Principal Embedded Engineer

🚀 Principal Embedded Engineer – Embedded Software & Firmware

📍 Dorset – Dorchester / Winfrith Newburgh

💰 Up to £80,000

🏢 Hybrid – 3 days onsite per week

📄 Permanent

We’re recruiting for an experienced Principal Embedded Engineer to take a leading role in developing and shaping an established engineering organisation’s embedded software and firmware capability.

This is a senior, highly influential position combining hands-on embedded engineering expertise with technical and people leadership . You’ll help define engineering processes, tools and best practice while leading the delivery of complex embedded solutions across microcontrollers, SoCs and FPGA-based systems .

The role

As Principal Embedded Engineer, you’ll provide technical leadership and direction across embedded software and firmware development, working closely with software, firmware, hardware and systems engineering teams.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Leading and developing embedded engineering capability across microcontrollers, SoCs and FPGAs

• Providing technical authority, governance and oversight across embedded development activities

• Defining engineering processes, workflows and best-practice standards

• Leading the planning and delivery of embedded software and firmware work packages

• Translating customer and system requirements into clear firmware/software specifications

• Developing architecture concepts and overseeing detailed designs

• Defining verification strategies, validation plans and test cases

• Building reusable modules and libraries to improve future project delivery

• Supporting bids, proposals and engineering estimates

• Ensuring solutions meet relevant quality, compliance and safety standards, including SIL/ASIL where applicable

• Mentoring and developing engineers while supporting recruitment and onboarding

• Driving collaboration and knowledge-sharing across software, firmware and hardware teams

What we’re looking for

You’ll ideally have an HNC/HND or degree in Electrical/Electronic Engineering, or equivalent experience , alongside a strong background in embedded systems engineering.

We’re particularly interested in experience with:

- Embedded C/C++

- Microcontrollers and SoCs

- FPGA-based systems

• Firmware/software architecture and specification

• Engineering verification, validation and testing

• Defining and implementing engineering processes

• Hardware Description Languages – ideally VHDL

• FPGA simulation and verification tools

• Safety-related development standards such as SIL or ASIL

You should also be comfortable acting as a technical leader: making pragmatic engineering decisions, reducing technical risk, communicating with customers and suppliers, and mentoring engineers at different stages of their careers.

Why consider this opportunity?

This is an opportunity to have a genuine influence over the technical direction, engineering processes and future capability of an embedded engineering function , rather than simply delivering against an existing framework.

The position offers:

💰 Salary up to £80,000

🏢 Hybrid working – 3 days onsite per week

📄 Permanent position

⏰ Full-time, part-time and condensed-hours arrangements considered

📈 Significant technical leadership and capability-building responsibility

Due to the nature of the projects involved, applicants must be eligible to obtain full UK Security Clearance (SC) .

Interested? Apply with your CV or get in touch for a confidential conversation about the role.

#EmbeddedSystems #EmbeddedSoftware #Firmware #EmbeddedC #CPlusPlus #FPGA #VHDL #EngineeringJobs #PrincipalEngineer #DorsetJobs #TechJobs #Hiring