Development Engineer – Firmware and Software
Location: Foxton, Cambridgeshire Business Unit: Novanta, Robotics and Automation
You will develop firmware and software for inductive encoder systems used in advanced industrial and robotics applications. You will work with STM32 microcontrollers, create real‑time algorithms and support the full lifecycle of embedded development. This role sits within the Inductive team in Cambridge, with projects that extend across the wider technology group.
What you will do:
- Design and implement embedded firmware in C and C++ for STM32 microcontrollers.
- Develop real‑time algorithms for inductive sensing and position feedback.
- Optimise code for performance, memory usage and power efficiency.
- Implement communication interfaces such as SPI, UART, CAN and Ethernet.
- Work closely with hardware engineers to integrate firmware with inductive sensor electronics.
- Carry out unit testing, debugging and system validation.
- Support EMC compliance activities and functional safety requirements.
- Produce clear technical documentation for firmware, software and system architecture.
- Follow ISO 9001 and relevant industry standards.
Novanta, our innovations power technology products that are transforming healthcare and advanced manufacturing—improving productivity, enhancing people’s lives and redefining what’s possible. We create for our global customers engineered components and sub-systems that deliver extreme precision and performance for a range of mission-critical applications—from minimally invasive surgery to robotics to 3D metal printing.
Novanta is one global team with over 26 offices located in The Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific. Looking for a great place to work? You have found it with a culture that embraces teamwork, collaboration and empowerment. Come explore Novanta.
Helpful extras
- Experience building products for harsh or demanding environments.
- Understanding of EMC and safety standards.
- Practical soldering skills.
- Experience with firmware or hardware version control systems.
- Mathcad experience.
- Knowledge of Atlassian tools (JIRA, Confluence).
- Additional languages.
What you bring
- Strong embedded C and C++ experience, including STM32 and ARM Cortex‑M.
- Understanding of STM32 HAL or LL drivers.
- Familiarity with inductive sensing and basic signal processing.
- Hands‑on experience with debugging tools such as JTAG or SWD, oscilloscopes and logic analysers.
- Knowledge of communication protocols and industrial interfaces.
- Ability to develop simple PC applications for configuration or data analysis.
- Experience with Git and collaborative development workflows.
