Plextek
Our work is largely driven by technical development and innovation. One of the great advantages of working here is that no two projects are the same. Plextek
Our Scholarships
Placement Location
Great Chesterford (nr Cambridge)
Type of Placements Offered
• Summer placements • 6-month MEng placements
Restrictions/Notes
(1) Must have a minimum of 5 years permanent residency in UK; (2) Candidates may be required to undergo security clearance; (3) One hardware and one embedded software focused scholarship; (4) No 12-month placements; (5) MEng students only (not BEng)
Who we are and what we do
Plextek is a product development company that supports organisations to bring highly technical products and services to market. Our breadth of experience in antenna design, high-frequency electronics and digital signal processing means we are now world leaders in low size, weight and power (low-SWaP) RF communications, radar and sensing systems.
We are based just south of Cambridge with easy road and rail routes to the vibrant city centre. We provide a friendly and supportive working environment including regular on-site and off-site social events such as pizza evenings, cook-off competitions and BBQs.
Why come to Plextek?
Would you like to work on novel wireless solutions, smart city technology, or sensors for autonomous drones? What about cutting-edge radio networks or airfield radar? How do you fancy underwater or aircraft-based sensor and communications systems? These are all current projects at Plextek and we need the brightest minds joining our diverse teams to deliver them.
Our work is largely driven by technical development and innovation. One of the great advantages of working here is that no two projects are the same. If you are an enthusiastic, adaptable and motivated person who thrives on variety, enjoys learning new skills and facing exciting challenges then this is the place to be.
We treat our summer students exactly the same as we treat our regular employees. We’ll assign a line manager, mentor your progress, introduce you to a broad range of commercial activities, give you your own workspace and all of the equipment you need. We offer a weekly salary and a stimulating environment that will challenge you to be your best. We provide full training and we can help you find accommodation.
What you could be doing during your work placement
You will have a fantastic opportunity to gain valuable industry experience and contribute to some active projects. You will build on your university education and apply your knowledge to real world problems. Recent summer students have developed a wearable device to locate emergency response crews when GPS in unavailable and an innovative portable metal detector to identify threats in airports and prisons.
If you join us as an Electronics Scholar you could be architecting systems, proving feasibility, designing schematics, producing a printed circuit board or developing filters. If you join us as an Embedded Software Scholar you could be designing algorithms, configuring microcontrollers, creating mobile apps, developing consumer devices or producing Linux distributions. Both roles are hands-on so you could be using oscilloscopes, logic analysers, signal generators, spectrum analysers and an array of other technical equipment to refine your solutions while continuing to learn from your experienced colleagues. Take a look at our website and read our case studies to learn more about our services and our clients.
You will soon be transitioning from education to employment so we understand that you may not have significant engineering experience. All we ask is that you can demonstrate that you have a genuine enthusiasm for this opportunity, and that you can articulate your passion for engineering.
Meet one of our Scholars
Name: Harry
Sponsor: Plextek
University: University of Warwick
Degree Course: MEng Electronic Engineering
What appeals to you about Electronics?
What I love about electronics is that it combines so many interesting fields, including software, digital and analogue hardware, bits of physics and design, to produce projects that can touch every area of life. I love the design and problem-solving aspects of electronics, spending much of my free time making, or just messing around with, stuff that I find cool and want to learn more about. Ultimately, electronics is a creative subject with the potential to make a real impact and push the boundaries of what humans are capable of.
Why did you want a scholarship with Plextek?
I was attracted to Plextek because of their expertise in RF electronics and embedded systems, topics that I had touched on briefly in my degree but wanted to pursue at a much deeper level. One of the things I loved most about working at Plextek was that, as a reasonably small company, I was able to become familiar with many of the engineers and learn from them. Additionally, I was intrigued by the fact that Plextek is an engineering consultancy – the opportunity to be able to work on a large variety of projects sounded like a lot of fun.
What type work have you been involved with during your placement?
During my time at Plextek, I was assigned my own project that I spent the bulk of my time working on. My project was based on designing a STM32 based LoRa datalink to send information reliably over long distances. While working on the design I got familiar with a bunch of tools used in industry as well as best practices used when actually designing products in a professional environment. I also learnt a tonne from my supervisor and other engineers in the office, ranging from signal processing to embedded Linux.
What are your interests outside of work?
Outside of my degree work, I spend a lot of time working on my own engineering projects for fun or building stuff for my University’s Formula Student team, Warwick Racing. When I’m free I spend perhaps too much time playing video games and watching TV with my housemates. Outside of that, I try to stay active by cycling and going to the gym.
Meet one of our Engineers
Name: Christopher
Job Title: Project Engineer
Why I chose Electronics as a career
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been very interested in all types of electronic devices. I remember thinking, how does a computer take power from the wall like a lightbulb yet produce moving pictures and text, and how does a walkie-talkie get the sound from one device to another without a wire? While my school didn’t offer Electronics, I took every opportunity to attend events to learn more and build simple circuits into my projects. This led to me taking Physics at A Level, then choosing to study Engineering at the University of Cambridge.
Working at Plextek
Plextek is an engineering consultancy business, meaning that the work done is very varied and covers a wide range of skills. Each project has its own different challenges which keeps them interesting and gives an opportunity to learn new and exciting things. Everyone is very supportive and approachable, meaning that there’s always someone willing to help when needed.
Why I chose Plextek
When I was looking for companies, I was keen to find somewhere that would allow me to get experience working in both electronic hardware and software. At university, I found the modules in Communications, Signal Processing and Machine Learning particularly engaging, which made Plextek stand out as they have a strong history working with novel radio systems and processing. Since Plextek is a smaller consultancy, I thought they would also be able to allow me to work on a wide range of projects spanning electronics and software, rather than just one specific task. This turned out to be true, as I’ve been able to work on projects ranging from RF PCB design, to embedded software interfacing closely with the hardware, and machine learning algorithms processing captured data!