Senior Firmware Engineer

Senior Firmware Engineer – Embedded Systems Advanced Imaging

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Firmware Engineer to join a pioneering engineering team developing cutting-edge technology at the forefront of quantum computing, advanced imaging and surveillance detection systems with one of the best permanent packages on the market including a salary of over £100,000 per year.

You will be working on highly classified programmes, you'll play a key role in the development of real-time embedded firmware that powers next-generation sensing, signal processing and compute platforms. This is a genuinely unique opportunity to work on technology that pushes the boundaries of what's possible, alongside some of the UK's leading hardware, FPGA and embedded engineering teams.

This role is fully onsite , providing close collaboration with electronics, FPGA, systems, RF and software engineers throughout the complete product development lifecycle.

The Role

We're looking for a Firmware Engineer with a passion for low-level embedded development and solving complex engineering challenges. You'll take ownership of firmware development from concept through to deployment, working closely with hardware teams to develop robust, high-performance embedded solutions for advanced electronic systems.

Projects will span embedded control, communications, sensor integration and real-time processing across bespoke hardware platforms.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop and maintain embedded firmware for next-generation electronic systems.
• Develop low-level firmware for microcontrollers and embedded processors.
• Write efficient, reliable and maintainable code in C/C++.
• Develop firmware drivers for high-speed peripheral interfaces including SPI, I2C, UART, CAN, USB and Ethernet.
• Interface firmware with FPGA-based hardware and custom electronics.
• Support board bring-up, hardware integration and system debugging.
• Work closely with electronics engineers to define hardware/firmware interfaces.
• Implement real-time control, monitoring and communication functionality.
• Perform firmware verification, debugging and optimisation using laboratory test equipment.
• Produce technical documentation throughout the development lifecycle.
• Contribute to design reviews, architecture discussions and continuous improvement activities.

Experience We're Looking For

• Strong commercial experience developing embedded firmware in C/C++.
• Experience working with ARM Cortex-M or similar embedded microcontrollers.
• Good understanding of bare-metal and/or RTOS-based embedded systems.
• Experience developing low-level peripheral drivers and hardware interfaces.
• Familiarity with communication protocols such as SPI, I2C, UART, CAN and Ethernet.
• Experience debugging embedded systems using oscilloscopes, logic analysers and debuggers.
• Understanding of embedded software architecture and real-time systems.
• Experience working closely with electronics hardware throughout product development.
• Knowledge of version control systems such as Git.

Desirable Experience

• Experience with embedded Linux.
• Firmware development for FPGA-based systems.
• High-speed data acquisition or signal processing applications.
• Secure boot, cryptography or secure embedded systems.
• Device driver development.
• Digital signal processing (DSP).
• Python or scripting for test automation.
• Experience working within highly regulated or safety-critical environments.

Why Join?

You'll be joining an organisation investing heavily in advanced technologies with projects spanning quantum computing, next-generation sensing, surveillance and intelligent imaging systems . Engineers are given genuine technical ownership and the opportunity to work on programmes that have a real-world impact while using the latest embedded technologies and development tools.

If you're looking for technically challenging firmware development, long-term career progression and the opportunity to contribute to highly advanced engineering programmes, this is an outstanding opportunity.

Security Requirements

Due to the highly classified nature of the work, this position requires applicants to be British Nationals who are eligible to obtain and maintain the appropriate level of UK Security Clearance . Unfortunately, candidates who do not meet this requirement cannot be considered.