Lighting Product Engineer

Rubicon; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Rubicon in Cape Town is seeking a Lighting Product Engineer to develop and enhance our lighting and smart technology products. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in electronics and a passion for innovation and sustainability.

Key responsibilities include designing high-quality lighting solutions, collaborating with cloud developers, and contributing to product documentation.

Experience with LED technology and compliance is essential. This role offers the opportunity to work on diverse technologies and the potential for travel.

Qualifications

• Degree in Electronics, Electrical, or Mechatronics engineering.
• 2-5 years of experience in product development and electronic hardware design.
• Understanding of lighting compliance requirements.

Responsibilities

• Plan and maintain high-quality lighting products through full development lifecycle.
• Contribute to new product design cycles and automated product tests.
• Work closely with cloud developers to integrate devices into ecosystems.

Skills

Electronics knowledge

LED understanding

Product development

Electronic hardware design

Lighting hardware design

Education

Electronics, Electrical or Mechatronics engineering degree

Tools

Programming languages (Go, Python, C++, JavaScript)

Microcontrollers (ESP, SAMD, PIC, ATMEGA, STM)

Job description

Purpose of the role

As a Lighting Product Engineer, you will play a key role in the development and enhancement of Rubicon's lighting and smart technology product portfolio. Working as part of a multidisciplinary engineering team, you will contribute to the design, testing and continuous improvement of innovative products that support energy efficiency, sustainability and intelligent building solutions.

The role offers exposure to a diverse range of technologies and engineering disciplines, including luminaire design, PCB development, embedded systems, IoT communications and product compliance. While project priorities may evolve in line with business needs, the primary focus of the role is to develop high‑quality, market‑leading lighting solutions that meet both customer requirements and industry standards.

This opportunity is ideally suited to an engineer who enjoys solving complex technical challenges, working across multiple technologies and contributing to the development of products from concept through to commercialisation.

Key Responsibilities

Design and Development

Plan, design, prototype, test, handover to manufacturing and maintain high‑quality lighting products, taking ownership of the full development lifecycle.

Day to Day Work

• Strongly contribute to all aspects of new product design cycles including PCBs, lighting characteristics, thermal management and communications
• Develop and maintain automated product tests to ensure product reliability
• Work closely with cloud developers to integrate devices into cloud ecosystems
• Help to specify and design new software or firmware features
• Write documentation for the products worked on
• Assist customers in 2nd level support tickets

Teamwork & Collaboration

• Work closely with product owners / managers, production and other engineers to translate requirements into technical solutions
• Assist in product specification and development
• Participate in regular engineering stand‑upsContinuously build and develop technical competency and skills

Required – Knowledge, Skill & Ability Requirements

• Electronics, Electrical or Mechatronics engineering degree, advanced diploma or similar
• Solid general understanding of luminaire electronic hardware including extensive LED knowledge
• Solid understanding of CV and CC driving of LEDs
• Understanding of luminaire compliance requirements and how to implement that in product design
• Understanding of Lighting bus and control systems such as Bluetooth, DALI, DALI 2, Casambi and KNX

Experience (2‑5 Years’)

• Product Development
• Electronic hardware design
• Lighting hardware design

Additional Advantages

• Embedded software / firmware development
• IoT environments including applications such as MQTT, Influx etc.
• Familiarity with ESP, SAMD, PIC, ATMEGA, STM or other related microcontrollers
• Proficiency in programming languages such as Go, Python, C++ and JavaScript
• Another relevant diploma or degree
• Experience with communications protocols and networks such as Modbus, RS485, Ethernet etc.

Availability & Ability to Travel

Availability & ability to travel occasionally – locally and possibly internationally is important.

Personal Competency Requirements

• Computer literacy – highly computer literate and comfortable with technical aspects of common operating systems
• Competent, professional business written and verbal communications skills, with the ability to express yourself clearly and effectively within the company
• Team player who relishes working with others collaboratively to deliver a top‑class result through joint effort
• Ability to build internal and external relationships
• Problem solving – a self‑starter who takes initiative
• Accountable – own up to mistakes and strive for continuous improvement
• Adaptable – be flexible and able to adjust quickly as priorities change
• Excellent time management, organizational, and follow‑through skills
• Attention to detail while maintaining the ability to see the implications for the bigger picture
• A creative outlook with a problem‑solving attitude
• Self‑motivated and highly driven – meet and exceed all that is required of your department and staff