The Focusrite Group Embedded DSP Engineer

Embedded DSP Engineer (Novation)
Based: High Wycombe, London or Remote (UK Only) with weekly office visits
Term: Full-time, Permanent
Salary: Depending on experience

Are you an Embedded Software engineer with a passion for audio and DSP looking to join an innovative team to help create audio products in applications including live music performance, studio recording and education?

You will be part of a team developing market leading synthesisers, samplers and FX engines for Novation products. You will be involved in the whole product lifecycle and engaging with a talented multi-discipline team. Project work is managed with a combination of stage gated and agile methodologies to suit the engineering discipline and project complexity. Our company is committed to improving and you will have opportunity to help evolve our working practices to keep up to date with technology trends in our product sector and best practice in the software development industry.

On a day-to-day basis you will be responsible for:

• Developing production ready real-time embedded software for Novation products
• Evaluating DSP algorithms to assess both suitability for implementation on the target and their potential for creativity and musical expression for our users
• Optimising code to maximize performance, audio quality, upgradability and reuse
• Balancing complex trade-offs, technical decision making and clearly communicating recommendations options
• Refining product specifications, producing innovative designs, generating complexity/work estimates, performing risk assessments, fixing issues
• Creating both low-level code documentation and high-level descriptions of functionality
• Analysing bug reports and optimising testing procedures
• Engaging in team peer review processes and product design workshops
• Undertaking maintenance and development of Novations existing product portfolio

You should apply for this role if you have:

• A technical or engineering-based degree and 3+ years of industry experience in embedded DSP development projects
• Competent coding skills in both C and C++ (ideally with some ASM familiarity)
• Strong mathematics abilities (particularly in audio applications)
• Intimate knowledge of embedded debugging approaches and tools
• A commitment to continual improvement both personally and of the wider team
• The ability to clearly articulate problems and solutions for both technical and non-technical audiences

It would be advantageous if you have some of the following:

• Development experience with bare metal and embedded real-time operating systems including embedded Linux
• Knowledge and familiarity of synthesisers, samplers and FX engines in the market
• Familiarity with digital communication protocols such as I2C, SPI, USB and Ethernet
• Experience of using bug tracking systems and applying efficient problem solving techniques
• Working knowledge of distributed version control systems such as Mercurial or Git
• Experience of CI approaches and knowledge of tools such as Jenkins and Artifactory

About Us

Our audio technology brands stand together, seeking to enrich lives through music by removing barriers to creativity. We want to create opportunities for everyone to enjoy making music, from musicians trying to capture their unique sound, to the professionals delivering the greatest shows on earth. The Focusrite Group has an illustrious history with four Queen's Awards for Enterprise among a host of other accolades. We comprise six successful and rapidly growing brands: Focusrite, Focusrite Pro, Martin Audio, ADAM Audio, Novation and Ampify Music. With a high-quality reputation and a rich heritage spanning over four decades, our brands continue to shape the music-making world.

Focusrite leads that world in audio interfacing technology more musicians record through Focusrite than any other brand. The Focusrite Pro team are focussed on the complex needs of the audio professional for whom sound is not just a passion, but a way of life. Martin Audio have been uniting audiences for almost five decades with their awe-inspiring touring and installation loudspeaker systems. Based in Berlin,ADAM Audioare precision innovators in the field of professional monitoring and loudspeaker technology, made famous by their unique ART ribbon tweeter. Novationis obsessed with helping electronic music makers find new ways to produce and perform new music. Born out of that team and based in Tileyard, King's Cross, London, AmpifyMusic make innovative music-making apps that are highly accessible, yet extendable and deep.

Music technology is an enriching space to work in, and that's not about to change. We embrace its evolution, and that means remaining open to new ideas. We enjoy a Group-wide open-door culture, where we can all contribute and everyone is heard as we grow and develop, both as individuals and as a team. We encourage innovation and fresh-thinking and are passionate about the inspirational solutions we create. Behind our success is a tightly knitted, like-minded family of music and audio lovers. We're always pulling together to try and make a difference; our frequent appearance in 'The Sunday Times 100 Best Small Companies to Work For' is testament to this.

As an equal opportunity employer, we encourage people to apply regardless of religion, ethnic background, nationality, sexual orientation or gender identity. We recognise the diversity shortcomings of our industry and are committed to driving change. Equally, we recognise the major impact that climate change is having on our world and work every day towards being industry leaders in a carbon neutral future.

Benefits include flexible working, home working, company pension, life insurance, private healthcare, employee purchase scheme, company music events, offsite company parties and free breakfast/lunch in the canteen. We arrange company training sessions, hold making things easy days, encourage personal development training, run lunch and learns and facilitate external visits.