Sustaining Hardware Engineer

SUSTAINING HARDWARE ENGINEER High Speed Digital / PCB Design Essex · Permanent We're working on behalf of a business that has spent four decades designing and building high performance embedded computing hardware, used across defence, telecoms and aerospace. Their boards end up in some genuinely tough places, and have to keep working when conditions get extreme. One recent highlight gives a good sense of the standard: a ruggedised board significantly smaller than anything comparable on the market, built to run the very latest generation of Intel chipsets while shrugging off environmental extremes that would finish off less capable hardware. It's the kind of engineering problem that doesn't get boring. They're now looking for a Sustaining Hardware Engineer to join a close-knit, highly experienced electronics team. THE ROLE This is a hardware engineering role with a specific and genuinely interesting focus: keeping existing products alive and performing well as the components inside them reach end of life. When a chip a product was built around gets discontinued, someone has to work out what replaces it, prove it behaves the same way in the finished system, and get it through verification without introducing new problems. When a customer says they still need a product that's officially been retired, someone has to work out whether that's a straightforward component swap or something closer to a full redesign, using modern parts to deliver the same capability (or better) for years to come. That's the job. You'll take products that might be running on components designed a decade ago and bring them up to date with parts designed far more recently, extending their working life significantly in the process. You'll also have a genuine voice in how the wider hardware and engineering processes evolve, working alongside a team that wants your candid feedback, not just your signature on a design review. WHAT YOU'LL BE DOING - Managing component obsolescence: identifying at risk parts, evaluating replacements against spec, and proving there's no adverse impact on the wider system - Leading re-spins and redesigns of legacy products, from requirements through to final verification testing - Creating schematic and PCB designs that meet the original product requirements using current generation components - Supporting customers directly on technical queries relating to legacy and sustained products - Reporting on technical issues and progress, and preparing obsolescence management submissions for review - Identifying and carrying out the analysis and development work each project needs - Running design reviews, covering both schematic and PCB layout WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR - 3+ years' experience in electronics engineering - Solid grounding in high speed digital circuit design - Strong debugging skills, comfortable getting hands on with hardware to find and fix issues NICE TO HAVE None of the following are essential, but they'll make you stand out: - Exposure to PC motherboard architecture: 64-bit microprocessors, PCI Express, Ethernet, DDR4 memory and similar - Experience with programmable logic devices or FPGAs - An appreciation of embedded software - Experience with Intel or ARM chipsets - A degree (MEng, MSc or BEng) in Electrical/Electronic/Computer Engineering or a related discipline WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU - 25 days holiday plus bank holidays, with a holiday purchase scheme on top - Annual profit share bonus - Salary sacrifice schemes covering cycle to work, home and tech, and cars - Death in service benefit and income protection - Employee assistance programme and access to a virtual GP - Employee referral scheme - Enhanced parental leave - Generous company pension with up to 10% employer contribution - One paid volunteering day a year - Private health insurance - A wellbeing app and support programme EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES Our client is an equal opportunity employer that believes a diverse, inclusive team makes for better engineering. All suitably qualified applicants are welcome, regardless of race, sex, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation or age. If there's anything you need to support your success through the interview process, just let us know. SECURITY CLEARANCE Please note that certain roles with our client are subject to security and export control restrictions, and candidates will need to be able to meet BPSS level pre-employment screening. More information on UK security vetting clearance levels is available at gov.uk ( YOUR DATA By applying for this role, you consent to your personal data being processed for recruitment purposes only. Your data is held securely and only for as long as necessary, and you can ask to access, correct or delete it at any time.