Senior / Principal Embedded Firmware & Electronics Design Engineer

Cortech Talent Solutions Ltd; Cambridge; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discretionary bonus

Enhanced parental leave

Staff discounts

Team socials

Job summary

Cortech Talent Solutions Ltd is seeking a hands-on Senior/Principal Embedded Firmware & Electronics Design Engineer to lead electronics hardware and low-level firmware development. You will own end-to-end design from concept through prototyping to mass production readiness.

The role involves modernizing audio functionality, PCB routing, firmware updates, and collaborating across disciplines to deliver reliable market-ready solutions in a fast-growing tech environment.

Qualifications

• Degree in Electronics Engineering; industry experience valued.
• Hands-on electronics and firmware design experience.
• Strong schematic capture and PCB layout skills (Mentor Graphics PADS).

Responsibilities

• Take full ownership of electronics hardware and embedded firmware from concept to final product.
• Design, develop and test electronics hardware and firmware across all products.
• Organise EMC testing, rapid iteration of fixes to meet requirements.
• Create and maintain design documentation: schematics, BOMs, PCB files, source code, and validation docs.
• Manage external electronics, firmware and software contractors as required.
• Coordinate with Quality, Repair and Customer Services teams.

Skills

Electronics design

Firmware development

Schematic capture

PCB layout

Education

Degree in Electronics Engineering

Tools

Mentor Graphics PADS

Job description

Role: Senior / Principal Embedded Firmware & Electronics Design Engineer

Salary: Competitive, based on experience , we'll pay what we need for the right talent

**We may also be able to sponsor **

About the Role

Join a fast-growing tech company where your designs will power real-world products used by thousands. We're on the hunt for a hands-on Electronics Hardware Design Engineer with low-level firmware skills, who thrives on solving complex problems, building from scratch, and delivering market-ready solutions.

An immediate piece of work involves enhancing the audio functionality of an existing product encompassing hardware changes, PCB re-routing, and firmware updates, all to commercial mass production quality. This will form the basis of your initial confirmation in role.

Who You Are

You are a motivated and passionate engineer with a strong interest in embedded software and electronics design. You enjoy writing code, building and simulating circuits, and have a good intuitive understanding of discrete components. You're organised, methodical, and take pride in doing things well.

You love debugging code, troubleshooting circuits, and always seek to understand the fundamental root cause when things don't work. You're capable of developing code from a blank slate or building on an existing codebase, and you understand the need for good documentation — you don't see it as an impediment. You're a team player who enjoys bouncing technical ideas with colleagues.

What You Bring

• Hands-on experience in electronics and firmware design
• Degree in Electronics Engineering (industry experience is valued above postgraduate academic qualifications)
• Strong skills in schematic capture and PCB layout (Mentor Graphics PADS or similar)

Technical Expertise

• Transistor-level and analogue circuit design
• Low-power DC-DC SMPS (under 50W)
• LED drive circuits and standard high-speed microcontroller communication circuits (SPI, USB, etc.)
• General analogue electronics design including small signal handling and processing
• PCB layout, design from scratch, and EMC-compliant design
• Prototyping, soldering fine-pitch components, and use of common lab equipment (oscilloscopes, spectrum analysers)

Firmware

• Bare-metal and RTOS microcontroller development in C (not FPGA or application CPU)
• Register-level understanding of microcontroller peripherals
• Ability to write clean, non-blocking, maintainable and reusable code
• Ability to add firmware features to existing codebases over time

Connectivity & IoT

• Wi‑Fi, BLE, MQTT

Quality & Compliance

• Experience working within ISO 13485 or ISO 9001 quality systems
• Awareness of validation and verification procedures
• Familiarity with CE directives including MDR, EMC, RED and LVD (desirable)

Main Responsibilities

• Take full ownership of electronics hardware and embedded firmware development, from concept to final product
• Hands‑on design, development and testing of electronics hardware and firmware across all products
• Evaluate new technologies relevant to product development
• Organise and manage EMC testing, including onsite test lab visits, rapid iteration of fixes, and delivering viable solutions to meet requirements
• Create and maintain complete design documentation — schematics, design notes, BOMs, PCB fabrication and assembly files, source code, programming instructions, and validation and verification documentation
• Troubleshoot faults at code, component and system level; root cause analysis and resolution
• Drive continuous improvement of existing products for performance, cost reduction and part obsolescence management
• Provide technical support to Quality, Repair and Customer Services functions
• Write technical requirements and reports; stay current with developments in technology and regulations
• Manage external electronics, firmware and software design contractors as required
• Experience dealing with Far East suppliers

What We Offer

• Discretionary bonus scheme
• Enhanced parental leave
• Generous staff discounts on products
• Socials and team lunches
• A genuine opportunity to play a key role in a high‑growth business

Our team comes from a variety of backgrounds and we embrace our differences, striving to build an inclusive culture as we continue to grow.