Senior Electronics Design Engineer - Laboratory Instruments

When joining PerkinElmer, you select an experienced and trusted leader in scientific solutions, with the support of a global service network and distribution centers, providing the right solution, at the right time, to meet critical customer needs.  With over an 80+ year legacy of advancing science and a mission of innovating for a healthier world, our dedicated team collaborates closely with commercial, government, academic and healthcare customers to deliver our broad portfolio of analytical solutions, and OneSource services.

Job Title

Senior Electronics Design Engineer, Laboratory Instruments

Location(s)

High Wycombe

Job Description

About the role

Hands-on senior designer in a mission-driven electronics team developing the next generation of material-characterisation laboratory instruments and sustaining the existing product range. You will own subsystems from requirements to verified hardware: low-noise detection front-ends, power distribution, MCU- and FPGA-based control boards, and the integration of cables, actuators and motors. You bring the two things the team needs most: a structured product-design approach and high-speed digital / Xilinx FPGA capability.

What you will do

• Design and verify circuits for the new instrument: low-noise analogue front-ends, mixed-signal, power and control boards.

• Own high-speed digital and FPGA/SoC (Xilinx Zynq) design, and PCB design in Altium 365 to IPC standards.

• Take technical ownership of the electronics architecture for your subsystems, from early concept through prototype, verification and product release.

• Run the product-design process for your subsystems: hardware and product requirements (HRS/PRS), design proposals, design reviews, DFMEA, verification plans and reports.

• Prototype quickly — breadboards, proto and rework boards — to validate concepts ahead of full PCBA spins.

• Bring up, debug and validate boards on the bench with the firmware team; solder, modify and test hardware yourself.

• Own the electrical BOM, component datasheets and the related safety/EMC considerations; support DFM/DFA as designs move from prototype to production.

• Sustain released products: obsolescence and alternates, manufacturing and field issues, root cause.

• Work with optics, mechanics, firmware, software and scientists to prove out designs; coordinate cross-functional issue resolution.

Essential

• Degree in electrical/electronic engineering or a closely related discipline; 5+ years of design engineering in instrumentation or test & measurement products.

• Mixed-signal design in a low-noise environments.

• Digital hardware: MCU-based control boards and communication interfaces — 1G/10GEthernet, USB, SPI, I²C, UART/RS-232, RS-485, CAN, PCIe.

• High-speed multilayer (8+ layer) digital design from schematic to PCB, including DDR3/DDR4 memory interfaces; FPGA/SoC design on Xilinx Zynq in VHDL or Verilog.

• Schematic and PCB design in Altium 365 to IPC-2221 / IPC-7351 with managed-library and version-control discipline; design for manufacture and assembly with a contract manufacturer, including DFM checks (e.g. Valor NPI) and Gerber review (e.g. ViewMate).

• Hands-on PCBA bring-up, test and troubleshooting with digital oscilloscopes, DVMs, spectrum, and logic analysers; test rigs and test plans; disciplined root-cause analysis. Not afraid of practical work — tinkering with circuits and debugging on your own initiative.

• EMC and product safety for laboratory equipment: IEC 61326-1 and IEC 61010-1, through to passing compliance testing.

• Structured product-design approach: requirements, design reviews, DFMEA, verification plans and reports.

• Obsolescence management and sustaining of released products.

• System-integration mindset: how a board fits the rest of the system — cabling, connectivity, harnessing, system diagrams — not only what it does.

Desirable

• Experience with power supply design.

• Working with suppliers and manufacturers: quotes, cost comparisons, assembly options.

• Familiarity with PLM and task-tracking tools.

• Git and Git-based workflows; lean product development with Jira and Confluence.

• Applied use of AI tools and agentic workflows in engineering work

• UV instruments and high-voltage lamp drivers; thermal control and thermal-equipment design.

How we work

• Analytical and data-driven, with attention to detail; sees both the small and the big picture.

• Task- and goal-oriented and well organised; works independently or as part of a larger team; comfortable in a high-paced, hands-on hardware environment.

• Communicates clearly in writing and in person; adaptable across several projects with shifting priorities and deadlines.

• Open-minded and confident to push back on design changes and tasks when the evidence says so.

• A problem-solver and fixer: not afraid to break things, cut to the cause and debug quickly.

• Brings energy, mentors others and helps grow the team.

What we offer

• A well-equipped personal bench, all the test equipment and software you need.

• A lab and instrument set-up that is being built now — you will help shape it.

• Cross-discipline project teams; an electronics team of two engineers plus placement students; direct influence on the next-generation instruments.