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FPGA Design Engineer - St. Neots, Cambridgeshire - Permanent Up to £70,000 depending on experience 25 days annual leave inclusive of up to 3 days Christmas shut-down Buy or sell up to 5 days’ annual leave Annual Wellbeing allowance Two pension schemes to choose from Private Medical Insurance + discounts for additional family members Life Assurance scheme up to 4...
FPGA Engineer This isn’t just product development - it’s the creation of a cutting-edge system that will shape future technologies from the ground up. The opportunity: Join a business-critical greenfield project at a pivotal stage, with full ownership of FPGA design on a brand-new system. You’ll be hands-on in defining how the FPGA integrates into the broader product architecture, utilizing...
Lead FPGA Design Engineer, Southampton Full-time, permanent, salary up to £75,000 We’re working with a technology company doing some genuinely exciting things in advanced electronics. They are looking for a Lead FPGA Design Engineer to join the team on a full-time permanent basis. This role would suit someone who wants to stay hands-on with design work but is also ready...
I have an exciting opportunity for you as a Principal FPGA Design Engineer, could this be for you? My client is a market leader in RF Applications for the defence industry who is now looking for a Principal FPGA Design Engineer to join their team in Worcestershire. This position will sit in their research team and offer excellent opportunity to...
Advance your Semiconductor career with expert advice, practical job search tips, and insightful industry guides.
The UK's semiconductor sector has emerged as one of Europe's most strategically crucial and technologically sophisticated industries, with roles spanning from junior design engineers to principal semiconductor scientists and heads of chip development. With semiconductor positions commanding salaries from £35,000 for graduate process engineers to £120,000+ for senior principal engineers, understanding when organisations actively recruit can dramatically accelerate your career progression in this critical and rapidly evolving field. Unlike traditional engineering roles, semiconductor hiring follows distinct patterns influenced by chip development cycles, government technology initiatives, and global supply chain considerations. The sector's unique combination of advanced physics, materials science, and electrical engineering creates predictable hiring windows that strategic professionals can leverage to advance their careers in building tomorrow's microelectronics and integrated circuits. This comprehensive guide explores the optimal timing for semiconductor job applications in the UK, examining how national semiconductor strategies, academic research cycles, and chip technology initiatives influence recruitment patterns, and why strategic timing can determine whether you join a cutting-edge semiconductor development team or miss the opportunity to develop the next generation of microprocessors and integrated circuit solutions.
The semiconductor industry represents the foundation of modern technology, with semiconductor professionals playing crucial roles in designing, manufacturing, and advancing the microchips that power everything from smartphones and computers to automotive systems and critical infrastructure. As semiconductors become increasingly strategic to national security and economic competitiveness, pre-employment screening processes have become increasingly rigorous and comprehensive. Semiconductor careers span diverse environments from leading-edge fabrication facilities and design houses to equipment manufacturers, materials suppliers, and emerging compound semiconductor companies. Each sector brings unique screening requirements reflecting the strategic sensitivity of semiconductor technologies, the precision demands of nanoscale manufacturing, and the critical importance of maintaining both intellectual property protection and manufacturing quality standards. Understanding semiconductor pre-employment screening helps professionals navigate career opportunities effectively whilst enabling employers to identify candidates capable of contributing to semiconductor innovation whilst maintaining appropriate security standards, manufacturing excellence, and technical precision. The screening processes examine not only technical semiconductor competencies but also manufacturing discipline, intellectual property awareness, and ability to work effectively in the highly regulated semiconductor ecosystem. This comprehensive guide examines the full spectrum of pre-employment screening practices across semiconductor careers, from basic right-to-work verification through enhanced security clearance processes, technical competency assessment, and industry-specific requirements. Whether pursuing opportunities in chip design, wafer fabrication, process engineering, or semiconductor research leadership, understanding these screening processes enables semiconductor professionals to prepare effectively and advance their careers successfully. The semiconductor sector's unique combination of cutting-edge technology, manufacturing precision, and strategic importance creates screening requirements that reflect both the technical demands of nanoscale engineering and the security considerations of strategically critical technologies. These processes ultimately support the continued advancement of semiconductors by ensuring high professional standards and technical competence necessary for breakthrough semiconductor innovation and responsible technology development.
The United Kingdom stands at the forefront of a semiconductor revolution that's fundamentally transforming how we design chips, power devices, and enable the digital infrastructure that underpins modern civilization. From the ARM processor architectures powering billions of smartphones worldwide to the compound semiconductor innovations driving 5G networks across Britain, the UK's leadership in semiconductor design and advanced materials has created an unprecedented demand for skilled semiconductor professionals that dramatically exceeds the current talent supply. If you've been seeking a career at the foundation of all digital technology or looking to position yourself in one of the most strategically critical and economically vital sectors of the modern economy, semiconductors represent an extraordinary opportunity. The convergence of AI chip demand acceleration, automotive electrification, 5G infrastructure deployment, and quantum computing emergence has created perfect conditions for semiconductor career success.
Fab, design and packaging roles drop every day—across foundries, design houses, OSATs, compound-semiconductor scaleups, photonics startups and national labs. Many are buried in ATS portals or duplicated across boards. The fix: put discovery on rails with keyword-rich alerts, RSS feeds and a reusable ChatGPT workflow that triages listings, ranks fit, and tailors sharp applications in minutes. This copy-paste playbook is for www.semiconductorjobs.co.uk readers. It’s UK-centric, practical, and designed to save you hours each week. What You’ll Have Working In 30 Minutes A role & keyword map spanning front-end process, equipment, litho/etch/dep, CMP/metrology, yield/FA/reliability, device/TCAD, ATE test & product, packaging/assembly, EDA/IC design (digital/analog/RF), photonics/MEMS, and fab software/APC. Shareable Boolean searches for Google and job boards that strip out noise. Always-on alerts & RSS feeds that bring fresh UK semiconductor roles to you. A ChatGPT “Semiconductor Job Scout” prompt that deduplicates, scores match and outputs ready-to-paste actions. A simple pipeline tracker so deadlines and follow-ups never slip.
From chip design and verification to wafer fabrication and packaging, the UK semiconductor sector is critical to global supply chains. Lightcast shows +36 % YoY growth in UK job ads mentioning “semiconductor”, “IC design”, “ASIC/FPGA”, or “wafer process” in Q1 2025. Yet the talent pool is small, with only ~7,000 professionals active nationwide. This guide lists 10 UK‑registered recruitment agencies with proven semiconductor or microelectronics desks. Use it to find specialist recruiters, prepare for interviews, and secure offers in a competitive market.
As chip demand surges across AI, automotive, defence, 5G and consumer electronics, the UK’s semiconductor sector is undergoing a resurgence. With new government investment and domestic R&D growing, employers are looking for engineers and technicians who understand the tools, design flows, and fabrication technologies powering modern chip development. Welcome to the Semiconductor Jobs Skills Radar 2026—your annual guide to the software, simulation tools, lab techniques, and platforms most in demand across the UK semiconductor industry. Whether you’re a silicon design engineer, process technician or verification expert, this guide helps you keep your skillset aligned with real hiring needs.
