Principal Electronics Engineer

Oxford Nanopore Technologies; Oxford; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus

Private healthcare

Generous pension

Job summary

Oxford Nanopore Technologies in Oxford is seeking a Principal Instrument Electronics Engineer to lead architecture, design and delivery of analogue, digital and mixed‑signal electronics for state‑of‑the‑art scientific instrumentation.

You will own board‑level design across concept to release, mentor engineers and drive robust engineering practices in a regulated environment. A degree in Electrical/Electronics and 10+ years of lifecycle experience are required.

Qualifications

• Degree in Electrical or Electronics Engineering (or related discipline).
• 10+ years of industry experience across full product lifecycles.
• Proven expertise in analogue, digital and mixed-signal electronics design.
• Strong board-level design experience, including schematic capture and PCB layout.
• Experience developing complex PCB-based systems for instrumentation, embedded platforms or similar products.
• Structured approach to debugging, verification and hardware characterisation.
• Experience working in regulated or quality-managed environments.
• Ability to lead technical decisions and influence across multidisciplinary teams.
• Experience with embedded systems and FPGA-based designs is important.
• Hands-on experience in firmware or FPGA development considered advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Lead architecture, design and delivery of analogue, digital and mixed-signal electronics.
• Own development from concept through prototype, verification and release into manufacture.
• Define system architecture, partitioning and interfaces across multidisciplinary teams.
• Drive robust engineering practices including design for manufacture and test.
• Lead schematic design, guide PCB layout and make key component and architecture decisions.
• Plan and lead bring-up, debugging, verification and root-cause analysis activities.
• Support transfer to manufacture and resolve production or compliance challenges.
• Produce and review technical documentation within a controlled development environment.
• Mentor engineers and contribute to best practice, standards and continuous improvement.

Skills

Analogue design

Digital design

Mixed-signal design

Board-level design

PCB layout

Embedded systems

FPGA designs

Firmware development

Education

Degree in Electrical or Electronics Engineering

Job description

Principal Instrument Electronics Engineer

Location: Oxford
Type: Permanent

Oxford Nanopore Technologies is a UK‑headquartered company developing nanopore‑based sensing technology for molecular analysis, including DNA/RNA sequencing and other molecules such as proteins. The company operates globally in over 125 countries and focuses on advancing science across biology, medicine, agriculture, and environmental studies.

We are seeking an experienced and highly capable Principal Electronics Engineer to play a key role in the architecture, design, and delivery of advanced electronics for cutting‑edge scientific instrumentation. This senior, hands‑on technical leadership role will involve ownership of complex board‑level and subsystem design across analogue, digital, and mixed‑signal electronics. You will be involved from concept through to integration, verification and product release, ensuring high standards of engineering excellence throughout. The position provides an opportunity to shape technical direction, influence engineering standards, and mentor others in a collaborative, multidisciplinary environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead architecture, design and delivery of analogue, digital and mixed‑signal electronics.
• Own development from concept through prototype, verification and release into manufacture.
• Define system architecture, partitioning and interfaces across multidisciplinary teams.
• Drive robust engineering practices including design for manufacture and test.
• Lead schematic design, guide PCB layout and make key component and architecture decisions.
• Plan and lead bring‑up, debugging, verification and root‑cause analysis activities.
• Support transfer to manufacture and resolve production or compliance challenges.
• Produce and review technical documentation within a controlled development environment.
• Mentor engineers and contribute to best practice, standards and continuous improvement.

Requirements

• Degree in Electrical or Electronics Engineering (or related discipline).
• 10+ years of industry experience across full product lifecycles.
• Proven expertise in analogue, digital and mixed‑signal electronics design.
• Strong board‑level design experience, including schematic capture and PCB layout.
• Experience developing complex PCB‑based systems for instrumentation, embedded platforms or similar products.
• Structured approach to debugging, verification and hardware characterisation.
• Experience working in regulated or quality‑managed environments.
• Ability to lead technical decisions and influence across multidisciplinary teams.
• Experience with embedded systems and FPGA‑based designs is important.
• Hands‑on experience in firmware or FPGA development considered advantageous.

Benefits: Outstanding benefits including an attractive bonus, generous pension contributions, private healthcare and an excellent starting salary.

Please note that no terminology in this advert is intended to discriminate on the grounds of a person's gender, marital status, race, religion, colour, age, disability or sexual orientation. Every candidate will be assessed only in accordance with their merits, qualifications and abilities to perform the duties of the job.