Hardware Engineer in Bournemouth
Posted by Holt Executive
£50,000 – £60,000 a year
Bournemouth · Permanent
Bournemouth, Dorset
Salary dependent on experience
Are you an electrical or electronic hardware engineer who enjoys technical variety and seeing your designs progress from concept through to manufacture and customer acceptance?
An international specialist in test and quality engineering solutions is seeking a Hardware Engineer to join its Bournemouth team. Working on bespoke test systems for aerospace, defence and other regulated industries, you’ll help develop practical solutions to complex engineering challenges.
The Role
You’ll design and develop electrical and electronic hardware for automated and manual test systems, working alongside systems, software, mechanical and production engineers.
Projects range from electronic and avionics test equipment to rack-mounted systems, data acquisition and control equipment, specialist maintenance benches and the modernisation of legacy systems. You’ll have the opportunity to contribute throughout the engineering lifecycle, from requirements capture and architecture through integration, commissioning and final acceptance.
Key Responsibilities
- Translate customer and system requirements into robust, practical hardware solutions.
- Design electrical and electronic hardware, including schematics, wiring diagrams and interface definitions.
- Select and integrate instrumentation, power supplies, switching systems, data acquisition and control equipment.
- Design or support bespoke electronic assemblies and PCBs where required.
- Produce specifications, bills of materials, design calculations, manufacturing information and test documentation.
- Contribute to project estimates, hardware costings and internal and customer design reviews.
- Support procurement, manufacture, assembly and system integration.
- Investigate and resolve design, integration and component-level faults.
- Support verification, validation, factory acceptance testing, installation and commissioning.
- Contribute to equipment safety assessments, CE/UKCA conformity and the management of technical risks and component obsolescence.
- A degree, HNC/HND or equivalent practical experience in electrical, electronic, aerospace engineering or a related discipline.
- Relevant electrical or electronic hardware design experience, with a sound understanding of analogue and digital electronics.
- Experience developing equipment through the engineering lifecycle.
- Confidence selecting and integrating electronic components, instrumentation or commercial hardware.
- The ability to produce clear schematics, wiring information and supporting technical documentation.
- Practical diagnostic and fault-finding skills, ideally to component level.
- An understanding of manufacturing, assembly, integration and test processes.
- A structured approach to problem-solving, strong communication skills and the ability to take ownership of engineering tasks.
- Awareness of cost, schedule, technical risk and configuration control.
- A full driving licence valid in the UK and the ability to meet the employer’s vehicle-insurance requirements.
- The right to work in the UK.
Desirable Experience
Experience in any of the following would be advantageous; you do not need to cover every area:
- Automated or special-to-type test equipment.
- Aerospace, defence, space, rail, energy or another regulated sector.
- 19-inch rack systems, electrical cabinets and associated wiring.
- Instrumentation, data acquisition, signal conditioning or control systems.
- PCB design using Altium, KiCad, OrCAD or similar tools.
- Microcontroller firmware, FPGA design or power electronics.
- Ethernet, RS-232, RS-422, RS-485, CAN, SPI or I²C.
- National Instruments hardware, LabVIEW or TestStand.
- Electrical CAD, EMC compliance, electrical safety or CE/UKCA conformity.
- Legacy-system upgrades, obsolescence management or equipment designed for long service life.
Security Requirements
Applicants must be eligible to obtain and maintain the UK national security clearance required for the role. Depending on project allocation, additional nationality, residency or export-control restrictions may apply.
To apply, please submit your CV outlining your relevant hardware design and engineering experience.
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