Location: London
Employment Type: Full-time
Department: Engineering – Hardware
About the Company
Timebeat is a leader in high-precision clock synchronisation technology, delivering enterprise-grade timing solutions for financial services, telecommunications, aerospace, defence, and critical infrastructure. Our products enable nanosecond-level accuracy, reliability, and visibility across distributed systems. We are expanding our hardware engineering team to continue advancing our timing platforms and next-generation synchronisation devices.
Role Overview
We are seeking a Hardware Design Engineer with experience in PCB design using Altium Designer. In this role, you will design, develop, test, and iterate hardware solutions for high-precision timing, network synchronisation, and embedded systems. You will work closely with software, FPGA, mechanical, and product teams to deliver robust, production-ready designs. You will work alongside senior hardware design engineers as well as external design consultants.
Key Responsibilities
Hardware Design & Development
* Design multi-layer PCBs in Altium Designer, including schematic capture, layout, library management, and DFM/DFA considerations.
* Develop hardware for clock synchronisation and timing systems, including oscillators, GNSS receivers, network timing modules (PTP/NTP), and related embedded electronics.
* Create, simulate, and validate high-speed digital, analogue, mixed-signal, and power circuitry.
* Perform signal integrity and power integrity analysis; design for EMC compliance.
* Generate comprehensive fabrication and assembly documentation.
Testing & Validation
* Develop and execute test plans for prototype validation and product qualification.
* Work with lab equipment (oscilloscopes, spectrum analysers, frequency counters, power analysers, logic analysers).
* Debug hardware issues and provide timely design revisions.
* Support environmental, compliance, and reliability testing.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
* Collaborate with firmware, FPGA, and software engineers to ensure seamless integration across the product stack.
* Work with manufacturing partners to resolve production issues and improve yield.
* Participate in design reviews, documentation, and version-control workflows.
Required Skills & Experience
* Bachelor's degree or higher in Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, or related field.
* 1-5 years experience
* Proven experience designing PCBs using Altium Designer.
* Strong understanding of digital and analogue circuit design.
* Experience with high-speed interfaces (e.g., Ethernet, USB, SPI, I2C, LVDS).
* Familiarity with oscillators, timing circuits, PLLs, GNSS modules, and precision measurement components.
* Solid understanding of EMC/EMI principles and regulatory compliance (CE, FCC or similar).
* Comfortable using lab equipment for debugging and characterisation.
* Knowledge of design-for-manufacture (DFM) and design-for-test (DFT).
Preferred Qualifications (nice to have but not essential)
* Experience in hardware for timing, synchronisation, PTP (IEEE 1588), GNSS, or networking hardware.
* Experience with FPGA/SoC platforms (Xilinx, Intel/Altera, Microchip).
* Familiarity with thermal design and power optimisation.
* Experience with scripting or automation tools (Python, MATLAB, etc.).
* Knowledge of embedded firmware basics (C/C++).
Personal Attributes
* Strong problem-solving skills and attention to detail.
* Ability to manage multiple tasks and prioritise effectively.
* Collaborative and communicative team player.
* Driven to innovate and continuously improve hardware quality.
What We Offer
* Competitive salary and benefits package.
* Opportunity to work on cutting-edge timing and synchronisation technologies.
* A collaborative, fast-moving, engineering-focused environment.
* Career growth and technical development opportunities.