Embedded Software Lead – MedTech
Bristol (3–4 days on-site)
£75,000 + £20,000–£25,000 bonus + excellent benefits
KO2’s client is an innovative and fast-growing technology business developing advanced wearable devices within a medically regulated environment. They are now seeking an Embedded Software Medical Lead to play a critical role in shaping the next generation of their products, although being narrowly focused on highly specialised or niche medical systems.
This is a leadership position within the R&D function, sitting alongside mechanical leadership and taking ownership of embedded software at a system level.
The Opportunity
You’ll act as the system-level lead across embedded software and hardware, driving design, integration, and validation of both current and next-generation wearable products.
This role blends hands-on engineering, technical leadership, and cross-functional collaboration, giving you real influence over product direction without being confined to purely regulatory work.
What You’ll Be Doing
- Contribute to early-stage innovation, exploring new technologies in embedded systems and wearable applications
- Develop proof-of-concepts and functional prototypes
- Identify risks early and shape product direction through informed engineering decisions
- Support usability testing and concept validation
- Lead system design across software and hardware for new product development
- Own design control, risk management, and verification/validation activities
- Provide technical oversight and challenge solutions to ensure high-quality delivery
- Investigate complex technical issues and support resolution of field challenges
- Drive continuous improvements in performance, reliability, and cost
- Work closely with quality and cross-functional teams
What KO2’s client is looking for
- Strong background in embedded software development (ideally with some hardware exposure)
- Experience working on physical products (not purely cloud or desktop systems)
- Background in a regulated environment (medical, safety-critical, or similar preferred, but not overly specialised)
- Solid understanding of full product lifecycle, from concept through to launch and improvement
- Experience with design control, testing, and documentation
- Strong communicator with the ability to lead and influence
Technical skills:
- Experience in C or C++ (or similar embedded languages)
- Understanding of electronics or hardware integration (beneficial, not essential)
- Awareness of cybersecurity and safety considerations
This role would suit someone who:
- Wants to step into or continue in a technical leadership role
- Enjoys working on tangible, real-world products
- Prefers broad engineering ownership rather than being siloed
- Has some exposure to regulated environments but doesn’t want an overly compliance-heavy role.
Salary and Benefits
- £75,000 base salary
- On-target bonus of £20,000–£25,000
- Strong benefits package
- A key leadership role in a growing R&D team
- The opportunity to work on cutting-edge wearable technology with real-world impact
If you’re an embedded software engineer ready to lead at a systems level—and want to work on innovative wearable products in a collaborative, fast-moving environment—this could be a great next step.