High-Speed Electronic Design Engineer

Electronics Design Engineer - High-Speed Digital Contract: 6 months, Outside IR35, Leeds, 1-2 days on-site Start: ASAP Rate: £55-£65 per hour (DOE) Project Scope The engineer will support the design and development of high-speed digital electronic hardware. The role spans full lifecycle development, from requirements capture through schematic design, layout, verification, and support into manufacture and compliance testing. The system includes high-speed interfaces, clocking networks, and signal integrity-critical PCB designs, alongside power, control, and sensing electronics. The project places strict emphasis on traceability, reliability, and compliance to international safety and EMC standards. Technical Scope High-speed digital design for safety-critical systems (e.g., DDR memory interfaces, PCIe/USB/SerDes links, FPGA-based systems) Schematic capture and multi-layer PCB design for high-speed digital and mixed-signal circuits, including controlled impedance routing and differential pair design Signal integrity analysis, timing closure, and jitter/power noise management Design for EMC, thermal management, and long-term reliability in regulated environments Power distribution network (PDN) design for high-speed digital circuits Support verification, validation, and qualification testing, including pre-compliance SI/PI checks Collaboration with firmware, mechanical, and systems engineers Producing clear design documentation for certification, audit, and handover processes Required Experience Proven background in high-speed digital electronics design, preferably in safety-critical or regulated industries Strong analogue and digital design skills, including signal integrity, power integrity, and PCB layout for multi-GHz designs Experience with PCB design tools such as Altium, Cadence, or OrCAD Familiarity with EMC, thermal, and mechanical considerations for high-speed systems Comfortable working in structured engineering environments with formal design reviews and documentation Desirable Experience in defence, aerospace, rail, medical, nuclear, or oil & gas applications Knowledge of functional safety (ISO 26262, IEC 61508, SIL) and high-reliability power systems Exposure to compliance testing, certification processes, and pre-compliance signal integrity tools (e.g., HyperLynx, SIPro, Ansys HFSS) Experience with DDR, PCIe, USB, or SerDes-based designs and FPGA development