Senior Product Test Development Engineer (Contract)
(Electronic Test Systems | Defence & Aerospace)
Glenrothes, Fife, Scotland – MUST be local or willing to relocate
£620/day + £7,500 welcome bonus + relocation support
Full-time, permanent | 37 hours per week | Fully on-site
Defence / Aerospace Engineering
This is a software-led automated test development role with strong electronics hardware exposure. The focus is on designing and building the automated test systems used to test electronic products in manufacturing, not primarily running integration, environmental, or launch test campaigns.
Location & Eligibility – Please Read Carefully
This role is fully on-site and based in Glenrothes, Fife (Scotland).
Applicants must already be based locally or willing to relocate (relocation support available).
Applicants must have valid UK work eligibility. Visa sponsorship is not available.
Security Clearance
Due to the nature of the work, candidates must be eligible for UK Security Check (SC) clearance. This typically requires British citizenship and continuous UK residency for the past 5 years.
Overview
We are recruiting a Senior Product Test Development Engineer to join a high-growth engineering team delivering advanced electronic test solutions for critical defence and aerospace programmes.
This is a hands-on, senior technical role focused specifically on the design and development of automated test equipment used in manufacturing environments. You will own the full test lifecycle from requirements and architecture through design, build, verification, production handover, and long-term support.
You'll work on technologies that support Control Actuation Systems, Guidance Electronics, and cutting-edge GPS Anti-Jamming systems, operating across land, sea, air, and space domains.
The role is software-led with strong hardware exposure, ideal for engineers with deep experience architecting automated test systems for electronic products rather than purely integration or environmental testing roles.
Key Responsibilities
* Design, develop, verify, and validate automated test equipment (ATE) at card, sub-system, and system level
* Own the end-to-end test development process, including transfer into production and ongoing manufacturing support
* Architect and develop structured automated test software for electronic systems
* Design and integrate test hardware interfaces including fixtures, harnesses, and instrumentation
* Work extensively in a laboratory environment, debugging complex electronic and mixed-signal systems
* Lead fault finding, root cause analysis, and failure investigation, feeding recommendations back to design teams
* Support production through issue resolution, yield improvement, and obsolescence management
* Collaborate across hardware, software, and systems engineering disciplines
* Participate in customer-facing activities, including engagement with US-based customers
* Lead design reviews and produce high-quality technical documentation
* Act as a technical mentor and senior escalation point for junior engineers
Required Experience
* Strong background in automated electronic test system development
* Excellent knowledge of analogue and digital electronic circuit design
* Proven experience designing and deploying electronic test equipment in manufacturing environments
* Experience developing structured test software for automated or semi-automated test systems
* Strong hardware troubleshooting and board-level fault-finding capability
* Experience transferring test solutions into production and supporting manufacturing environments
* Comfortable working fully on-site in a secure engineering environment
Desirable Experience
* Significant industry test development experience
* Experience testing electronic cards / CCAs in production environments
* Background in defence, aerospace, automotive, or similarly regulated industries
* Understanding of PXI / LXI test architectures
* Experience with NI LabVIEW, NI CVI, NI TestStand, or C#
* Understanding of measurement uncertainty and validation techniques
* Exposure to GPS, RF electronics, high-speed serial interfaces, or power electronics
* Experience using Mentor Graphics schematic capture and PCB layout tools
What's On Offer
* £620 per day
* £7,500 welcome / joining bonus
* Relocation support available
* Excellent pension scheme (up to 10.5% employer contribution)
* 37-hour working week with early finish Fridays or compressed hours
* 25 days holiday + public holidays (buy/sell options available)
* Discretionary company bonus
* Life assurance (6× salary)
* Flexible benefits including healthcare, dental, and cycle-to-work schemes
* Enhanced sick pay and family-friendly policies
* Long-term career progression in a rapidly growing, high-impact engineering team