South Archives | KO2 Recruitment

Principal Electronics Engineer

Principal Electronics Engineer

Location: High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire

Salary: Up to £70,000

The Opportunity

KO2’s client is a specialist engineering business operating in a highly regulated and technically demanding sector. They design, manufacture, and deliver electronic systems where performance and reliability are paramount, working on programmes that have genuine real-world impact. This is a rare opening for a Principal Electronics Engineer to join a small, expert team working on some of the most technically challenging and commercially significant projects in their field.

Why This Role Is Worth Your Attention

This is not a box-ticking electronics role. You will be working on complex, high-integrity systems that require serious analogue design capability and the confidence to take technical ownership from concept through to delivery. The team is experienced, the work is meaningful, and your contribution will be visible. Specifically, you will be involved in the design and development of electronic systems used in weapons interface applications for the UK defence sector, requiring SC security clearance. Few roles offer this level of technical depth alongside the chance to act as a genuine authority within the engineering function.

The working week is 4.5 days (Friday afternoon off), with an initial site-based period that reduces over time as trust is established. The role is based at the client’s Loudwater facility, which is conveniently commutable from High Wycombe and the surrounding area.

Key Responsibilities

Leading the design and development of complex electronic systems from concept through to production and in-service support
Acting as technical authority for electronics across multiple concurrent programmes
Defining system and subsystem requirements to meet customer, regulatory, and operational needs
Providing expert guidance on analogue and mixed-signal electronic design, architecture, and component selection
Conducting circuit analysis, simulation, and formal design reviews
Overseeing schematic capture and guiding PCB layout activities
Supporting verification, integration, qualification, and production phases
Mentoring and developing engineers within the team
Representing the business in technical reviews and customer meetings

What We Are Looking For

Essential:

HNC, HND, degree or equivalent qualification in Electrical or Electronic Engineering
Significant experience designing electronic systems in high-reliability or regulated industries
Strong analogue electronics design and circuit simulation expertise
Experience with communication protocols such as RS485, SPI, I2C, CAN or similar
Solid understanding of component selection, derating, reliability, and lifecycle considerations
Ability to produce and review schematics and technical documentation to a high standard
Understanding of PCB design principles, layout supervision, and design-for-manufacture
Self-motivated and confident leading technical delivery in a fast-paced environment

Desirable:

Experience with EMC design
Digital circuit design background
Wiring definition experience
Familiarity with Altium Design
Prior experience in defence or aerospace

Security Requirements

Due to the nature of the programmes involved, candidates must be British nationals and eligible for SC security clearance. Candidates who are dual nationals may be considered in certain circumstances, but this will require discussion at interview stage. A clean criminal record is required. BPSS screening will be conducted at the point of offer.

Salary and Package

Up to £70,000 basic salary, plus pension, life insurance, and a competitive wider benefits package. Full details will be provided at the appropriate stage.

To apply or find out more, please contact the KO2 team in confidence.

Founding Motor Design & Electromagnetic Control Engineer

Founding Motor Design & Electromagnetic Control Engineer
Basic salary Up to £85,000 + Generous Stock Options
Location Reading – this is an onsite role

The Opportunity
KO2’s consultants have 19 years of experience placing engineers across start-ups and established businesses alike. In that time, we have never encountered an opportunity quite like this one. Our client is building something that has genuinely never been attempted before: a range of high-performance brushless motors operating at 1 kW to 15 kW across 6S to 14S voltage, manufactured in what will be the most advanced electronics and motor production facility in Europe, and designed through an AI-driven platform that sits at the heart of their engineering process.

This is not a start-up with a bold idea and no route to market. The founding team have built a Formula 1 team, founded a business valued at over one billion pounds, and includes an elite principal from one of the most celebrated British design institutions in the world. The commercial acumen, the capital backing, and the technical vision are all in place. What is unique and unprecedented here is that all three exist simultaneously, in one founding team.

The Role
As a founding hire, you will own electromagnetic motor architecture and motor control from end to end. You will design slot and pole configurations, winding topologies, magnet strategies, and rotor and stator geometry for compact, high-efficiency brushless motors. You will then design and validate the field-oriented control algorithms that run on those motors, closing the loop between the magnetic circuit and the controller in a way that most businesses leave to two separate teams in two separate rooms.

