We are looking for a mechatronics engineer, with a focus on digital electronics design and development, to join our thin-film processing team and bring new design capability to our range of scientific instruments.
At Ossila, we design and build innovative scientific equipment along with materials and consumables essential to research and development. Within Ossila, the thin-film processing team develops deposition and coating instruments, alongside other processing equipment essential for sample preparation. These products include spin coaters, slot-die coaters, glove boxes, and laminar flow hoods, which researchers around the world rely on to prepare and make their samples.
The team is made up of three application scientists who act as product managers and own the direction of our products, supported by a graduate mechanical engineer, and four members of our manufacturing team who build all the equipment in house. In this role, you would add dedicated electronics design and electronics integration to the team.
As a Mechatronics Engineer, you will be responsible for:
- Producing first-pass electronic and mechanical designs and building simple microcontroller (MCU) based boards to support rapid R&D and prototyping.
- Integrating electromechanical components, such as microcontrollers, sensors, actuators, motors, solenoid valves into prototype coating and deposition instruments.
- Working with our application scientists to turn product requirements into working prototypes.
- Collaborating closely with the team’s dedicated mechanical engineer so that electronic and mechanical designs come together cleanly.
- Carrying out low-level and register-level configuration of microcontrollers, writing of libraries for ICs, and working within an established firmware development framework.
- Preparing your designs and documentation for handover to our senior electronics engineers, who take prototypes through to commercial boards and products.
- Producing clear technical documentation and maintaining version control for schematics, board designs, and supporting firmware.
- Hands-on bench work including building, bringing up, and testing prototype boards and electromechanical systems.
- Meeting project objectives and deadlines in a fast-moving development environment.
This role is focused on digital electronics, electrotechnical integration, and embedded control for prototyping. High-speed, high-voltage, and precision analogue design sit with our senior electronics engineers, who also provide oversight and mentoring as you grow into more complex work.
This role would suit either a graduate with a several years’ experience or a PhD-level engineer. A PhD is not required–what matters is that you have genuinely designed electronics, worked with firmware, and integrated it into working systems. We value real design experience over qualifications alone.
- You have a PhD in electronic, electrical, or mechatronic engineering (or a closely related subject), or equivalent demonstrable industrial experience.
- You have hands-on experience designing electronics and bringing up microcontroller-based boards.
- You are comfortable taking a design from schematic through to a working, tested prototype board.
- You can read C and understand firmware structure and abstraction. You do not need to be a firmware specialist, but you should be comfortable around embedded code and register-level configuration.
- You have experience integrating electronics into wider systems, alongside mechanical components, sensors, and actuators.
- You are a strong self-learner, able to read and digest information quickly.
- You are a practical, hands-on problem solver who enjoys building and testing real hardware.
- You work in a highly organised, detail-oriented way and can manage several concurrent tasks against demanding timescales.
- You have a calm demeanour, can deal with the unexpected, and work effectively under pressure.
- You communicate clearly with non-technical colleagues and can support others on technical queries when needed.
- You enjoy being part of a team and are keen to continue your personal learning and development.
Progression is built into this role so as you build experience, with the support of our senior electronics team, you will take on more complex and more independent design work. As our thin-film processing offering grows and advances, you will help shape how our electronics design develops.
Joining our team means becoming part of a forward-thinking organisation that values innovation, collaboration, and personal growth. At our Sheffield site, we offer:
- Competitive salaries with regular performance-based pay reviews
- A long-running, quarterly profit share scheme (worth about 9% of salary for 2025-2026)
- 24 days holiday per year (+ 8 bank holidays)
- Matched pension scheme (5% employer + 5% employee)
- Regular tea & cake company catch-ups
- Free on-site parking with marked bays
- Secure bike storage and shower facilities
Working together in-person is an essential part of Ossila. We value the collaborative, knowledge-sharing moments that happen over a cuppa, and this is why our roles are office based. If you are someone who shares this perspective and are enthusiastic about joining Ossila in our Sheffield office, we want to hear from you.
Ossila is a small but high-growth business which manufactures and supplies scientific equipment, materials, and laboratory supplies to institutions around the world. Our aim is to help accelerate the pace of scientific discovery. To do this, we are looking to continue our expansion with a view to building a world-class company of significant size and stature over the next five years. Formed by academics from the University of Sheffield, we now employ over 50 people across our offices in the UK and the Netherlands.
We pride ourselves on our high-quality products, excellent customer support, and accessible prices. Our customers can be found in over 100 countries (approximately 85% of our sales are exported) and include many of the world’s leading research institutions. Most recently, we have won the 2024 King’s Award for International Trade.
To apply, email us at [email protected] with a CV and personalised covering letter. This is your chance to tell us why you are interested in the position and how your skills, experience, and qualifications make you a good fit. No agencies please.
