Principal Hardware Engineer, Analog & RF (UK)

Mesa Quantum Systems · London, United Kingdom · Full-time · Posted 2026-10-09

Workplace: on_site

Description

Principal Hardware Engineer, Analog & RF

About Mesa Quantum

Mesa Quantum is building the manufacturing backbone of the quantum economy. We specialize in chip-scale quantum devices, starting with clocks and sensors, that unlock resilient Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) for defense, telecom, space, and critical infrastructure. Our team combines world-class expertise in AMO physics, photonics, microfabrication, and engineering to transform breakthrough science into scalable, deployable technology. Backed by top-tier deep-tech investors and the U.S. Department of Defense, Mesa Quantum is rapidly scaling and actively recruiting exceptional innovators who want to build the future of quantum technology from the ground up.

The Role

We are hiring a Principal Hardware Engineer to own the board-level control electronics at the core of our chip-scale atomic clock. This is a circuit board design role, not an IC design role: you will take precision analog and RF boards from schematic through layout, bring-up, characterization, and production.

You will be the senior hardware engineer on the clock. You own the analog front end, the microwave synthesis chain, the laser drive and thermal control electronics, and the boards that tie them together. You will work daily with our AMO physics, photonics, firmware, and systems teams, and you will set the standard for how Mesa Quantum designs hardware.

This is a hands-on principal role. You are expected to personally do the bulk of the circuit and PCB design work, not delegate it. We want an engineer who loves designing circuits, takes pride in clean analog topology and a well-routed board, and would rather be at the bench than in front of slides. Reports to the CTO. Full-time, on-site in London, UK..

What You Will Do

Design and lay out multi-layer precision analog and RF circuit boards yourself, from schematic capture and simulation through PCB layout, fabrication, bring-up, and debug
Own the precision analog front end: photodetector signal conditioning, low-noise transimpedance and instrumentation amplification, and lock-in detection for weak atomic signal recovery
Design and validate the microwave synthesis chain that drives atomic interrogation, including PLL and VCO design, phase noise optimization, and reference distribution
Design precision VCSEL current drive and thermal control electronics for the laser and physics package
Architect successive generations of the control electronics, driving size, power, and noise down at each iteration
Build characterization protocols, test fixtures, and automation to validate clock performance against Allan deviation, phase noise, and holdover targets
Partner with firmware engineers on the hardware and software interface, and with physicists on the system noise budget
Drive Design for Manufacturability and Design for Test with PCB fabricators, assembly houses, and contract manufacturers as we scale toward volume production
Set hardware design standards, lead design reviews, and mentor engineers

Requirements

What You Bring:

10+ years of board-level analog and RF hardware design, including at least one product taken from prototype through volume production
A track record of multi-layer boards you personally designed and laid out, mixing sensitive analog, RF, and digital circuits: stack-up definition, controlled impedance, grounding and return-path control, shielding, and thermal management. Be ready to walk us through one in the interview.
Current, hands-on proficiency in a professional PCB design tool such as Altium Designer, Cadence Allegro/OrCAD, or KiCad
Deep expertise in low-noise precision analog: signal conditioning, low-noise amplifiers, ADC and DAC interfacing, and rigorous noise budgeting
RF circuit design through GHz frequencies, with hands-on experience in low phase noise frequency synthesis, PLLs, and VCOs
Strong SPICE simulation and circuit analysis skills, including noise, stability, and tolerance analysis
Hands-on bench proficiency with oscilloscopes, spectrum and phase noise analyzers, network analyzers, source measure units, and signal generators
Scripting experience for instrument control, characterization, and data analysis
Version control (Git or similar) for hardware design files

Strongly Preferred

Chip-scale atomic clocks, rubidium or cesium oscillators, OCXOs, or other precision frequency references
Optoelectronics: VCSEL or laser diode drive, photodetector readout, laser frequency locking
Embedded firmware in C/C++ on ARM Cortex-M class microcontrollers
FPGA development in Verilog or SystemVerilog, including real-time DSP (lock-in detection, PID, digital filtering)
Hardware design under hard size, weight, and power budgets
Board-level integration of custom mixed-signal silicon, including block specification or characterization
Hands-on management of PCB fabricators, assembly houses, and contract manufacturers
Defense, aerospace, or space-qualified hardware experience
Familiarity with atomic physics or other quantum sensing modalities
Experience leading or mentoring a small hardware team

Benefits

Meaningful equity in a deep-tech company at the inflection point between prototype and product
Comprehensive benefits package
A team that includes deep AMO physics, RF, photonics, and microfabrication expertise

Apply

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About the company

Mesa Quantum Systems builds chip-scale quantum sensors to provide positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) without relying on GPS. Their sensors are compact, low-power devices designed for rugged environments and can operate in GPS-denied areas, making them suitable for defense, aerospace, and industrial applications. The sensors work by using quantum measurement principles to deliver precise timing and location data within a small form factor, enabling accurate navigation and timing where GPS is unavailable. The company differentiates itself with a focus on miniaturization (chip-scale), low power consumption, and deployment-ready hardware for demanding environments, supported by early-stage grants and seed funding aimed at building a dedicated R&D facility and bringing these sensors to market. Mesa Quantum’s goal is to commercialize reliable chip-scale quantum sensors and establish them as practical alternatives for PNT in GPS-denied scenarios.

