Software Engineer — Test Equipment Software

Job Description

MBDA is looking for Software Engineers to join the Software Resource and Capability Team, working on Test Equipment software in support of manufacturing, production test, integration and wider engineering activities.

Salary: £40,000 - £65000 depending on experience

Dynamic (hybrid) working: 4 to 5 Days a week in the office

Security Clearance: British Citizen or a Dual UK national with British citizenship.

Restrictions and/or limitations relating to nationality and/or rights to work may apply. As a minimum and after offer stage, all successful candidates will need to undergo HMG Basic Personnel Security Standard checks (BPSS), which are managed by the MBDA Personnel Security Team.

What we can offer you:

• Company bonus: Up to £2,500 (based on company performance and will vary year to year)
• Pension: maximum total (employer and employee) contribution of up to 14%
• Overtime: opportunity for paid overtime
• Flexi Leave: Up to 15 additional days
• Flexible working: We welcome applicants who are looking for flexible working arrangements
• Enhanced parental leave: offers up to 26 weeks for maternity, adoption and shared parental leave -enhancements are available for paternity leave, neonatal leave and fertility testing and treatments
• Facilities: Fantastic site facilities including subsidised meals, free car parking and much more…

The opportunity

This is an opportunity to join a growing Test Equipment Software capability supporting MBDA’s UK test and manufacturing environment.

Test Equipment Software plays a critical role in enabling the configuration, verification, validation and production testing of MBDA products. The software developed and supported by the team is used alongside specialist Test Equipment hardware to prove product conformance, support manufacturing output, investigate test issues and maintain reliable test capability across development and manufacturing environments.

The role is practical, varied and production (manufacturing) facing. You will develop, maintain, support and improve software used within complex test systems, including test applications, automated test sequences, diagnostic tools, equipment interfaces, data capture, configuration tools and software that interacts with hardware, firmware, operating systems and production test environments.

This is not a role limited to writing code in isolation. It suits engineers who enjoy solving practical engineering problems, working close to real equipment, understanding how software behaves in physical test environments, and helping build reliable, supportable and well documented test solutions.

The team will support both stability and improvement: ensuring existing Test Equipment software remains reliable and available, while identifying opportunities to standardise, automate, improve diagnostics, reduce recurring issues and strengthen long-term supportability.

What you will be doing

You may be involved in:

• Developing and maintaining software used to control, configure, verify and validate MBDA products through Test Equipment
• Supporting production & manufacturing facing Test Equipment software and associated test environments
• Investigating software, hardware, firmware, configuration, interface and integration issues affecting test capability
• Working with engineers and operators to understand symptoms, reproduce issues, gather evidence and support root-cause analysis
• Supporting software updates, maintenance activities and controlled changes to Test Equipment software
• Improving documentation, support notes, runbooks and knowledge capture for critical Test Equipment systems
• Helping identify recurring issues, support risks, software dependencies and improvement opportunities

What we’re looking for from you:

We are looking for software or electronics engineer with transferable skills into software development and support for Test Equipment solutions.

You should have:

• Strong ability to write software in languages such as C, C++ or C#
• Some Python experience would be useful but is not essential
• A practical engineering mindset and an interest in software that interacts with hardware, equipment, firmware, operating systems or real-world test environments
• Strong analytical and problem-solving ability, including the ability to investigate issues where the root cause may not initially be clear
• A willingness to support existing systems as well as develop new or improved software solutions
• A methodical approach to debugging, evidence gathering, documentation and controlled change
• Good communication skills and the ability to work with Software, Electronics, Electrical, Manufacturing, Test, Validation and Product Design Support teams
• An interest in mission-critical engineering where software quality, test reliability and production continuity matter

You will enjoy this role if you like solving practical technical problems, working close to real products and equipment, and being part of a team that helps keep critical test capability stable, understood and improving over time.

Useful experience

Experience in any of the following would be beneficial, but is not essential:

• Test Equipment software or automated test systems
• Software that interfaces with test instruments such as oscilloscopes, spectrum analysers, signal generators, power supplies, multimeters or similar equipment
• Hardware/software integration
• Manufacturing or production support environments
• Diagnostic or data capture tools
• Equipment interfaces such as serial, Ethernet, USB, GPIB or similar
• Windows or Linux-based test environments
• Firmware or embedded systems awareness
• LabVIEW, TestStand or similar test tools

Configuration management, version control or working in safety-critical, regulated or high-integrity engineering environments

Our company: Peace is not a given, Freedom is not a given, Sovereignty is not a given

MBDA is a leading defence organisation. We are proud of the role we play in supporting the Armed Forces who protect our nations. We partner with governments to work together towards a common goal, defending our freedom.

We are proud of our employee-led networks, examples include: Gender Equality, Pride, Menopause Matters, Parents and Carers, Armed Forces, Ethnic Diversity, Neurodiversity and more…

We recognise that everyone is unique, and we encourage you to speak to us should you require any advice, support or adjustments throughout our recruitment process.

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