Lead Hardware Engineer

Principal/Lead Hardware Engineer (Contract)

Luton based - 4 days a week onsite

SC Clearance is essential

Up to £70 p/h Inside IR35

I'm working with a leading engineering organisation delivering some of the UK's most advanced defence technology programmes and am looking to speak with experienced security cleared Principal/Lead Hardware Engineers.

This is an opportunity to work on cutting-edge electronic systems deployed across airborne, maritime and land-based platforms, designing mission-critical hardware that supports real-world operational capability.

What you'll be working on:

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• High-speed digital and mixed-signal hardware design
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• FPGA & SoC-based architectures (Xilinx, AMD, Intel/Altera)
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• High-speed interfaces including DDR, PCIe & Ethernet
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• Complex multilayer PCB design and schematic capture
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• Hardware integration, verification and system qualification
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• Board-level debugging using industry-standard test equipment
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• Collaboration across Systems, Firmware, Software, RF and Mechanical Engineering teams
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We're looking for engineers with experience in:

High-speed digital electronics

FPGA-based hardware design

Embedded systems integration

Altium, Xpedition, OrCAD or similar design tools

Signal integrity, EMC/EMI and hardware verification

Aerospace, Defence or other safety-critical engineering environments -Electronic Warfare, Radar, RF Systems, Communications, Sensor Systems or DO-254, DEF STAN or MIL-STD environments

This is a fantastic opportunity to join a highly skilled engineering team delivering complex programmes from concept through to integration, qualification and customer acceptance.

If you're interested, or know someone who could be a great fit, please get in touch or send me a direct message.