Software student placement

We're looking for the best-embedded software students to join us for 12 months industrial placements at our offices in Warwick, starting summer 2027. You’ll be contributing to our projects from the outset, working as part of the DCA team in areas such as software planning, design, coding, debugging, and testing. Our primary projects involve embedded software running on various microcontrollers, often with test scripts running in Python on a PC or Raspberry Pi.

We regularly sponsor the best of our placement students and many have joined DCA on graduation.

You will benefit from improving not only your software engineering skills but your hardware and electronics knowledge as well. In addition to working on customer-based projects, you may also be required to research new software tools and technologies to aid in future development and help improve software development procedures.

We'll help you to get up to speed with our design tools and our approach to project work while giving you appropriate responsibility for work on real client projects. You'll need to be enthusiastic, motivated, self-reliant, and able to manage your time, but help and support will of course be available when required - we assign a mentor to each student to help you settle in, to agree on objectives and support your development goals during your time with us.

A placement here will complement your studies and give you the advantage that comes with hands-on experience on real commercial projects. Because our projects are so varied and we only employ the best engineers you'll get a great range of exposure to different aspects of software systems engineering and you'll learn a lot along the way.

There's a vibrant atmosphere at DCA in which you'll quickly be made to feel part of the team. There are many company events and informal social activities going on, so you will certainly have some fun during your time with us, in and out of the office!

Essential qualities

• The ability to program and a working knowledge in C/embedded C and Python to a reasonable level
• A basic knowledge of embedded systems and relevant hardware
• Experience in using electrical circuits and embedded microcontrollers, e.g. Arduino
• A proactive, enthusiastic, and self-motivated attitude, with the ability to work individually and as part of a team
• Effective verbal and written communication skills in the English language
• Passionate about identifying and solving problems (e.g. debugging other people’s software)

Desirable qualities

• Experience in using electrical circuits and embedded microcontrollers, e.g. Arduino
• A basic knowledge of UML design
• A basic knowledge of version control software (Eg GIT)
• An awareness of coding standards (e.g. MISRA)

Pay and benefits

We offer competitive rates of pay. You will be entitled to 22 days of holiday per annum plus Bank Holidays, adjusted on a pro-rata basis for placements of less than 12 months.

Apply now

We encourage early applications, as vacancies may be filled before the closing date of 30 November 2026. To apply, please click "Apply for this role".

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