Lead Electronics Engineer in Bristol

Join us in making sure no one is left without a voice. At Smartbox, our assistive technology empowers people with disabilities who experience speech difficulties to express themselves, connect with others, and live more independent lives. We’re proud to be a global leader in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), supporting people across the UK, US, Europe, and beyond. But what truly sets us apart is our people: passionate, collaborative, and driven by the impact our products have every day. If you’re motivated by meaningful work and want to apply your technical expertise to something that genuinely changes lives, we’d love to hear from you.

This is a rare opportunity to lead the electronics architecture behind technology that gives people a voice. As our Lead Electronics Engineer, you’ll play a key role in shaping the next generation of Smartbox communication devices. Combining hands-on engineering with technical leadership, you’ll help design complex, medical-grade products that people rely on every day to communicate, learn and live more independently. You’ll influence product direction, drive innovation across critical hardware platforms and help develop reliable, future-focused technologies with a direct impact on users' lives.

Working across electronics, embedded systems, acoustics, sensors and firmware, you’ll collaborate with teams across engineering, quality, manufacturing and production to create products that are both technically excellent and life-changing.

What you’ll be doing

You’ll bring technical leadership, engineering expertise and a collaborative mindset throughout the product lifecycle. From concept and architecture through to validation, compliance and manufacturing, you’ll help turn ambitious ideas into products that make a real difference. You’ll mentor engineers, contribute to technical strategy and support a culture of continuous improvement. You’ll work closely with colleagues across disciplines, ensuring solutions balance user needs, technical performance and long-term product goals. Your expertise will help shape key hardware subsystems, embedded platforms and firmware solutions that enable our products to remain reliable, accessible and innovative. Most importantly, you’ll help ensure every design decision supports our mission of empowering people through technology.

Why this role is unique

This isn’t a typical electronics role; you’ll be working at the intersection of:

• Medical-grade hardware and embedded systems.
• Assistive technology and accessibility.
• Highly integrated, multi-disciplinary products.

We’re solving complex, real-world challenges where reliability, usability and performance truly matter, and where your decisions directly impact people’s daily lives.

What we’re looking for

We’re looking for a rare combination of deep technical expertise, curiosity, and purpose-driven thinking.

Essential experience

• Extensive experience designing complex electronic products from concept through to manufacture.
• Strong expertise in digital, analogue and power electronics, including system architecture and component selection.
• Proven experience developing embedded firmware in C/C++ on modern microcontroller platforms and RTOS environments.
• Significant experience with schematic capture, PCB design, design reviews and manufacturability considerations.
• Knowledge of safety, EMC and regulatory requirements within regulated product environments.
• Experience applying engineering risk management principles, including DFMEA and structured verification and validation approaches.
• Ability to lead complex, cross-functional technical projects and manage competing priorities effectively.
• Experience building, mentoring and developing engineering teams.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to influence technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• A genuine passion for creating technology that improves people's lives.

Some areas we often work with include:

• Assistive technology, AAC or accessibility-focused products.
• Embedded systems and hardware/firmware integration.
• Audio systems, sensors, infrared technologies and human-machine interfaces.
• Medical device or safety-critical product development.
• Product strategy, supply chains and long-term platform thinking.
• Working closely with manufacturers and external suppliers.
• Technology evaluation, innovation and future product road mapping.

Why join Smartbox

Purpose-driven work with real-world impact. Collaborative and supportive culture. Hybrid working and flexibility. Opportunities to grow, lead and shape future products. Strong benefits package + wellbeing support.

Dive into our website to uncover all the fantastic benefits waiting for you at Smartbox.

Inclusion and sustainability

At Smartbox, we’re committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued, supported and able to thrive. We’re proud to be a Disability Confident Employer and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds. If there’s anything we can do to support you during the recruitment process, please feel free to let us know within your application. We also aim to build sustainability into everything we do, from how we design our products to how we operate as a business.

Ready to make a difference

If you’re excited by the idea of combining cutting-edge electronics engineering with real-world impact, we’d love to hear from you. Apply now and help us ensure no one is left without a voice.