451 Hardware In The Loop jobs in the United Kingdom

QA Engineering Placement (Audio & MIDI Hardware, Software, Firmware Testing)

Based: High Wycombe
Type: Full-time, 12-month placement
Salary: £25100 pa

Are you about to graduate from university, or are you a current student looking for a one-year internship?

Are you passionate and knowledgeable about music, audio technology and recording?

If you have answered yes to both of the above, we’d love to hear from you!  We are looking for a passionate and enthusiastic intern to join our Quality Assurance team for a 12-month placement and help us test the next generations of our industry leading audio interfaces.

You’ll work closely with the rest of the QA Team, and other members of the Engineering Department, including Product and Project Managers, as well as Hardware, Software and Firmware Developers.

Key activities include:

• Supporting our existing users with testing for maintenance updates, as well as ensuring on-going compatibility with third party software and hardware releases
• Performing functional, non-functional, and exploratory testing on new products under development
• Helping to keep our automated test rigs running, responding to any issues with our systems to maximise uptime and test coverage
• Analysing test results and logs, including those from our automated test-runs, reporting any issues/patterns to the appropriate development teams
• Helping to validate that new technologies and product concepts are fit for purpose

An ideal candidate is likely to be:

• Working towards a degree-level qualification in science, engineering, technology, or related discipline
• Interested in quality, and able to appreciate what this means in practice to our users
• A clear communicator, methodical and rigorous, with a logical approach to problem solving
• Familiar with computers, and the use of Command Line Interfaces.  Basic scripting ability and an interest in programming would also be an advantage
• Passionate and knowledgeable about music, audio technology

About the Focusrite Group

Doing a 12-month placement at the Focusrite Group is like becoming one of the family. A rapidly growing, global family. We’re focused on providing opportunities for everyone and anyone to enjoy creating music.

Our placements are very popular, and that’s mainly because you can really get stuck in during your year with us. We don’t ask you to answer the phones and do the photocopying. We want you to help develop our products, market our brands, speak to our customers and make us better. A lot of our previous placement candidates are now full-time employees.

All placements last for 12-months. We pay you £5100 per year ( 7100 for London-based roles), and you get to share some of the same benefits as our permanent employees.

Our brands, Focusrite, Focusrite Pro, Novation, Ampify, ADAM Audio, Martin Audio, Optimal Audio, Linea Research, Sequential, Oberheim, Sonnox, OutBoard and TiMax come together around a common mission to remove barriers to creativity.

We work hard. We are professional. And we play hard too. We select really, really talented and passionate people. And we absolutely love our work. So if you think you can bring something new to the mix, we look forward to hearing from you.

Please apply for as many of our placements as you wish.

Timetable for applications:

Deadline to apply: 29th November 2025

Interviews: January – February 2026

Offers made by: 27th February 2026

As an equal opportunity employer, we encourage people to apply regardless of religion, ethnic background, nationality, sexual orientation or gender identity. We recognise the diversity shortcomings of our industry and are committed to driving change. Equally, we recognise the major impact that climate change is having on our world and work every day towards being industry leaders in a carbon neutral future.

Overview

A global engineering group with a long history of innovation in high-volume consumer products is seeking a Senior Embedded Systems Engineer to join its UK-based New Product Development team.

You’ll play a key role in developing the next generation of connected consumer devices, combining intelligent control, connectivity, and elegant design. The company invests heavily in R&D and offers the scale, resources, and career progression of a global organisation while maintaining a close-knit, collaborative engineering culture.

The Role

As a Senior Embedded Systems Engineer, you’ll take technical ownership of both firmware and electronics development across the full product lifecycle - from early concept and prototyping through to validation, certification, and mass manufacture.

You’ll work within a multi-disciplinary project team alongside mechanical, software, and design engineers, helping to integrate cutting-edge embedded technologies into reliable, user-focused products.

This is a hands-on, end-to-end engineering role with real influence over product architecture and technology direction.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and develop embedded firmware for real-time applications across a range of microcontroller platforms (ARM, Atmel, etc.)
• Contribute to hardware circuit design and work closely with electronics engineers to ensure robust system integration
• Lead schematic capture and PCB layout reviews (Altium, OrCAD or equivalent)
• Develop and test code in C / C++, following object-oriented principles and best practice for reliability and maintainability
• Ensure designs meet EMC, electrical, and radio compliance standards (CE, RED, FCC)
• Apply structured validation techniques such as DFMEA and DFM
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to transition products from concept to volume manufacture
• Mentor and support junior engineers, sharing best practice and technical insight

About You

• Degree in Electronics, Electrical, or Embedded Systems Engineering (or equivalent)
• 5+ years’ experience delivering embedded hardware/firmware in consumer or industrial products
• Solid understanding of both analogue/digital electronics and embedded software development
• Expertise in embedded C and object-oriented design for bare-metal and RTOS environments
• Strong grasp of hardware/firmware interaction and design for high-volume manufacturing
• Excellent communicator, proactive problem-solver, and natural collaborator

Desirable Experience

• Wireless connectivity: BLE, Wi-Fi, Matter, MQTT
• Familiarity with FreeRTOS, Zephyr, or similar ecosystems
• Power electronics or signal processing background
• Experience with Modbus/BACnet integration
• Exposure to design failure analysis and continuous product improvement initiatives

What's on Offer

• Work on technically challenging, end-to-end product development projects
• Up to £60k salary
• Hybrid working and flexible hours
• Ongoing professional development and support toward Chartered Engineer (CEng) accreditation
• Career progression within a respected global engineering organisation

If you think you'd be a good fit, please apply directly to this ad with your most up to date CV.

