Hardware Design Engineer in Luton

• Salary Ranges
• Principal: £54k - £71k

Leonardo UK operates a grade‑based salary framework with broad bands.

The salary range shown reflects the approved grade band for this role, or a narrower hiring range published within that band, and is benchmarked against the external market.

Exceptions above the standard range are managed through governance controls to protect internal equity.

Where this vacancy is being recruited across more than one grade, the successful candidate will be appointed to a specific assessed grade, and the applicable salary range will be that associated with the grade of appointment.

Your Impact

What would you work on if you could shape the electronics at the heart of next‑generation Electronic Warfare and advanced sensing systems?

At Leonardo, our EW and FCA programmes demand hardware that performs at the edge of what is physically possible – high‑speed, low‑noise, highly integrated and ultra‑reliable.

Based primarily at our Luton and Bristol sites, you’ll work on mission‑critical electronics that operate in some of the most challenging environments imaginable.

Hybrid working is supported, though on‑site presence (typically 3‑4 days per week) may flex with programme needs.

• What you will do as a Hardware Engineer working on EW and FCA programmes
• Own and influence hardware designs across the full lifecycle – from system requirements and architecture through detailed design, test, integration and customer delivery.

• Design and develop complex, high‑performance electronics, including

• High‑speed digital and mixed‑signal PCBs
• FPGA, So C and microprocessor‑based architectures
• High‑speed serial interfaces and interconnects
• Translate system‑level requirements into robust, producible hardware solutions.
• Lead or significantly contribute to design reviews, trade studies and technical decision‑making.
• Integrate in‑house designs with COTS modules (power, compute, RF and high‑speed interfaces).
• Drive debug, test and verification activities at board and system level.
• For Principal and Lead engineers: Provide technical leadership and mentoring within the team.
• Shape hardware strategy, standards and best practice across programmes.
• Collaborate daily within multi‑disciplinary teams spanning systems, firmware, software, RF and manufacturing.
• How this role grows with you

This is a role where impact increases with capability.

Senior engineers are trusted to own complex designs end‑to‑end, solving hard technical problems with minimal oversight and becoming go‑to experts within the programme.

As experience and influence grow, engineers naturally move into Principal or Lead roles, shaping system and hardware architecture, setting technical direction and guiding design standards.

Those at Principal or Lead level play a visible role in mentoring and developing others, influencing programme decisions and representing hardware engineering at a system level.

Whether you want to deepen your expertise, broaden into system‑level authority, or take ownership of technically critical areas, this role gives you the space and responsibility to do it.

What you’ll bring

You’ll bring depth in one or more hardware domains, combined with the confidence to operate on complex, safety‑critical systems.

Essential experience

• Proven industry experience as a Senior, Principal or Lead Hardware Engineer.

• Strong background in one or more of

• High‑speed digital electronics
• Mixed‑signal or high‑performance analogue design
• Power electronics / low‑noise power architectures
• Hands‑on experience designing high‑speed PCBs, including schematic capture, layout oversight and simulation.
• Experience with FPGA, So C or microprocessor‑based designs.
• Experience with high‑speed serial links and protocols such as PCIe, Ethernet, JESD‑class interfaces.
• Practical expertise in hardware bring‑up, debug, test and verification.
• Ability to interpret and derive hardware designs from system‑level requirements.
• Strong understanding of Design for EMC/EMI in demanding environments.
• Experience integrating hardware, firmware and software into working platforms.
• Comfortable working within a structured hardware development lifecycle and configuration‑controlled environment.
• Valuable (but not essential)
• Experience in EW, radar, sensors or other complex defence systems.
• Background in automotive, medical, aerospace or high‑reliability industrial electronics.
• Experience with low‑noise analogue design, power supplies or signal integrity.
• Use of model‑driven engineering approaches such as MATLAB or Simulink.
• Security Clearance

This role is subject to pre‑employment screening in line with the UK Government’s Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS).

An additional range of Personnel Security Controls referred to as National Security Vetting (NSV) may apply, which could include meeting the eligibility criteria.

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