Summer Placement Electronic Engineer

Leonardo S.p.A.; City of Edinburgh; Hybrid; GBP 20,000 - 27,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave pro rata

Pension scheme with employer contrib.

Job summary

Leonardo S.p.A. in Edinburgh invites electronic engineering students to join a 13‑week Summer Placement from 1 June to 27 August 2027. You will design, test and integrate circuits on real avionics sensor systems, spending three to four days on site each week.

You will work with engineers across disciplines, applying coursework to real projects, and gain hands-on experience with ECAD tools, test equipment, and a supportive supervisor.

Qualifications

• All placement students should be working towards an upper Second class Bachelors/Integrated Masters or higher (MSc/PhD).
• Subject should be Electronics Engineering, Engineering Science, Physics or another relevant discipline.
• Interest in Electronics/Hardware Engineering disciplines (RF, Microwave, Power Supply, FPGAs, High-Speed Digital).

Responsibilities

• Work on real-time projects alongside subject matter experts on the Edinburgh site.
• Design, testing or integrating electronic circuits and components.
• Collaborate across multidisciplinary teams to meet project targets.
• Apply academic knowledge to real projects including design, testing, qualification and technology support.
• Develop practical hardware design skills using ECAD tools and test equipment.
• Receive coaching from an experienced supervisor and the wider engineering community.

Skills

Strong communication

Self-motivated

Adaptable

Collaborative

Education

Upper Second class Bachelors/Integrated Masters or higher (MSc/PhD)

Tools

ECAD tools

Job description

Electronic Engineering Summer Placement - 3 Months

Your impact

Do you want to work on real-time projects, alongside leading scientists and engineers, within a globally renowned company, based on our Edinburgh Site? Are you ready to make an impact and gain hands‑on experience working on real-world projects from day one? At Leonardo, we're looking for summer placement students who want to be part of something extraordinary—shaping innovation, advancing technology, and enhancing global safety. Our placements are designed to help you apply your studies in a practical setting, develop your technical skills, and gain valuable insight into how our business operates.

Our Summer Placement Programme

Our 13-week Summer Placement Programme gives you the chance to work on meaningful projects alongside subject matter experts, within multidisciplinary teams, and across the product lifecycle. Throughout your paid placement, you'll receive coaching and support from a dedicated team, with the potential to return for future placements or progress onto our Graduate Development Programme. The programme will run from 1st June to 27th August 2027. You are required to spend at least three or four days each week on site, to integrate with your team and maximise your learning experience by designing, testing or integrating electronic circuits and components on the Edinburgh site.

As an Electronic Engineering Summer Placement student, you will:

• Contribute to solving real life engineering problems on state-of-the-art avionics sensor systems.
• Particular emphasis will be placed on learning practical skills that may not be easily gained or experienced in the academic environment of university.
• Collaborate with colleagues across multiple disciplines to help project targets and solve problems.
• Apply your academic knowledge to real projects, including design, testing, qualification and/or technology support.
• To learn the skills required for hardware development, you will develop practical skills in design techniques for aerospace applications, understand key technologies, and develop your experience using ECAD tools and test equipment.
• Develop your skills with the guidance of an experienced supervisor and the wider engineering community.

What you’ll bring:

Entry Requirements

• All of our placement students should be working towards: a minimum of an upper Second class Bachelors/Integrated Masters degree, or a higher degree, such as an MSc or PhD.
• The subject should be Electronics Engineering, Engineering Science, Physics or another relevant discipline.
• You should demonstrate an interest in one or more of the disciplines within Electronic/ Hardware Engineering (e.g. RF, Microwave, Power Supply, FPGAs or High-Speed Digital Circuitry).
• If you have a preference, please indicate this on your CV or screening questions.

Competencies we look for:

• Strong communication skills, written and verbal, needed to communicate problems and their solutions to your project team.
• Self-motivated, enthusiastic, and able to use initiative to understand issues and find solutions.
• Adaptable to changing priorities imposed by product-led milestones and pressures.
• Collaborative and flexible in approach.

Security Clearance

At Leonardo, many of our roles are subject to security and export control restrictions set by UK Government Security requirements and customer obligations. As a result, and in line with the UK Government Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) requirements, all successful applicants will be asked to provide evidence of identity, eligibility to work in the UK, criminal record declaration information and employment and/or education history verification for the previous five years. For staff operating in more sensitive posts, there is an additional range of personnel security controls referred to as National Security Vetting (NSV). As part of this process, a range of factors may be considered, including an individual's background, travel history, nationality, previous nationalities held and other information relevant to the vetting assessment. To be eligible for National Security Vetting at SC level, applicants will generally be expected to have continuously resided in the UK for the previous five years. For DV clearance, this is typically ten years. In some circumstances, time spent overseas may be accepted, with additional overseas checks. Additional vetting requirements may apply upon appointment. 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, key contributors in shaping innovation, advancing technology, and enhancing global safety. We offer a comprehensive benefits package that supports your wellbeing, learning and development, and work-life balance:

• Time to recharge: Our employees are entitled 25 days of annual leave plus bank holidays. As a Summer Placement student you'll receive this allowance pro rata.
• Secure your future: 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).
• Never stop learning: Free access to 4,000+ online courses via Coursera and LinkedIn learning.

For a full list of our company benefits please visit: https://careers.uk.leonardo.com/gb/en/company-benefits

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, communities, and customers. If you have any accessibility requirements to support you during the recruitment process, just let us know.

Primary Location: GB - Edinburgh

Contract Type: Fixed term

Hybrid Working: Hybrid International, multicultural, innovative, technological: this is Leonardo. The company’s passionate and talented team is strongly influenced by STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) expertise, with a diverse range of experience that enables colleagues to share knowledge and know-how across the generations. Leonardo always wants to expand its talent pool, here you can find the right opportunity for you!