Principal Physicist - New Inventions

Newton Colmore; Cambridge; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Newton Colmore in Cambridge is seeking a Principal Physicist to work on new inventions for a leading technology company. You will apply fundamental physics to invent, analyse, model and prototype solutions to challenging problems in defence and security.

You will own the full development arc—from initial investigation and computational modelling through to prototype realisation and transfer to manufacture—and you will bring a demonstrable track record with strong academics.

Qualifications

• Demonstrable track record applying fundamental physics to real-world challenges with strong academics.
• Ability to tackle problems that don't have known answers yet and move from first principles to working prototype.
• Open to candidates from academic, industrial, or government sectors with any physics specialization.

Responsibilities

• Own the full development arc—from initial investigation and computational modelling through to prototype realisation and transfer to manufacture.
• Apply fundamental physics to real-world defence and security challenges across diverse domains.

Job description

Principal Physicist - New Inventions

Newton Colmore is working on a principal physicist role with a leading technology company in Cambridge.

We are looking for an experienced Physicist with the curiosity to tackle problems that genuinely don't have known answers yet, and the skills to find them.

The Scope of the Work

This is applied physics in the truest sense. You will take fundamental physical principles and use them to invent, analyse, model, and prototype solutions to some of the hardest problems in UK defence and security. You'll own the full development arc - from initial investigation and computational modelling through to prototype realisation and transfer to manufacture.

Previous projects have spanned an unusually broad range of physics domains:

• Quantum technologies - sensing, PNT, computing, communications
• Electromagnetics - propagation, penetration, plasma interactions
• Semiconductors - junction behaviour, logic, thermal effects, sensing
• Optics - imaging systems, ultrafast lasers, fibre optics, fluorescence
• Acoustics & sonar - ultrasound, acoustic communications
• Fluid analysis - particle dispersion, microfluidics, flow
• Thermal systems - aviation, maritime, materials processes
• Algorithm design - AI/ML, signal processing, autonomous systems, edge computing

No two projects are the same and no two physicists are the same. What they share is a deep grounding in physical principles and an instinct for finding elegant solutions to complex problems.

What You Can Bring

You will have a demonstrable track record of applying fundamental physics to real-world challenges, coupled with strong academics. We're open to candidates from any sector - academic, industrial, or government - and any physics specialism, experimental or computational.

What matters most is rigour, curiosity, and the ability to move from first principles to working prototype.

What is on Offer

The company offer tailored salaries and packages to attract the best possible candidates. They have carefully curated an environment that allows their people to do great work, combining trust, guidance, autonomy and collaboration. For more junior engineers, mentoring programmes are a key aspect of their business too.