The product range sits at 1 kW to 15 kW across 6S to 14S battery voltage, compact, demanding, and with a design element that has never been brought to market before. You will use Motor-CAD or equivalent electromagnetic FEA, MATLAB/Simulink, and a HIL environment you will help build. The company’s AI platform and robotics-driven manufacturing facility mean your designs feed directly into a production system that is itself unlike anything currently operating in Europe.
Aerospace and defence experience is a strong advantage. The quality, reliability, and traceability standards of those sectors are the benchmark the business is working to.

What We Are Looking For
Five or more years of hands-on experience in electromagnetic motor design and FOC motor control for BLDC or PMSM applications. Proficiency in Motor-CAD, FEMM, JMAG, or equivalent. Fluency in MATLAB/Simulink and model-based design. Experience with HIL test environments and motor parameter identification. Winding design knowledge, conductor selection, turn count, topology trade-offs. A background in aerospace, defence, UAV, or high-reliability industrial applications is highly desirable but not essential. A PhD or degree in electrical engineering, electrical machines, or control engineering is preferred.

What This Role Will Do For You
There are very few roles in the UK, or in Europe, that will advance your technical and commercial standing as rapidly as this one. You will be working at the frontier of motor design, AI-driven manufacturing, robotics, and machine learning alongside engineers and entrepreneurs who have operated at the very highest levels of their respective fields. Your CV and your skill set will be in a different league if you get the chance to work for this company. The founding team equity on offer reflects the seriousness with which the business regards its earliest hires.

To apply, please send your CV to KO2. If you know someone who would be a strong fit for this role, exceptional referral fees are available, please get in touch with our team directly.

Apply or Refer a Colleague
Exceptional referral fees are paid. If you know a motor design or electromagnetic control engineer who would be right for this role, please contact KO2’s team. We reward great introductions generously.

Lead Embedded Software Engineer

May 13, 2026/in South Permanent /by Chris Oddy

Lead Embedded Software Engineer

Location: Ealing Area – With Hybrid Working from Home
Salary: Up to £75,000 + Extensive Benefits

The Role

KO2’s client is looking for a Lead Embedded Software Engineer to drive the development of robust, scalable embedded software solutions for next-generation electric products. This role combines hands-on technical delivery with small-team leadership, offering the opportunity to influence architecture, mentor engineers, and shape the future direction of embedded platforms.

You will play a key role across the full product lifecycle — from early-stage prototyping and system design through to production, manufacturing, and long-term product support — while helping build engineering best practices and delivery capability within the team.

Key Responsibilities

Lead the design and development of high-quality embedded software that is efficient, maintainable, scalable, and production-ready
Provide technical leadership to a small embedded software team, supporting task planning, technical direction, mentoring, and code reviews
Collaborate closely with hardware, systems, and manufacturing teams to support board bring-up, debugging, integration, and system validation
Own key architectural decisions, helping define software frameworks, coding standards, development processes, and long-term platform strategy
Design, implement, test, and maintain embedded software for internally developed electric systems and connected devices
Investigate and resolve complex real-time issues relating to timing, performance, reliability, and signal integrity
Support continuous improvement initiatives across tooling, automation, testing, and development workflows
Contribute to project planning, technical estimation, risk management, and delivery milestones
Champion engineering best practices including documentation, version control, CI/CD, and software quality standards

About You

Strong commercial experience developing embedded software in C and C++
Proven experience leading or mentoring engineers within a small technical team or project environment
Strong understanding of embedded systems architecture and full software development lifecycle practices
Experience developing RTOS-based applications
Hands-on experience with embedded communication protocols such as BLE, CAN, I2C, UART, or SPI
Comfortable working across hardware/software boundaries, including debugging and system integration
Experience using version control systems, particularly Git, within collaborative development environments
A proactive technical problem-solver with strong analytical and root-cause investigation skills
Ability to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders

Desirable Skills

Exposure to functional safety standards such as ISO 13849 or ISO 26262
Experience with CI/CD pipelines and modern development tooling (e.g. Jenkins, Docker)
Familiarity with Python for automation, tooling, or test development
Experience contributing to technical roadmaps, architectural strategy, or platform standardisation

Why Apply?

