Hardware Design Engineer

Overview

In this Hardware Engineer role for EW and FCA programmes, you own hardware designs from requirements through delivery. You’ll build high-performance electronics for mission-critical environments and collaborate with systems, firmware, software, RF and manufacturing teams. The role blends hands-on design with leadership, guiding reviews and technical decisions. Hybrid work is supported with regular on-site presence at Luton/Bristol. You’ll shape hardware strategy and drive impactful, end-to-end solutions.

Pay / Benefits

• 12 flexi-days per year
• pension with up to 15% employer contribution
• mental health support
• financial advice
• generous 4,000+ online courses via Coursera and LinkedIn Learning
• flexible benefits including private healthcare

Responsibilities

• Own and influence hardware designs across the full lifecycle from requirements to delivery
• Design high-performance electronics: high-speed digital and mixed-signal PCBs, FPGA/SoC/microprocessor architectures, high-speed interfaces
• Translate system requirements into robust hardware solutions
• Lead or contribute to design reviews, trade studies and technical decisions
• Integrate in-house designs with COTS modules (power, compute, RF, interfaces)
• Drive debug, test and verification at board and system level
• Provide technical leadership and mentoring (for Principal/Lead), shape hardware strategy and standards
• Collaborate daily with multidisciplinary teams including firmware, software, RF and manufacturing

Key requirements

• Proven experience as Senior, Principal or Lead Hardware Engineer
• Strong background in high-speed digital electronics, mixed-signal or high-performance analogue design, and power electronics/low-noise power architectures
• Hands-on experience designing high-speed PCBs: schematic capture, layout oversight, simulation
• Experience with FPGA, SoC or microprocessor-based designs
• Experience with high-speed serial links and protocols (PCIe, Ethernet, JESD-class)
• Hardware bring-up, debug, and verification expertise
• Ability to derive designs from system-level requirements
• Solid understanding of EMC/EMI in demanding environments
• Experience integrating hardware, firmware and software into working platforms
• Comfort with a structured hardware development lifecycle and configuration control

• technical leadership and mentoring
• collaboration within multidisciplinary teams
• problem-solving and decision-making
• High-speed digital electronics
• Mixed-signal or high-performance analogue design
• Power electronics / low-noise power architectures

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