Senior Embedded Software engineer Senior Embedded Software engineer in Cambridge

We are looking for a Senior Embedded Software Engineer - Robotics to write the code that brings our robots to life. Every instrument SPT Labtech ships, from nanolitre-precision liquid handlers to fully automated sample management systems, relies on your embedded C++ on ARM Cortex-M. In this role, you'll design motor and actuator control, integrate robotic hardware over CAN and Ethernet, and shape the firmware architecture of our next generation of laboratory automation. This technology directly accelerates scientific discovery and improves human health.

This is an office and lab-based role at our Melbourn site, near Cambridge. For decades, our expert scientists, engineers and business innovators have provided scientists with world-leading, innovative solutions for liquid handling, sample preparation, and sample management that help accelerate research and make a real difference to human health. We work collaboratively with our customers, building trusted relationships that enable us to deliver exceptional, personalised experiences designed for real-world challenges in the lab.

You'll join a multidisciplinary R&D team where software, electronics and mechanical engineers sit side by side and designs come together in the lab, not just on paper.

• Design, develop and maintain embedded software in C++ for ARM Cortex-M series microcontrollers — firmware that ships inside real instruments.
• Implement motor and actuator control across open-loop, closed-loop and hybrid schemes, working hand in hand with our electronics team on motor drives and robotic hardware.
• Integrate OEM and third-party modules, barcode readers, thermal units, pneumatics and similar — over CAN, Ethernet, UART, SPI, I²C and GPIO, writing the device drivers that connect them into the system.
• Contribute to the lower-level, device-facing C# .NET code on the PC side that talks to the embedded layer.
• Troubleshoot and debug complex embedded software, hardware interfaces and robotics system issues, including on the CAN bus.
• Provide technical leadership and mentoring to junior engineers, and help raise the bar for software development practice across the team.

You're an embedded engineer who thinks at the system level, comfortable reasoning about how distributed microcontrollers, timing and communications interact, not just single-component behaviour. You're a proactive self-starter and a sharp problem-solver with the persistence to chase an issue to its root cause, and you communicate clearly across software, electronics and mechanical disciplines. You take pride in firmware that is robust, diagnosable and built to run reliably for years in the field.

• Solid commercial experience in embedded software or firmware development.
• Strong, hands-on C/C++ on ARM microcontrollers (Cortex-M series or similar).
• Working knowledge of C# .NET, sufficient for device-facing PC-side code.
• Comfortable with unit testing, continuous integration and version control (Git).
• Field-oriented control (FOC) experience.
• Familiarity with gRPC or other distributed software architectures.
• Experience working in Agile teams.
• A degree in electronics, computer science or a related field, or equivalent experience.

We offer a competitive salary package and comprehensive, valued benefits, including private medical insurance, a generous pension plan, and an annual discretionary bonus. We embrace diversity and inclusivity, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical ability, or family status.