Hardware & Systems Integration Engineer – Cameras, IoT & Sensor Systems

About the project

We are developing an animal-welfare monitoring platform that combines video, sensor data, human observations and medical records to build individual health and behavioural profiles.

Our goal is to help care teams recognise meaningful changes, identify potential welfare concerns earlier and better understand each animal’s individual needs.

Development will begin in an operational cat shelter in Greece, using existing cameras and progressively introducing additional sensors and monitoring infrastructure.

About the role

We are looking for a hands-on Hardware & Systems Integration Engineer to design, install and integrate the physical monitoring infrastructure that will provide data to the platform.

Your first priority will be to assess the shelter’s existing camera infrastructure, improve camera positioning and establish reliable access to video.

You will then evaluate and integrate additional sensors and connected devices, ensuring that data can be collected consistently and passed reliably to the software and machine-learning systems.

This is a practical engineering role requiring both on-site work in Greece for surveys, installation and commissioning and remote development and support.

What you’ll work on

Camera infrastructure

• Audit existing cameras, network video recorders, networking, cabling, power and storage.
• Identify limitations and recommend practical improvements.
• Determine appropriate camera positions, mounting heights, viewing angles and coverage.
• Optimise visibility around relevant areas including feeding, drinking, resting and litter stations.
• Assess blind spots, occlusion, lighting, motion blur and image detail in collaboration with the computer-vision team.
• Configure IP cameras and network video recorders.
• Establish reliable access to RTSP/video streams without disrupting existing recording.

Sensors & connected devices

• Evaluate technologies such as weighing scales, RFID/microchip readers, smart feeders, water-monitoring devices, litter sensors, wearables and environmental sensors.
• Assess data accessibility and practical suitability before equipment is purchased.
• Integrate devices through APIs, SDKs, messaging protocols or direct hardware interfaces.
• Develop connectors and integration scripts/services.
• Work with software engineers to define consistent data structures including timestamps, device identifiers, locations, units and quality indicators.
• Support association of sensor observations with individual animals while preserving uncertainty where identification is incomplete.

Reliability & infrastructure

• Implement time synchronisation, automatic reconnection and local buffering.
• Establish device and stream-health monitoring and alerts for missing or interrupted data.
• Estimate networking, compute, storage and power requirements through practical testing.
• Coordinate specialist installation or cabling where required.
• Ensure equipment is secure, maintainable and appropriate for an operational animal-care environment.
• Maintain equipment inventories, installation maps, configurations and troubleshooting documentation.

What we’re looking for

Must-have

• Demonstrated experience deploying and troubleshooting physical monitoring, IP-camera, IoT or comparable connected-device systems in operational environments.
• Practical experience with camera positioning and image-quality assessment, including field of view, lighting, motion blur, occlusion and day/night operation.
• Experience configuring IP cameras and network video recorders, including RTSP streams and ONVIF-based integration.
• Strong networking fundamentals including IP addressing, Ethernet, PoE, switches, bandwidth assessment and secure remote access.
• Experience integrating at least one type of sensor or connected device through an API, SDK, messaging protocol or direct hardware interface.
• Ability to write and maintain integration scripts or services.
• Strong troubleshooting ability across hardware, networking and software.
• Practical approach to equipment selection, installation, testing and documentation, with attention to cost, maintainability and animal safety.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with researchers, software developers and non-technical shelter staff.
• Availability to travel to the shelter in Greece for on-site assessment, installation and commissioning.

Nice to have

• Experience preparing camera systems specifically for computer vision, including camera calibration, overlapping views and consistent capture conditions.
• Experience designing and developing proprietary hardware products, including embedded systems, PCB design, firmware and electronics. Experience taking hardware from prototype through to production is particularly valuable.
• Familiarity with FFmpeg, GStreamer or similar video-processing tools.
• Experience with RFID/microchip readers, load cells, smart feeders, wearables or environmental monitoring.
• Familiarity with MQTT, Bluetooth Low Energy, Modbus or serial communications.
• Experience with edge computers, GPU servers, NAS storage, backup systems or UPS equipment.
• Experience with thermal cameras or audio capture and integration.
• Basic electronics and prototyping skills.
• Experience in animal-care, agricultural, scientific/research or similarly demanding field environments.
• Degree in electrical, electronic, computer or systems engineering, or a related discipline.

Initial deliverables

Your initial work will include:

• Infrastructure audit and prioritised improvement plan.
• Camera and sensor placement map for the pilot.
• Working video-ingestion setup with stream-health monitoring and recovery.
• Assessment of priority sensors and initial integration of selected devices.
• Tested infrastructure specification and equipment budget.
• Operational handover and troubleshooting documentation.