Principal High-Speed Digital Electronics Design Engineer

Leonardo; City of Edinburgh; Hybrid; GBP 53,000 - 71,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Time to Recharge

Pension scheme 15%+

Mental health support

Bonus scheme

Online learning (Coursera/LinkedIn)

Refer a friend

Flexible benefits £500

Hybrid working

Job summary

Leonardo UK is recruiting Principal High-Speed Digital Electronics Engineers to join our Edinburgh or Newcastle delivery teams. You’ll design cutting-edge high‑speed digital PCBs, lead hardware development across the full lifecycle, and translate system requirements into robust hardware.

This role requires a strong academic background in Electrical & Electronic Engineering or Physics, experience with FPGAs, microprocessors, and complex interconnects, plus a methodical, collaborative approach and

Qualifications

• Design cutting-edge high-speed digital PCBs, incorporating state-of-the-art FPGAs, microprocessors, and complex interconnects.
• Lead hardware development across the full lifecycle—from early requirements analysis and design to testing, integration, acceptance, and customer delivery.
• Produce clear, accurate technical documentation, maintaining configuration control and providing insight through plans and progress updates.
• Collaborate with engineers across disciplines as you solve real integration challenges within sophisticated systems.
• Translate system-level requirements into robust hardware designs, working with clarity and precision.
• Use your schematic capture expertise to bring designs to life.
• Design high-speed serial communication links, drawing on your understanding of relevant protocols and architectures.
• Integrate hardware, firmware, and software—bringing microprocessor-based systems onto bespoke hardware platforms.
• Take a methodical, process-driven approach to the entire design lifecycle.
• Debug, test, and verify your designs, supporting system commissioning and making sure everything works seamlessly.

Skills

High-speed digital design

PCB design

FPGA architectures

Microprocessors

Schematic capture

Systems integration

Debug and test

Technical documentation

Collaboration across disciplines

Education

Electrical & Electronic Engineering

Physics

BSc

BEng

MSc

MEng

PhD

EngD

Job description

Job Description

Salary: £53,000 to £71,400

Leonardo UK operates a grade-based salary framework with broad bands. The salary range shown reflects the approved grade band for this role, or a narrower hiring range published within that band, and is benchmarked against the external market. Exceptions above the standard range are managed through governance controls to protect internal equity.

Your Impact

At Leonardo, we’re bringing together some of the brightest engineering minds to develop the GCAP radar, and we’re looking for experienced Principal High‑Speed Digital Electronics Engineers to join us in Edinburgh or Newcastle.

This is more than a role—it’s an opportunity to step into a growing programme at a pivotal moment. You’ll be embedded within a multi‑disciplinary delivery team, taking concepts from early requirements right through to final delivery. Every day, you’ll see the direct impact of your expertise as part of a high‑performing team driving innovation at pace.

What You’ll Bring

This is an exciting opportunity for you as an experienced engineer to bring your skillset and knowledge into our working environment. You will:

Design cutting‑edge high‑speed digital PCBs, incorporating state‑of‑the‑art FPGAs, microprocessors, and complex interconnects.

Lead hardware development across the full lifecycle—from early requirements analysis and design to testing, integration, acceptance, and customer delivery.

Produce clear, accurate technical documentation, maintaining configuration control and providing insight through plans and progress updates.

Collaborate with engineers across disciplines as you solve real integration challenges within sophisticated systems.

Apply your technical foundation, ideally grounded in a degree such as Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Physics, or a related field (BSc, BEng, MSc, MEng, PhD, EngD).

Translate system‑level requirements into robust hardware designs, working with clarity and precision.

Use your schematic capture expertise to bring designs to life.

Design high‑speed serial communication links, drawing on your understanding of relevant protocols and architectures.

Integrate hardware, firmware, and software—bringing microprocessor‑based systems onto bespoke hardware platforms.

Take a methodical, process‑driven approach to the entire design lifecycle.

Debug, test, and verify your designs, supporting system commissioning and making sure everything works seamlessly.

Security Clearance

This role is subject to pre-employment screening in line with the UK Government’s Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS). An additional range of Personnel Security Controls referred to as National Security Vetting (NSV) may apply, this could include meeting the eligibility requirements for The Security Check (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV). For more information and guidance please visit: https://careers.uk.leonardo.com/gb/en/security-and-vetting

Why join us

At Leonardo, our people are at the heart of everything we do. We offer a comprehensive, company-funded benefits package that supports your wellbeing, career development, and work–life balance. Whether you're looking to grow professionally, care for your health, or plan for the future, we’re here to help you thrive.

• Time to Recharge: Enjoy generous leave with the opportunity to accrue up to 12 additional flexi-days each year.
• Secure your Future: Benefit from our award-winning pension scheme with up to 15% employer contribution.
• Your Wellbeing Matters: Free access to mental health support, financial advice, and employee-led networks championing inclusion and diversity (Enable, Pride, Equalise, Armed Forces, Carers, Wellbeing and Ethnicity).
• Rewarding Performance: All employees at management level and below are eligible for our bonus scheme.
• Never Stop Learning: Free access to 4,000+ online courses via Coursera and LinkedIn Learning.
• Refer a friend: Receive a financial reward through our referral programme.
• Tailored Perks: Spend up to £500 annually on flexible benefits including private healthcare, dental, family cover, tech & lifestyle discounts, gym memberships and more.
• Flexible working: Flexible hours with hybrid working options. For part time opportunities, please talk to us about what might be possible for this role.
  
  

For a full list of our company benefits please visit our website.

Leonardo is a global leader in Aerospace, Defence, and Security. Headquartered in Italy, we employ over 53,000 people worldwide including 8,500 across 9 sites in the UK. Our employees are not just part of a team—they are key contributors to shaping innovation, advancing technology, and enhancing global safety.

At Leonardo we are committed to building an inclusive, accessible, and welcoming workplace. We believe that a diverse workforce sparks creativity, drives innovation, and leads to better outcomes for our people and our customers. If you have any accessibility requirements to support you during the recruitment process, just let us know.

Be part of something bigger - apply now!

Primary Location:

GB - Edinburgh

Additional Locations:

GB - Newcastle

Contract Type

Permanent

Hybrid Working

Hybrid