• Lead the design, development, and testing of embedded software for automotive control systems.
• Architect and define software requirements, specifications, and design documents.
• Oversee the implementation of firmware and drivers for microcontrollers and embedded processors.
• Manage and mentor a team of embedded software engineers, providing technical guidance and support.
• Collaborate closely with hardware engineers, system architects, and product managers to ensure seamless integration.
• Develop and maintain real-time operating systems (RTOS) and associated applications.
• Perform code reviews, static analysis, and unit testing to ensure code quality and adherence to standards.
• Implement and validate embedded software using debugging tools, oscilloscopes, and logic analyzers.
• Troubleshoot and resolve complex software and system issues in development and production environments.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of development processes and methodologies.
• Ensure compliance with automotive industry standards (e.g., AUTOSAR, ISO 26262).

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
• Minimum of 7 years of experience in embedded systems development, with a focus on C/C++.
• Proven experience in leading and mentoring engineering teams.
• In-depth knowledge of real-time operating systems (RTOS) and microcontroller architectures.
• Experience with automotive communication protocols (e.g., CAN, LIN, Automotive Ethernet).
• Familiarity with hardware debugging tools and techniques.
• Strong understanding of software development lifecycle (SDLC) and agile methodologies.
• Excellent problem-solving, analytical, and debugging skills.
• Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively.
• Experience with AUTOSAR or other automotive software standards is highly desirable.
• Familiarity with functional safety standards like ISO 26262 is a significant advantage.

• Design and implement firmware and software for embedded systems using C/C++.
• Develop and maintain real-time operating systems (RTOS) and low-level drivers.
• Conduct system-level integration and testing, troubleshooting hardware and software issues.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including hardware engineers, software developers, and product managers, in a remote setting.
• Participate in code reviews, ensuring adherence to coding standards and best practices.
• Optimize system performance, power consumption, and reliability.
• Contribute to the entire product lifecycle, from concept to production.
• Mentor junior engineers and share technical expertise.
• Stay abreast of the latest advancements in embedded systems technology.
• Document designs, implementations, and test procedures thoroughly.

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
• Proven experience (5+ years) in embedded systems development.
• Strong proficiency in C and C++ programming languages.
• Experience with microcontrollers, processors (e.g., ARM), and associated development tools.
• Familiarity with RTOS concepts and implementation.
• Experience with debugging tools, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and other test equipment.
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, essential for a remote work environment.
• Experience with version control systems (e.g., Git).
• Understanding of communication protocols (e.g., SPI, I2C, UART, CAN, Ethernet).

• Design, develop, and implement embedded firmware and software for new products.
• Create detailed hardware/software specifications and documentation.
• Select appropriate microcontrollers, sensors, and other embedded components.
• Develop and optimize real-time operating systems (RTOS) applications.
• Implement and test communication protocols (e.g., SPI, I2C, UART, CAN, Ethernet).
• Conduct thorough unit testing, integration testing, and system validation.
• Collaborate with hardware engineers on schematic design and PCB layout.
• Troubleshoot and resolve complex embedded system issues.
• Mentor junior engineers and contribute to team knowledge sharing.
• Stay current with emerging technologies and industry best practices.

• Master's or Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
• Minimum of 6 years of professional experience in embedded systems development.
• Proficiency in C/C++ programming for embedded systems.
• Experience with RTOS (e.g., FreeRTOS, VxWorks, QNX).
• Strong knowledge of embedded hardware architecture and design.
• Experience with debugging tools (e.g., JTAG, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers).
• Familiarity with version control systems (e.g., Git).
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Strong communication and teamwork abilities.

• Designing and developing embedded software for microcontrollers and microprocessors.
• Writing clean, efficient, and maintainable C/C++ code for embedded systems.
• Implementing and optimizing real-time operating systems (RTOS).
• Developing drivers and firmware for various hardware components.
• Performing unit testing, integration testing, and system testing of embedded software.
• Debugging complex software and hardware issues in embedded environments.
• Collaborating with hardware engineers to define system requirements and specifications.
• Participating in code reviews and ensuring adherence to coding standards.
• Troubleshooting and resolving bugs reported by QA or customers.
• Contributing to the architectural design and technology selection for new projects.