Plextek is seeing new business opportunities across sectors including defence, wireless comms and security. As a result it has embarked on a recruitment drive which should increase the size of its workforce by more than ten per cent during the next few months.
Plextek is an electronics design consultancy situated ten miles south of Cambridge. It was established in 1989 and now employs around 100 staff.
The firm's main business is providing design services to the communications, defence, automotive, industrial, scientific and medical markets.
It provides a design and supply service for customer specified electronic products, and also carries out small design support or feasibility study contracts to complete product design, through to the development of full custom systems and system integration.
Hiring personnel
The firm has career opportunities in hardware and software engineering, product design and project management positions.
"We're looking to hire a number of personnel to fill new engineering, design and project management positions within the company and are particularly interested in radio and RF IC engineers," says Colin Smithers, managing director of Plextek.
Examples of product designs undertaken by Plextek include:
- multimedia GSM/GPRS handset
- flight qualified synthesiser subsystems for avionics radar
- Bluetooth-based handsfree car kits
- FPGA-based radar signal processing board
- RF power amplifier modules
- tunable laser controller
- various full custom GaAs MMICs
- custom receiver designs for defence and communications applications
Design projects have included a broadband wireless access system, a system for stolen vehicle recovery and a F1 motor racing telemetry systems. Clients range in size from small companies through to blue chip firms, including Sony, Smiths Industries and Qinetiq.
According to Smithers, half of the firm's design consultancy business comes from start-up companies.
In the last two years Plextek has been increasing business outside its core design consultancy work. This has included product design, contract manufacturing services and the launch of its first branded product, a transportable radar called Blighter for the security market.
"Our decision to adapt the business model over the last few years has proved very successful. We're performing very well as a business and have many exciting projects in the pipeline," says Smithers.
The company prides itself on offering good career development opportunities through the range of its engineering projects and it implements a formal appraisal process which focuses on the individual's specific needs. Training focuses on technical skills and knowledge as well as non-technical skills, such as foreign language training.
Plextek also encourages promotion on a technological skill/expertise basis as well as a more traditional people/project/client management basis.
Strong design activity
Defence and security systems are the market sectors where Smithers is seeing strong design activity. "But wireless comms is still very active," he adds.
"The design market is looking stronger than 18 months ago," says Smithers. "There seems to be a new urgency amongst some companies and they are doing speculative projects again."
Smithers also says new engineering resource was needed to support further development of its Blighter portable radar system.
One business change in the last 12 months has been Plextek's decision to provide contract manufacturing services for customers, which means the firm will offer full project management from design through to manufacture and supply. With this comes a range of new career opportunities within the company. But Smithers is certain that the firm's in-house design expertise remains key to all its future plans. "It is the golden goose and we know we must continue to nurture that environment," says Smithers.
For more information on careers at Plextek go to: www.plextek.co.uk/careers.htm