Company Size

11-50

Company Stage

Seed

Total Funding

$16.1M

Headquarters

Boulder, Colorado

Founded

2023

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Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

Playground Global led Mesa's $11.8 million round on September 24, 2026.
Roadrunner Quantum Lab opened September 29, 2026, adding validation space and employees.
U.S. government awards exceeded $5 million, validating alternative PNT demand and execution.

What critics are saying

Microchip and Honeywell already dominate chip-scale atomic clocks and defense timing.
Mesa lacks published field-performance data; 2026 funding still finances integration, not deployment.
If ruggedized systems fail customer tests in 2026, defense revenue slips and commercialization stalls.

What makes Mesa Quantum Systems unique

Mesa Quantum's Q-VCSEL platform targets chip-scale PNT hardware, not lab-only sensors.
Sandia and CINT partnerships anchor domestic photonics manufacturing in New Mexico.
SpaceWERX funding and defense focus position Mesa for U.S. government procurement.

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Benefits

Wellness Program
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Growth & Insights and Company News

6 month growth

1 year growth

2 year growth

14%

American Entrepreneurship

Sep 25th, 2026

Mesa Quantum's $11.8M in funding to reduce GPS dependence.

Mesa Quantum's $11.8M in funding to reduce GPS dependence. Jeanne Gray While most people associate GPS with automobile navigation, it also supports data centers, financial markets, and other critical areas, spurring Mesa Quantum to offer a more reliable alternative. Boulder-based deep tech startup Mesa Quantum has raised an oversubscribed $11.8 million funding round to accelerate the commercialization of chip-scale quantum sensors. They are designed to provide precise timing and navigation when GPS signals are unavailable or compromised. Playground Global, which led the round, brought Mesa Quantum's total venture funding to nearly $16 million. U.S. government agencies, including SpaceWERX, provided $5 million in non-dilutive funding. The latest investment will help Mesa Quantum move beyond component development and into full system integration, manufacturing, and deployment of quantum-based timing and navigation systems. Vulnerable GPS signals prompt new innovation. Precise GPS timing helps synchronize data centers, telecommunications systems, financial markets, power grids, and military operations. But those signals can be vulnerable to interference, jamming, spoofing, and environmental obstruction. Mesa Quantum is developing compact quantum sensors to provide highly accurate timing and navigation without continuous dependence on GPS. The company's approach focuses on reducing the size, weight, power requirements, and cost traditionally associated with precision quantum sensing technologies. "The future of time synchronization will be forged at the chip-level, and our quantum sensors will enable the most advanced technologies to stay accurate and secure, even when GPS cannot," said Dr. Sristy Agrawal, Co-Founder and CEO of Mesa Quantum. Potential applications include underwater and subterranean navigation, autonomous systems, communications networks, energy infrastructure and defense systems operating in GPS-denied environments. Moving quantum technology from R&D to deployment. Since its previous funding round, Mesa Quantum has expanded its research and development facility in Boulder, grown its technical team, and established a domestic U.S. supply chain. The new capital will support final product assembly, system optimization, and deployment of ruggedized systems for both defense and commercial customers. One of Mesa Quantum's principal areas of focus is developing and scaling chip-scale atomic clocks, or CSACs. These compact timing devices can provide highly stable time references in environments where GPS cannot be trusted or accessed. Applications identified by the company include GPS-denied drone operations, low-Earth-orbit satellite constellations, alternative Position, Navigation and Timing systems, enhanced military GPS receivers and resilient commercial infrastructure. For commercial markets, Mesa Quantum sees opportunities to embed precision timing technology inside data centers, telecommunications networks and electric grids, helping those systems continue operating during signal disruptions. Expanding quantum manufacturing in New Mexico. The funding will also support a significant expansion of Mesa Quantum's operations in New Mexico. The company is working with Sandia National Laboratories on advanced designs involving Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers, or VCSELs, and Photonic Integrated Circuits. Mesa Quantum plans to expand domestic characterization and manufacturing capabilities for quantum-optimized components while hiring additional technical employees in New Mexico. The company is also building manufacturing infrastructure through the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, supporting broader efforts to move technologies developed through national laboratories into commercially deployable systems. The expansion aligns with growing public and private investment to develop New Mexico into a national center for quantum technologies and advanced manufacturing. Playground Global backs the future of quantum sensing. Playground Global, which manages approximately $1.7 billion, invests in early-stage deep technology companies across areas including computing, automation, energy, and engineered biology. "Civilization runs on precise time," said Peter Barrett, General Partner at Playground Global. "Mesa Quantum's ability to deliver exquisitely accurate time, independent of GPS, is the first of many breakthroughs in quantum sensing that will create strategic, economic, and societal value." For Mesa Quantum, the next phase will focus on turning highly specialized quantum technologies into scalable products that can operate outside the laboratory. They will eventually become embedded throughout critical infrastructure, autonomous systems, and next-generation communications networks. Jeanne Gray. September 25, 2026

FinSMEs

Sep 25th, 2026

Mesa Quantum raises $11.8M in funding.

Mesa Quantum raises $11.8M in funding. September 25, 2026 Mesa Quantum, a Boulder, CO-based provider of chip-scale quantum sensing platform, raised $11.8M in funding. The round was led by Playground Global. The raise brought the total amount to nearly $16M. The company intends to use the funds to expand doprations and its development efforts. Led by CEO Dr. Sristy Agrawal, Mesa Quantum is developing chip-scale quantum sensing technology for integration at scale. Their platform miniaturizes and commercializes chip-scale quantum sensors, such as accelerometers, atomic clocks, magnetometers, gyroscopes, and gravimeters, to support critical infrastructure and enable extended underwater and subterranean navigation, precise timing for autonomous systems, and synchronization for ultra-high-speed communications and energy networks. Don't just read the news. Own the data. Stop manually tracking deals. Access this round and over 100 others this week - in our structured Master Database (XML) + Weekly Intelligence PDF. [Access FinSMEs Intelligence Hub] 25/09/2026

Quantum Computing Report

Sep 25th, 2026

Mesa Quantum raises $11.8M to scale chip-scale quantum sensors and Alternative PNT infrastructure.

Mesa Quantum raises $11.8M to scale chip-scale quantum sensors and Alternative PNT infrastructure. Quantum sensing developer Mesa Quantum has secured an oversubscribed $11.8 million funding round led by deep-tech venture capital firm Playground Global via its $50 million Playground Genesis Fund. Joined by DCVC, J2 Ventures, and additional institutional backers, the round brings Mesa Quantum's total venture funding to nearly $16 million alongside $5 million in non-dilutive awards from U.S. government defense agencies such as SpaceWERX. The capital will accelerate Mesa Quantum's transition from component-level R&D to system integration and volume manufacturing of ruggedized, chip-scale quantum timing and navigation units. Mesa Quantum's core platform centers on chip-scale atomic clocks (CSACs) and quantum inertial sensors built on miniaturized atomic vapor cell technology. By measuring laser absorption through microscopic vapor chambers, these sensors deliver picosecond-level time synchronization and precision positioning that operate independently of global positioning systems (GPS). The technology addresses growing vulnerabilities in satellite-based Alternative Position, Navigation, and Timing (ALT-PNT), protecting defense and commercial systems against signal jamming, spoofing, and electronic warfare in contested environments. Co-founded by CEO Dr. Sristy Agrawal and Dr. Wale Lawal, the Boulder, Colorado-based startup will expand its operational footprint in New Mexico. Partnering with Sandia National Laboratories and the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT), Mesa Quantum is establishing domestic characterization and manufacturing pipelines for quantum-optimized Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers (VCSELs) and Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) to transition national laboratory breakthroughs into commercial, field-deployable hardware. September 24, 2026

The Quantum Insider

Sep 24th, 2026

Mesa Quantum raises $11.8 million to scale quantum timing systems.

Mesa Quantum raises $11.8 million to scale quantum timing systems. Insider Brief * Mesa Quantum has raised $11.8 million in funding led by Playground Global to support the development and scaled production of quantum timing and navigation systems. * The funding will support final product assembly, system optimization and early deployment of ruggedized systems for defense and commercial customers. * Mesa Quantum said it has raised nearly $16 million in venture funding and received more than $5 million in non-dilutive U.S. government awards. PRESS RELEASE - Mesa Quantum, the company developing the next generation of quantum sensing technology for integration at scale, today announced it has raised $11.8 million in funding led by Playground Global. The round accelerates the company's transition from component-level development to the full system integration and scaled production of deployable quantum timing and navigation units. Mesa Quantum is working to address a foundational vulnerability: the global dependence on fragile, vulnerable satellite-based GPS signals for time synchronization across data centers, power grids, financial markets, and military operations. These critical wireless signals are inherently weak, slow, and easily compromised by jamming, spoofing, or environmental blockage, and yet our modern society relies on them heavily. Today, the world lacks the tools to solve the GPS problem: precision sensors that are compact, low-power, and manufacturable at scale to embed directly into our infrastructure. "The future of time synchronization will be forged at the chip-level, and our quantum sensors will enable the most advanced technologies to stay accurate and secure, even when GPS cannot," said Dr. Sristy Agrawal, Co-Founder and CEO of Mesa Quantum. "When deployed at scale, our sensors will enable extended underwater and subterranean navigation, secure and precise timing for autonomous systems, and next-generation synchronization for ultra-high-speed communications and energy networks. This funding will fuel the delivery of our quantum sensors at operational scale to fill that critical need." This round brings Mesa Quantum's total venture funding to nearly $16 million, following a $4 million round in 2024. U.S. government agencies, including SpaceWERX, have also granted Mesa Quantum more than $5 million in non-dilutive awards. From R&D to deployment: addressing mission-critical needs. Mesa Quantum's technology development has rapidly de-risked critical components. Since its initial funding round, the company has completed the build-out of its R&D facility in Boulder, assembled a top technical team, and established its domestic supply chain in the U.S., achieving beyond state-of-the-art performance in key component testing. The new funding will support the final product assembly, system optimization, and early deployment of fully ruggedized, field-ready systems to defense and commercial customers. Accelerating delivery of capabilities vital to U.S. Strategic superiority and Resilience. This funding will also enable Mesa to deliver the following capabilities for customers and end users across the U.S. Government and industry. * U.S. Air Force and Space Force Missions: Enabling the rapid scaling of chip-scale atomic clocks (CSACs) to meet urgent operational requirements. * GPS-Denied Drone Swarm Operations: Providing the single-digit picosecond stability required for distributed targeting and sensor fusion in contested airspace where electronic warfare renders GPS unreliable. * LEO Satellite Constellations for ALT-PNT: Accelerating the qualification timeline for space-rated CSACs, which provide the resilient timing necessary for the Space Force's alternative Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) architecture. * Enhanced M-Code GPS Receivers: Enabling ground-based portable military receivers to maintain positioning accuracy even under severe electronic attack by providing a highly stable frequency reference. * Commercial Infrastructure Resilience: Providing essential timing and navigation units that can be embedded across data centers, telecom networks, and power grids to ensure operations continue through adversarial attacks or simple environmental blockage (urban canyons, indoors, underwater). Expanding manufacturing in New Mexico. This funding significantly expands Mesa Quantum's footprint in New Mexico, positioning the company as a key contributor to the state's emerging quantum technology ecosystem and America's domestic manufacturing capabilities. * Strategic Partnership with Sandia: The round strengthens collaboration with Sandia National Laboratories on advanced designs for Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers (VCSELs) and Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs), leveraging Sandia's world-class expertise to optimize components for performance and manufacturability. * New Mexico Expansion: Mesa Quantum is expanding its operations in New Mexico to transition from prototyping to scaled characterization and production readiness. This includes establishing and leading domestic characterization operations for quantum-optimized VCSELs and hiring technical staff to operate high-volume characterization systems. * Technology Transfer: By establishing manufacturing infrastructure at the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT) and through its Sandia partnerships, Mesa Quantum creates a model for accelerating the transfer of technology from national labs to commercial, deployed capability for the Department of War and other agencies across the U.S. Government. "Civilization runs on precise time," said Peter Barrett, General Partner, Playground Global. "Mesa Quantum's ability to deliver exquisitely accurate time, independent of GPS, is the first of many breakthroughs in quantum sensing that will create strategic, economic, and societal value." Mohib ur rehman. Covering quantum and emerging technologies, Mohib explores the intersection of technology, security, and society. His work also frequently examines surveillance infrastructure and the institutions shaping the digital world. In addition to his work at The Quantum Insider, he co-runs SK NEXUS, an independent technology publication that helps readers understand the technologies shaping their lives. Stay Ahead of Quantum Get the latest research, company news, and market intelligence every week. MENTIONED IN THE ARTICLE More in Research

Tectonic

Sep 24th, 2026

Mesa Quantum raises $11.8M to scale chip-size quantum sensors for GPS-free navigation

Mesa Quantum has raised $11.8 million in funding led by Playground Global, bringing its total funding to nearly $16 million. DCVC and J2 Ventures also participated in the round. The startup develops chip-scale quantum sensors for navigation, timing, and synchronisation without GPS. The technology uses microscopic glass chambers containing atoms that react predictably to acceleration, rotation, and magnetic fields, enabling precise measurements even when GPS signals are unavailable. Mesa's sensors are designed to be small and affordable enough for use in drones, satellites, and critical infrastructure. The company has already secured more than $5 million in non-dilutive awards from US government agencies, including SpaceWERX. The funding will support scaling development and production, expanding manufacturing facilities in New Mexico, and deploying field-ready systems to defence and commercial customers.

Mesa Quantum Systems

Principal Hardware Engineer - Analog & RF

About the job