This is an excellent opportunity for a senior embedded engineer ready to step into a lead role — or an existing lead engineer looking for greater technical ownership and influence within an innovative engineering environment developing advanced electric products.

Apply today with an up-to-date CV

RF Engineer

May 5, 2026/in South Permanent /by Chris Oddy

Location: Stroud (Office-Based)
Salary: Competitive + Equity Options
Job Type: Permanent

Overview
We’re partnering with a well-funded, early-stage startup operating in the field of cutting-edge data collection and monitoring devices. They’re building innovative wireless solutions that enable smarter, real-time insights across a range of applications. They’re now looking for an RF Engineer to join their growing team on a permanent basis, working onsite in Stroud. This is a hands-on opportunity to play a key role in shaping products from the ground up.

The Role
As an RF Engineer, you’ll take ownership of RF design, development, and testing across the full product lifecycle. You’ll work closely with a small, high-calibre engineering team, contributing to everything from concept through to production.

Key Responsibilities

Design and develop RF circuits and systems for wireless data collection and monitoring devices
Perform simulation, modelling, and analysis of RF performance
Prototype, test, and validate RF designs in a lab environment
Troubleshoot and optimise RF performance issues
Collaborate with hardware, firmware, and systems engineers
Support regulatory compliance and certification processes

Key Requirements

Proven commercial experience in RF design and development
Strong understanding of RF fundamentals (antennas, propagation, signal integrity)
Experience with RF simulation tools (e.g., ADS, CST, HFSS or similar)
Hands-on experience with RF lab equipment (spectrum analysers, network analysers, etc.)
Experience with wireless communication technologies (e.g., IoT, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 5G, or similar)
Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, startup environment
Ability to achieve SC clearance, if you hold it already even better

Desirable

Experience with low-power RF design
Familiarity with EMC/EMI and certification standards
Experience taking products from prototype to production
Exposure to embedded systems or mixed-signal design

Why Join?

Be part of a well-funded startup at a pivotal growth stage within the data collection and monitoring space
Direct influence on product direction and technical decisions
Collaborative, in-person engineering culture
Competitive salary and meaningful equity package
Long-term career growth in a high-impact environment

If you’re looking for a permanent, office-based role where you can make a tangible impact on cutting-edge wireless technology, we’d love to hear from you.

IT Manager

April 24, 2026/in South Permanent /by Chris Oddy

Job Title: IT & Security Manager
Location: Stroud
Salary: Up to £65,000 DOE

About KO2’s Client
KO2’s client is an ambitious and rapidly growing engineering startup entering an exciting phase of scale. With innovation at its core, the business is building a robust, secure, and future-proof technology environment to support expansion. They are now looking for an experienced IT & Security Manager to take ownership of their IT infrastructure and security strategy from the ground up.

The Role
This is a hands-on and strategic role where you will design, build, and manage the company’s IT function while ensuring best-in-class security practices. You will play a key role in shaping internal infrastructure, supporting business growth, and embedding a strong security culture across the organisation.

Key Responsibilities

Design, implement, and manage scalable IT infrastructure across Linux, Mac, and Windows environments
Lead the development and enforcement of IT security policies, procedures, and controls
Own and drive ISO 27001 compliance, including audits, risk assessments, and continuous improvement
Manage networks, cloud services, endpoints, and internal systems
Ensure system reliability, performance, and security across all platforms
Oversee user access, identity management, and endpoint security
Act as the primary point of contact for all IT and information security matters
Support and scale IT operations in line with company growth
Manage third-party vendors and service providers where required

About You

Proven experience in an IT Manager, IT Lead, or similar role within a fast-paced environment
Strong hands-on experience with Linux, macOS, and Windows systems
Demonstrable experience implementing and maintaining ISO 27001 standards
Solid understanding of cybersecurity principles, risk management, and compliance
Experience with cloud platforms (e.g. AWS, Azure, or GCP)
Ability to build IT systems and processes from scratch in a growing organisation
Strong problem-solving skills and a proactive mindset
Excellent communication skills, with the ability to work across technical and non-technical teams

Desirable Skills

Experience in a startup or scaling business
Knowledge of DevOps practices and automation tools

What KO2’s Client Offers

Opportunity to shape and lead IT and security strategy in a growing company
A collaborative, innovative, and flexible working environment

How to Apply
If you’re excited by the challenge of building and securing IT systems in a high-growth startup, please apply with your CV and a brief cover note outlining your experience and interest in the role.

