Principal Systems Architect

An exciting opportunity for an experienced Principal System Architect to provide technical leadership across the development of advanced, high-performance technology.
Working across systems, algorithms, software, FPGA and ASIC engineering, you will shape product architectures, establish technical direction and translate complex requirements into practical, scalable solutions. You will combine strategic influence with hands-on architectural expertise, guiding engineering teams and working directly with customers and partners.
This role would suit a highly experienced systems engineer or architect who enjoys solving complex technical challenges, influencing product development and supporting other technical specialists.
Key Responsibilities

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  Lead architectural development across complex products and IP, maintaining alignment between customer requirements, product strategy and engineering delivery.
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  Define system architectures, including hardware/software partitioning, interfaces and implementation approaches.
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  Lead architectural and algorithm trade-offs across performance, throughput, latency, resource usage and power.
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  Provide technical direction on requirements, system decomposition, architectural modelling, performance analysis and verification strategy.
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  Guide implementation decisions across software, FPGA and ASIC platforms.
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  Lead customer technical discussions, feasibility studies and integration activities.
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  Resolve complex engineering issues and maintain architectural consistency across products and teams.
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  Mentor engineers and architects, contributing to technical standards and long-term technology planning.

Skills Required

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  Extensive experience in system architecture and the development of complex signal-processing, modem or communications products.
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  Proven ability to define, analyse and manage complex system and product requirements.
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  Strong experience in hardware/software partitioning, interface definition and architectural design.
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  Ability to lead technical trade-offs across software and hardware implementation approaches.
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  Demonstrable technical leadership across multidisciplinary engineering teams.
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  Significant customer-facing experience, including technical studies, solution evaluation and product or IP integration.
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  Knowledge of 3GPP standards, including 5G NR or significant 4G LTE experience.
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  Strong communication skills, with the ability to explain complex technical concepts clearly to engineering and commercial stakeholders.

Desirable Experience

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  Development of complex IP for FPGA or ASIC implementation.
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  Taking products from FPGA-based designs towards ASIC deployment.
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  ASIC development, hardware acceleration and digital signal processing.
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  Fixed-point design, modelling and implementation.
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  Proficiency in MATLAB, Python and C++.
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  Contributions to product roadmaps, technology strategy and long-term architectural planning.
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  Mentoring senior engineers or architects and improving engineering practices.

This is an opportunity to influence both technical strategy and practical delivery, helping shape sophisticated products from architectural definition through to customer deployment.

Spectrum IT Recruitment (South) Limited is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy.