They are a high-technology electronics company specialising in RF over fibre systems, antennas, software-defined radios, power electronics, and test and measurement equipment. The business operates across four distinct divisions serving government, military, commercial, broadcast, and scientific markets globally. Its products are used in satellite ground stations, satcom teleports, cellular networks, TV broadcasting, GPS timing distribution, and defence communications – and are known across the industry for their dynamic range, reliability, and five-year warranty.
Part of a well-capitalised defence and security group, the business retains full operational autonomy, agility, and its entrepreneurial SME culture. The business has undergone significant growth in its product development function, creating the need for a dedicated Applications Engineering capability that can operate at the pace of sales without disrupting longer-term R&D programmes. This hire brings the Applications Engineering team to three people and ensures the business has the technical resource to support an increasing volume and complexity of customer enquiries as it expands across the UK, EMEA, the Far East, and the US.
The RF Applications Engineer acts as the trusted technical advisor to the sales teams and their customers. The role bridges the gap between the commercial and engineering functions – engaging early in the problem space, designing solutions from the company’s optical telecoms product portfolio, and building customer confidence through to design completion. This is not a product development role: it exists purely to support sales, requiring fast turnaround and a very different rhythm to R&D.
The key requirement is solid RF engineering fundamentals – the products are optical telecoms, but the knowledge base comes from RF, and prior optical experience is not required.
Provide technical support to all divisional sales teams on new and non-standard optical systems quotes, ensuring customer needs are fully understood Assist field sales teams in recognising new design-in opportunities across the company’s broad telecommunications product range Deliver presentations and demonstrations to customers and their technical teams, building confidence from architectural evaluation through to design completion support factory acceptance testing and guide installation teams during deployment Support customer analysis activities to feed market intelligence into product management, ensuring future product developments address real customer problems Contribute to tender responses and business development proposals alongside sales and commercial teams
Prior customer-facing or technical sales support experience is highly desirable Happy working on the phone and in front of customers; Familiarity with optical telecoms, RF over fibre, or microwave photonics (training on products will be provided) Familiarity with engineering quality management processes (ISO 9001 or similar) The company’s culture suits those who view engineering as more than just a job – people who are curious, hands-on, and constantly seeking to learn and push boundaries. Success here is less about ticking every technical box and more about mindset: the business welcomes individuals with diverse RF or electronics backgrounds who bring strong core skills and a flexible, problem-solving approach.
The ideal candidate will be technically credible and customer-confident – equally at home working through a link budget and presenting a solution to a client’s engineering team. Candidates should expect to undergo Security Check (SC) clearance, which requires at least five years of continuous residency in the UK and the right to work in the UK.
Highly competitive base salary~ Company bonus scheme (8% OTE – paid out consistently over the last 5+ years)~ Group Share Incentive Plan (tax-efficient, rewards long tenure and group success)~ Defined contribution pension plan (6.5% employer contribution)~ Option to purchase additional annual leave days~ Cycle-to-work scheme~ Employee Assistance Programme~25 days annual leave plus bank holidays~ Annual summer and Christmas events, plus monthly engineering socials
Option 1: 08:00–16:30, Monday to Thursday Option 2: 08:30–17:00, Monday to Thursday Candidates must be eligible for Security Check (SC) clearance….