Mechanical Design Engineer

April 22, 2026/in South Permanent /by Chris Oddy

Position: Mechanical Design Engineer

Location: Reading

Salary: Up to £100,000 DOE

KO2’s client is hiring a founding mechanical engineer to take ownership of mechanical design across a new, high performance engineering and manufacturing facility in Reading

This is a key early hire where you will define the mechanical architecture for current and future products, playing a central role in building what is set to become the best in class motor manufacturing facility in Europe

KO2’s client is building advanced, high reliability systems within a vertically integrated environment, combining design, manufacturing and validation under one roof. The focus is on developing precision engineered products that demand exceptional performance, quality and repeatability

As the founding mechanical engineer, you will own the mechanical design of small brushless motors ranging from 1kW to 15kW power, operating across 6 to 14S voltage platforms. You will lead motor design and broader mechanical systems, taking concepts through to production ready solutions

You will define motor architecture including rotor and stator design, thermal management, structural integrity, bearings, housings and overall system integration. You will work closely with electrical, manufacturing and test teams to ensure designs are optimised for performance, manufacturability and reliability

A key part of the role is ownership. You will drive design decisions, establish best practice, and influence how products are engineered as the company scales. You will also contribute to defining manufacturing processes, ensuring designs align with the realities of production across both motor winding and PCB assembly within the facility

You will be involved in validation and testing, supporting activities such as dynamometer testing, thermal profiling, vibration analysis and endurance testing to ensure products meet demanding application requirements

This role requires a hands on engineer with strong experience in motor design and mechanical systems within high performance or high reliability environments. You should be comfortable owning designs from concept through to production, making trade offs between performance, cost and manufacturability

Candidates with experience from high performance engineering environments such as McLaren Applied would be particularly well suited

You should be motivated by building something from the ground up, working in an environment where speed, quality and ownership are critical

Role requirements and logistics

Full time onsite role based in Reading
Salary £80,000 to £100,000 with flexibility for exceptional candidatesShort term contracts can be considered as an interim solution while a permanent hire is secured

If you are looking for a role where you can take full ownership of mechanical design and help define a new benchmark for motor performance and manufacturing in Europe, this is that opportunity

Apply today with an up-to-date CV.

Test and Compliance Engineer

April 22, 2026/in South Permanent /by Chris Oddy

Position: Test and Compliance Engineer

Location: Reading

Salary: Up to £100,000 DOE

KO2’s client is hiring a founding test and compliance engineer to take full ownership of testing and validation within a brand new, high performance manufacturing facility in Reading

This is a key, early hire where you will define how testing and compliance is done from day one, with the goal of helping build the best in class motor manufacturing facility in Europe

You will own the entire testing and compliance programme across both motor production and PCB assembly, creating an end to end validation environment that supports rapid product development while meeting the highest aerospace and defence standards

The products are small brushless motors ranging from 1kW to 15kW power, operating across 6 to 14S voltage platforms, requiring rigorous, evidence driven validation and verification processes

You will take full responsibility for designing and executing test strategies, covering EMC, environmental and functional validation. This includes pre compliance and formal EMC testing, environmental testing such as thermal, vibration and shock, and propulsion level validation including performance, efficiency and endurance

A major part of the role is ownership. You will build the complete testing framework, from lab capability and external test house management through to documentation and evidence packs required for aerospace and defence applications. You will define acceptance criteria, implement production test processes, and ensure traceability from design through to manufactured product

You will work closely with engineering and manufacturing teams to embed compliance thinking early in the design process, ensuring products are built for validation rather than retrofitted to pass tests later

The facility itself will consist of two core areas, PCB assembly and motor winding, and your role will span both, ensuring consistent, high quality validation across the full product lifecycle

