Most hardware engineers wait years to see anything they design reach operational use. Here, the electronics you design go into systems on operations today, and you will own how they get built rather than inherit someone else's process.
Minerva Defence is one of the fastest-growing defence technology companies in Europe. We create the software, hardware and networking that make unmanned systems effective on the modern battlefield, all ideated, designed and manufactured end-to-end in the UK, and in active use today. We are deliberately low-profile: a team of around 60, small in headcount and outsized in effect. We look for people who are not just talented but genuinely committed to the work, the team, and the purpose behind it.
You will own electronic hardware end to end, from a blank schematic to a product that performs reliably in the field. The role is still being shaped, so you will set the standard as you go: write the procedures, define the review process, and grow a small team around you. What you design reaches operational use in weeks and months, not years and decades, and the way it gets done is yours to define rather than handed down.
Responsibilities
• Design analog and digital circuits, and produce the schematics behind them
• Take hardware from first prototype through testing and debug to a validated design
• Lead PCB layout reviews for signal integrity, EMI/EMC, and manufacturability
• Own power design: DC-DC, LDO, and battery and charging systems
• Own the BOM, documentation, and revision control, including engineering change orders
• Support manufacturing, production, and suppliers as designs go to build
• Work alongside firmware, mechanical, and systems engineers to make the whole system perform
Minimum:
• Experience designing analog and digital electronic circuits, from schematic through to validated hardware
• Strong hands-on lab and debugging skills: oscilloscope, DMM, logic analyser, soldering and rework
• Power electronics experience: regulators, protection, battery and charging systems
• A track record of component selection and BOM ownership, balancing availability, cost, and alternates
• Eligible for UK SC clearance (UK citizen or 5+ years UK residency)
• Willing to work on site in our offices in the West Midlands at least three days a week
Preferred:
• PCB layout experience and a working grasp of EMI/EMC and ESD reliability
• Experience taking hardware through manufacturing and into production
• Experience mentoring or coaching engineers and establishing processes and standards within a growing team
• Evidence of hands-on engineering interests outside work: cars, 3D printers, robotics
• An interest in aerospace or aviation