue & digital electronics

Practical electronics experience

Schematic reading

Embedded systems basics

Test equipment operation

Problem solving

Attention to detail

Team collaboration

Education

Degree, HNC/HND or apprenticeship in Electronic Engineering

Tools

Oscilloscopes

Multimeters

Logic analysers

Bench power supplies

Job description

Junior Electronics Engineer

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Junior Electronics Engineer to join a specialist high-technology engineering team in Cambridge, working on advanced electronic products across thermal imaging, night vision and augmented reality.

This role would suit a recent graduate, early-career engineer or someone with practical electronics experience looking to develop their skills within a technically challenging R&D environment.

THE ROLE

Working alongside experienced electronics engineers, you will gain hands-on exposure across the full product development lifecycle, from initial design and prototyping through to testing and production support.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Supporting the design and development of electronic circuits and assemblies
• Assisting with schematic capture, component selection and design calculations
• Supporting PCB design activities
• Building, testing, debugging and modifying prototype hardware
• Carrying out board-level testing, fault finding and verification
• Using oscilloscopes, multimeters, logic analysers and bench power supplies
• Supporting electronics integration with firmware, software, sensors, displays and communication interfaces
• Assisting with EMC, environmental and compliance testing
• Producing test procedures, BOMs and manufacturing documentation
• Working with production and test teams to investigate and resolve hardware issues
• Supporting component sourcing, alternative part reviews and obsolescence investigations

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

• Degree, HNC/HND, apprenticeship or equivalent practical experience in Electronic Engineering, Electrical Engineering or a related discipline
• Good understanding of analogue and digital electronics
• Practical experience building, testing or debugging electronic circuits
• Ability to read and understand electronic schematics
• Experience using common electronic test equipment
• Basic understanding of embedded systems, microcontrollers, sensors or communication interfaces
• Strong problem-solving skills and a practical, hands‑on approach
• Good attention to detail and willingness to learn
• Ability to work effectively within a multidisciplinary engineering team

DESIRABLE EXPERIENCE

• Schematic capture or PCB design using Altium Designer, KiCad, OrCAD or similar
• Prototype assembly, soldering, rework or wiring
• SPI, I²C, UART, USB, Ethernet, CAN, MIPI or LVDS
• Power supply design, battery‑powered products or low‑power electronics
• Embedded C, Python, firmware or FPGA‑based systems
• EMC, environmental testing or design for manufacture
• Experience within commercial, industrial, defence, aerospace, scientific or other high‑technology environments

THE OPPORTUNITY

This is a great opportunity for an early‑career electronics engineer to develop technically within a specialist engineering environment, working on advanced products and gaining exposure to design, development, testing and production.

Please note: Applicants must have the right to work in the UK. Unfortunately, visa sponsorship is not available for this position.