This role requires someone highly experienced in aerospace or defence environments, with a strong understanding of relevant standards and how to apply them in practice. The ideal candidate will be an EMC expert with a background in aerospace or defence and experience working on propulsion systems or similar high reliability technologies

You should be comfortable taking full ownership of a discipline, building processes from scratch, and operating in a fast paced environment where speed and quality both matter

Role requirements and logistics

Full time onsite role based in Reading
Salary £80,000 to £100,000 with flexibility for exceptional candidates
Short term contracts can be considered as an interim solution while a permanent hire is secured

If you want to define the testing and compliance strategy for a facility being built to set the standard across Europe, this is that opportunity

Apply today with an up-to-date CV.

Manufacturing Architect

April 22, 2026/in South Permanent /by Chris Oddy

Position: Manufacturing Architect

Location: Reading

Salary: Up to £100,000 DOE

KO2’s client is hiring a founding motor manufacturing architect / engineer to take full ownership of a brand new, high performance manufacturing facility in Reading

This is a genuine ground up opportunity. You will set up the motor assembly facility from scratch, defining how it should be designed, laid out and operated. With a blank sheet in front of you, you will architect the manufacturing processes, select equipment, and build a production environment that sets the benchmark for motor manufacturing in Europe

The facility will focus on small brushless motors used in defence applications, with specifications ranging from 1kW to 15kW power and 6 to 14S voltage platforms. Alongside motor production, the site will also incorporate PCB assembly, creating a tightly integrated manufacturing environment

Your remit is not just to build the facility, but to run it. You will manage day to day operations, implement robust processes, and continuously optimise performance across yield, throughput and quality. The ambition is clear to scale this into the highest volume production facility of its type in Europe

Working closely with design engineering, you will take motors from concept into full production. You will establish stator winding processes, rotor and stator assembly, bearing installation, balancing and final verification. You will procure and commission winding equipment, develop fixtures and tooling, and implement quality systems including process controls, inspection and traceability

You will also take ownership of supplier qualification across key components such as laminations, magnets, winding wire, bearings and housings, ensuring consistent quality from incoming materials through to final product

As the facility grows, you will build and lead the manufacturing team, setting the standard for how the operation runs and scales

This role requires a hands on engineer who can move between strategy and execution. You should have experience in motor or electromechanical manufacturing, particularly in scaling or optimising production lines. Experience with winding, assembly and in process electrical testing is essential, and exposure to high reliability environments such as aerospace or defence would be highly valuable

This is an opportunity for someone who wants full ownership and the chance to build a best in class manufacturing operation from the ground up, then prove it at scale

Role requirements and logistics

Full time onsite role based in Reading

Salary £50,000 to £100,000 with flexibility for exceptional candidates
Short term contract options can be considered as an interim solution while a permanent hire is secured

If you are looking for a role where you can design the factory, build the processes, and run the operation to a world class standard, this is that opportunity

Apply today with an up to date CV.

Embedded Software Lead – MedTech

April 14, 2026/in South Permanent /by Chris Oddy

Embedded Software Lead – MedTech
Bristol (3–4 days on-site)
£75,000 + £20,000–£25,000 bonus + excellent benefits

KO2’s client is an innovative and fast-growing technology business developing advanced wearable devices within a medically regulated environment. They are now seeking an Embedded Software Medical Lead to play a critical role in shaping the next generation of their products, although being narrowly focused on highly specialised or niche medical systems.

This is a leadership position within the R&D function, sitting alongside mechanical leadership and taking ownership of embedded software at a system level.

The Opportunity

You’ll act as the system-level lead across embedded software and hardware, driving design, integration, and validation of both current and next-generation wearable products.

This role blends hands-on engineering, technical leadership, and cross-functional collaboration, giving you real influence over product direction without being confined to purely regulatory work.

What You’ll Be Doing

Contribute to early-stage innovation, exploring new technologies in embedded systems and wearable applications
Develop proof-of-concepts and functional prototypes
Identify risks early and shape product direction through informed engineering decisions
Support usability testing and concept validation

Lead system design across software and hardware for new product development
Own design control, risk management, and verification/validation activities
Provide technical oversight and challenge solutions to ensure high-quality delivery
Investigate complex technical issues and support resolution of field challenges
Drive continuous improvements in performance, reliability, and cost
Work closely with quality and cross-functional teams

What KO2’s client is looking for

Strong background in embedded software development (ideally with some hardware exposure)
Experience working on physical products (not purely cloud or desktop systems)
Background in a regulated environment (medical, safety-critical, or similar preferred, but not overly specialised)
Solid understanding of full product lifecycle, from concept through to launch and improvement
Experience with design control, testing, and documentation
Strong communicator with the ability to lead and influence

Technical skills:

Experience in C or C++ (or similar embedded languages)
Understanding of electronics or hardware integration (beneficial, not essential)
Awareness of cybersecurity and safety considerations

This role would suit someone who:

Wants to step into or continue in a technical leadership role
Enjoys working on tangible, real-world products
Prefers broad engineering ownership rather than being siloed
Has some exposure to regulated environments but doesn’t want an overly compliance-heavy role.

Salary and Benefits

£75,000 base salary
On-target bonus of £20,000–£25,000
Strong benefits package
A key leadership role in a growing R&D team
The opportunity to work on cutting-edge wearable technology with real-world impact

If you’re an embedded software engineer ready to lead at a systems level—and want to work on innovative wearable products in a collaborative, fast-moving environment—this could be a great next step.

Senior Embedded Software Engineer

April 10, 2026/in South Permanent /by Chris Oddy

Senior Embedded Software Engineer (Motor Control & Real-Time Systems)
Location: Reading with Hybrid WFH

KO2’s client, a cutting-edge and rapidly scaling start-up based in Reading, is looking for a Senior Embedded Software Engineer to play a key role in developing next-generation motor drive and propulsion systems.

This is a high-impact opportunity to work on advanced embedded platforms at the intersection of real-time control, power electronics, and high-performance firmware, helping to shape both product direction and engineering culture from an early stage.

What You’ll Do

Design and implement real-time embedded firmware for ESC controllers and next-generation motor drive systems, from initial architecture through to production release
Develop and optimise motor control algorithms for BLDC motors, including field-oriented control, sensorless commutation, and current loop tuning
Integrate sensors and implement feedback control systems for position, speed, and current regulation
Own and implement communication stacks including CAN, UART, SPI, I2C, and DShot, and define telemetry interfaces
Optimise firmware for performance, memory efficiency, and deterministic real-time behaviour on resource-constrained microcontrollers
Collaborate closely with power electronics engineers to define hardware–firmware interfaces (gate drivers, current sensing, ADC configuration, protection logic)
Lead firmware architecture decisions including RTOS selection, scheduling strategies, and platform abstraction
Establish engineering best practices: version control, code reviews, testing frameworks, and CI/CD pipelines
Conduct system-level validation including hardware-in-the-loop testing, dynamometer integration, and field trials

Required Skills and Experience

5+ years of hands-on experience in embedded C/C++ for real-time systems
Proven experience in motor control, power electronics, or high-reliability embedded systems
Experience in a technical lead or architect role, owning firmware from concept through production
Strong expertise in RTOS (e.g. FreeRTOS, Zephyr), including scheduling, interrupts, and deterministic timing
Experience implementing and debugging communication protocols (CAN, UART, SPI, I2C)
Strong debugging skills using oscilloscopes, logic analysers, and hardware tools
Proficiency with Git, CI/CD pipelines, unit testing, and modern development workflows

Preferred

Background in aerospace, defence, or UAV systems, particularly propulsion or ESC development
Knowledge of advanced motor control techniques (FOC, sensorless control, space vector modulation)
Familiarity with safety-critical standards (DO-178C, IEC 61508, MISRA C)
Understanding of power electronics fundamentals (PWM, gate drivers, current sensing, thermal considerations)

What’s on Offer

Opportunity to join a cutting-edge start-up at a pivotal growth stage
Work on industry-leading technology with real-world impact
Competitive salary, equity, and benefits package
Flexible and hybrid working options
A highly collaborative, ambitious, and technically driven culture.

Apply today with an up-to-date CV and a member of the KO2 team will be in touch to progress your application.