At a Glance
- Tasks: Design and build AI-driven tools for hardware engineers to enhance their workflows.
- Company: Join Nominal, a pioneering tech company transforming hardware engineering with AI.
- Benefits: Enjoy unlimited PTO, free lunches, professional development, and equity options.
- Other info: Collaborative environment with opportunities for growth and innovation.
- Why this job: Be part of a team that’s revolutionising how machines are built and operated.
- Qualifications: 4+ years in backend or full-stack engineering with experience in LLM features.
The predicted salary is between 56700 - 69300 £ per year.
About Nominal
Engineers today are building some of the most ambitious machines humanity has ever seen. They should have AI that’s purpose-built for them.
Nominal is building the Hardware Intelligence Platform that gives engineers increased visibility into complex physical systems, helps them make better decisions, and ultimately gets their products into the real world faster.
It brings together the systems, data, intelligence, and applications hardware engineering requires to meet the AI moment.
Hardware engineering teams use Nominal to simulate, test, manufacture, and operate the physical systems that keep the world moving, from spacecraft and autonomous vehicles to next-generation energy systems and robotics.
Our customers span aerospace, defense, manufacturing, transportation, energy, and robotics.
They include Anduril, Shield AI, Wisk Aero, Pratt Miller Motorsports, Antares, and Shinkei Systems, amongst others, alongside programs within the U.
Air Force and Navy.
Our team draws from Space X, Palantir, Anduril, Applied Intuition, Tesla, and other leading companies, united by a common mission: giving hardware engineers the tools to build the future with speed, safety, and confidence.
We're a fast-moving team that owns problems end-to-end, works across disciplines, and thrives at the intersection of hardware and software.
Some of the world’s leading technology investors, including Sequoia, Lightspeed, Founders Fund, General Catalyst, Lux Capital, and Insight Partners, are backing Nominal’s ambition to change how machines are built and operated.
We’re looking for engineers who want to take on hard problems and help make a new generation of world-changing hardware possible.
About Hardware Intelligence
We're the team behind Nominal's agents, AI-native applications, and MCP, and its forward-leaning AI bets.
Our mission is to unlock the bottlenecks of the hardware lifecycle with AI.
Our agents reason over physical reality, from high-rate telemetry and test campaigns to designs and simulations, where real test results are the ground truth their work is checked against.
We believe opinionated AI, built for the real work of hardware programs, will change how the world engineers.
We're collaborative, iterative, and high-agency, and we're human-centered and customer-focused.
We build with the newest AI tools every day, and because those tools keep changing, so do we: we stay curious and keep looking for the better way.
Our team spans data science and ML, distributed systems, search, and knowledge systems, and we obsess over how agents can be genuinely useful to the engineers who rely on them.
The role
As a Software Engineer supporting agents, you'll design how Nominal's agents work: you'll architect the one platform our agents, the Nominal MCP, and our internal agent all run on, and set technical direction for the team that builds on it.
What you'll do
- Build agent tools and workflows that ship to every customer, from turning test plans into automated checks to running investigations across tests.
- Grow the Nominal MCP so external agents can do more of the work our users do, safely and with the user's own permissions.
- Build the integrations our internal company agent needs to work across Nominal's own tools and teams.
- Turn the patterns forward-deployed engineers find in the field into capabilities every customer gets.
- Instrument what you ship, read the traces, and fix what the evals and users tell you.
- Work directly with engineers at customer programs to understand how the work is really done.
- What you'll bring
- 4+ years as a strong backend or full-stack engineer.
- Hands-on experience shipping LLM features to real users: prompting, tool design, retrieval, and the debugging that comes after.
- Speed with good judgment: you ship small, measure, and iterate.
- Comfort with ambiguity and with owning a capability from idea to production.
- You build with modern AI coding agents (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex) every day, and stay curious and open to better ways of working. The tools keep changing, and so do we.
- Nice to have
- You've built MCP servers or agent tools that other agents rely on in production.
- You've shipped an agent feature that measurably changed how people work, and you can show the numbers.
- You've built or contributed to open-source agent tooling.
- You've been an engineer in hardware, test, controls, or robotics, or worked closely with those teams.
Benefits/Perks
- Unlimited PTO and sick leave
- Free lunch, snacks, and coffee
- Professional Development Stipend
- Annual company retreat
- Hardware sensor stipend
- Employee-friendly equity terms
- In-office 5 days per week
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.
Software Engineer, Agents - UK employer: Nominal
At Nominal, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work culture that fosters innovation and collaboration. As a Mission Operations Engineer, you'll not only engage with cutting-edge technology but also enjoy ample opportunities for professional growth and development while working alongside industry leaders in a fast-paced environment. Our commitment to employee well-being is reflected in our supportive team atmosphere and the chance to make a significant impact on high-stakes projects that shape the future of hardware systems.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Software Engineer, Agents - UK
✨Join Local Tech Meetups
Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at Nominal or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!
✨Contribute to Open Source Projects
Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to Nominal.
✨Tap into Online Developer Communities
Don’t underestimate the power of online developer communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and even Reddit. Participate in discussions, share your projects, and build your visibility. We can often find opportunities through these channels that can lead to a full-time gig at companies like Nominal.
✨Explore Job Boards Specifically for Tech Roles
Keep your eyes peeled on job boards that focus on tech roles. Sites like TechCareers or Stack Overflow Jobs can often have listings for companies like Nominal that might not show up on broader job sites. Make it a habit to check these regularly, and don’t hesitate to apply directly through our website!
We think you need these skills to ace Software Engineer, Agents - UK
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.
Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at Nominal.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Nominal and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!
Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!
How to prepare for a job interview at Nominal
✨Brush Up on Your Coding Skills
For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.
✨Know Your Tools and Frameworks
Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If Nominal uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.
✨Showcase Your Projects
Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.
✨Prepare for Behavioural Questions
While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.
