Staff Engineer in Cardiff

A Staff engineer with embedded firmware development and debugging skills is required for our design center in Cardiff. Working in small versatile Agile teams, the candidate's work will be involved in product design and sustaining activities on a range of PACS RFID access control products. Previous experience designing cryptographic code for secure applications would be highly desirable for this role. The candidate needs to be able to effectively manage their time to support work on a variety of products at different stages of the product's lifecycle, and to be able to collaborate well with colleagues from different departments both onsite and overseas. Occasional travel may be required.

Staff Engineer is seen as a grounded and reliable engineer who is a master of their specific domain. Capable of owning technical design for projects of moderate complexity and understands the tradeoffs in creating good work/output/product in their field. They are aware and self-learn industry best practices & trends and have acquired at least one major skill outside of their area of expertise. This engineer shows initiative beyond completing tasks list; they can identify and suggest areas of future work for themselves and their teams. The Staff Engineer self-seeks evidence to support their ideas and builds cases for these ideas.

As our Staff Firmware Engineer, you’ll support HID’s success by:

• Design and Implementation of embedded firmware and test solutions primarily in C and C#
• Design and implementation of cryptographic solutions.
• Creation of design documentation.
• Practical hands-on experience working with and debugging embedded systems.
• Working in a team environment.
• They require little oversight beyond high level direction and can take a complex scenario, breaking it down into sub-tasks, and completing sub-tasks with relative ease.
• Communicates technical decisions through design docs, white papers, and educational social media platforms.
• Communicates effectively with cross functions; can work well with Product, Design, Analytics, etc, as necessary.

Experience/Qualifications

• Engineering degree or equivalent or suitable experience.
• Minimum of 7+ years of related industry experience.
• Ability to verify product software requirements considering hardware capabilities.
• Mentor to other engineers in the low level (as FW) or high level (as SW) design and development.
• Able to understand, maintain and create designs for mid-size projects.
• Can provide solutions to complex issues.
• Fluent in product embedded programming C
• Fluent in low level (as FW) or high level (as SW) development techniques.
• Fluent with software version control.
• TDD Unit test approach.
• Good understanding and skills with CI/CD
• Solve security / SSDL related issues.
• Able to demonstrate experience with the FW/SW development process.

Additional beneficial skills/experience

• Smart Card ISO7816 and RFID ISO 14443/15593 protocols
• Programming with C#
• I2C and SPI protocols.
• USB low level protocols.
• Cryptographic code programming.
• Jenkins automation server/client programming.
• NUnit test framework.
• Bluetooth Low Energy protocol.
• Scripting languages e.g. Python.
• CMock unit testing.

What we can offer you:

• Competitive salary and rewards package.
• Competitive benefits and annual leave offering, allowing for work-life balance.
• A vibrant, welcoming & inclusive culture.
• Extensive career development opportunities and resources to maximize your potential.
• To be a part of a global organization that is pioneering the hardware, software and services that allow people to confidently navigate the physical and digital worlds.

Why apply?

• Empowerment: You’ll work as part of a global team in a flexible work environment, learning and enhancing your expertise. We welcome an opportunity to meet you and learn about your unique talents, skills, and experiences. You don’t need to check all the boxes. If you have most of the skills and experience, we want you to apply.
• Innovation: You embrace challenges and want to drive change. You'll have opportunities to share insights and contribute forward-thinking ideas that shape future outcomes.
• Integrity: You are results-orientated, reliable, and straightforward and value being treated accordingly. We want all our employees to be themselves, to feel appreciated and accepted.

HID is committed to building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce that reflects the global communities we serve. As an equal opportunity employer, we welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. We evaluate applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristic. Our goal is to create a workplace that empowers everyone to thrive and be their authentic selves, fostering an environment of mutual respect and inclusivity.

If you have a disability and require assistance or accommodation to participate in the application process or to perform essential job functions, please contact.

Applicants for this position must be currently and legally authorized to reside and work in the hiring country. HID Global will not offer immigration sponsorship or assume sponsorship of an employment visa for this position. International relocation or remote work arrangements outside of the hiring country will not be considered.

Our Talent Acquisition team may use an AI-powered screening tool to support their initial review of your application. The tool analyzes resume content such as qualifications, skills, and experience to help recruiters assess applications against role requirements. It does not score, rank, filter, or make any decisions about your application. All hiring decisions are made by people following their own review of your full application.

HID is certified as a Great Place to Work in the UK, reflecting employee feedback on trust, collaboration, and workplace culture.