Senior Mechanical Design Engineer

Senior Mechanical Design Engineer £60–80k Base + Benefits South East | Ref: ABJ7662 Join a leading R&D team as a Senior Mechanical Design Engineer, applying your expertise in mechanical design, industrial design, and design for manufacturing (DFM, DFMEA) to develop innovative, high-performance machinery solutions. You’ll be responsible for producing complete manufacturing packages – (Machinery) for mechanical System Elements — including general assembly drawings (GAs), detailed manufacturing drawings, and bills of materials (BoMs) to meet customer testing specifications. Key Responsibilities * Collaborate with the mechanical design team to create assemblies for bespoke motion-control simulation systems. * Mentor and support junior engineers in detailed design of System Elements. * Understand and apply the operating principles and performance parameters of components such as actuators, valves, bearings, and other System Elements. * Perform basic stress analysis (including FEA), select suitable materials, and verify safety in operation — e.g., assessing cylinder stresses, bolt loadings, and bearing sizing. * Use in-house software (ACE 5) to select valves and size snubbers. * Take a senior engineering role on project elements, coordinating design activities and deliverables. * Continuously improve designs using Solidworks by suggesting cost-saving measures, reducing assembly time, enhancing manufacturability, and improving reliability and performance consistency. * Conduct fault-finding and problem-solving activities. * Work closely with the supply chain to ensure manufacturability and quality. * Design moderately complex System Elements (often adapted from existing designs) and prepare full manufacturing and hydraulic schematic packages for procurement. * Contribute to the creation of innovative new System Elements or complete mechanical systems, including layout, installation, ring main, and power pack designs for projects and sales proposals. * Apply Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA) principles in all designs. Qualifications & Experience * HND or degree in mechanical engineering or a related field. * Several years’ experience in the design and manufacture of hydraulic / pneumatic equipment or precision mechanical systems. * Experience working within one or more of the following sectors will be advantageous: * Automotive and Aerospace: Experience with hydraulic/pneumatic systems, motion control, or component testing for vehicles and aircraft, Rail and Transportation, Heavy Plant and Construction Machinery, Energy Sector or Industrial Automation and Manufacturing: Background in precision machinery, robotics, automation. * Strong knowledge of product development and manufacturing techniques (DFM, DFA, DFMEA). * Practical background with heavy plant machinery, welded structures, and pipework, or completion of a mechanical engineering apprenticeship. * High attention to detail with strong data management and configuration control skills. * Advanced 3D CAD skills, ideally using SolidWorks. * Thorough knowledge of producing manufacturing drawings to BS 8888 standards. * Proficiency in Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T) to BS 8888, and understanding of limits and fits to BS 4500. * Ability to design cost-effective solutions by selecting suitable manufacturing processes, balancing lead time, cost, and quantity constraints. * Experience conducting tolerance analysis to confirm functionality within manufacturing variability. * Knowledge of DraftSight for updating legacy 2D work is desirable. Full-time | Permanent | Competitive base salary | Flexible benefits package. To Apply: Contact Alison Basson