Senior Principal Mechanical Engineer
Location- New Malden (site based with some flexibility to WFH)
Salary - £65,000 - £90,000
The mechanical function is responsible for leading the design and development of our mechanical products, taking them through the design lifecycle and ensuring suitable for manufacture. They also support in production, dispositioning non-compliance and supporting with problem solving activities. They therefore require project engineering, design, and analysis (FEA, MSA, GD&T) skillsets to enable high quality outputs. They must also appreciate the wider understanding of engineering in term of design for safety, security, maintainability, and manufacturability.
This is a senior position with the engineering function of the Defence Operating Unit. You will be expected to provide expertise and leadership to the hardware engineers in the development of electro-mechanical products. Most importantly, this will be to develop design solutions that are productionisable, developing generic manufacturing requirements/processes and ensuring supplier processes meet those requirements. Key knowledge in metallic composition, welding, treatments, etc used in aerospace and defence. You will be expected to lead the most complex and critical projects and problems, managing risks and driving a cross-functional team to deliver high quality to stringent deadlines. In addition, you will be expected to support the hardware engineering manager in the execution of strategic hardware goals, including development of people, processes and tools. In such case, you will be aware of AS9145 process and the need to create manufacturing requirements from the design and higher level requirements from the customer and regulations. You will be conversant in the latest REACH compliant materials and treatments and the methods from which they are manufactured. The Principal engineer is seen as the SME in their area of specialism.
Responsibilities:
- Deliver functional deliverables to cost and schedule.
- Apply extensive expertise in mechanical, materials and processes to complex problems requiring innovative solutions as well as to the design, development, and delivery of new products, processes and technologies on-time, within budget and to required quality.
- Deep and broad technical knowledge in mechanical, materials and manufacturing processes, including in application area, with an extensive expertise in specific areas of specialism. Continued professional development of competence and expertise to ensure capability is at leading edge. Be the “go to” person in their specialism, proving technical consultation.
- Independently delivers Hardware artefacts and develops approach to solutions on the most critical and complex of projects and problems.
- Plan functional activities, tailoring processes against complex requirements, estimate hours and durations, and conducting activities. Reviews plans and confirms all activities have been captured to meet a compliant solution. Monitors and controls, continually checking on progress against agreed timeframes.
- Responsible for the quality of deliverables from the function, reviewing deliverables produced by engineers, ensuring processes are followed within the various projects. Ensure technical excellence and quality standards across all design phases, including prototyping, testing, and validation
- Expected to liaise with customers and suppliers professionally regarding projects, able to communicate complicated issues and solutions effectively, building trust with external stakeholders.
- Develop relationships with engineering project leads, programmes and cross-functions to ensure engineering aspects are considered, planned and executed.
- Commercially aware, understanding how to protect the reputation of NG.
- Mentor, Coach and develop engineers across the operating unit.
- May lead engineering work packages and projects, coordinating a multi-functional engineering team to deliver against cost and schedule.
- React to issues and failures, identifying containment, root cause and corrective actions.
- May lead root cause problem solving activities, taking on challenging FRACAS, SCARs, NCs, PRs, CRs, audit actions, etc. Proactively identify risks before failures, managing them through mitigation and escalation.
- May lead improvement projects in areas of expertise, or as directed from the Head of Engineering.
- Ensure safe working of yourself and others in your team.
- Keep up to date with technical advancements in specialism. Be aware of updates to regulations and standards, emerging technologies and capabilities, reviewing our compliance and suitability to the organisation
- Work according to established company processes, ISO9001 procedures and global standards (ANSI/NFPA/UKCA/EN) and regulations (DEF-STAN/ MIL-STN)
- Promotes the engineering function and technical area of expertise both internally and externally at talks, conferences, and seminars.
- Key Skills / Experiences
- Expertise in design and substantiation of components and systems, including Knowledge of qualification and verification processes to meet technical requirements, The candidate must be able to take ownership of a system design from the concept phase through to manufacture and through life support.
- Understanding of structural, thermal, and/or dynamic analysis, with ability to perform hand calculations and finite element analysis (FEA)
- Proficient in engineering drawings and 3D modelling and creating other product documentation for use by Manufacturing, Procurement, and Quality
- Strong leadership in managing mechanical design packages
- Proficient in robust design practices such as DFMEA, DFA, and DFM. Utilise statistical techniques to analyse production data, looking for significant trends to identify production issues, make recommendations to improve cost and efficiency;
- Excellent verbal and written communication, with strong influencing and negotiation skills
- Experience engaging and collaborating with both internal and external suppliers at various levels within organisations.
- Experience developing product and materials / process innovations that deliver breakthrough products or technologies;
Experienced in specifying appropriate metallic materials and manufacturing / treatment processes for new / existing designs. - Experience in rapidly prototyping and evaluating new product designs or improvements to existing products;
- Demonstrated experience evaluate designs for manufacturability and assisting in the analysis and selection of supply chain strategies to drive best quality, cost, and lead times;
- Demonstrated experience in Configuration Management, maintaining product Bill of Materials, revision records, and other technical files.
- Present data driven solutions to manufacturing engineering problems following structured Lean and problem-solving methodologies (Six Sigma, Red X, 8D, Lean).
- Creating and developing production techniques from raw material to finished product placing Safety, Quality, Delivery & Cost (SQDC) at the centre of all decisions.
Essential qualifications / experience
- Degree-qualified in a relevant engineering / technical subject (e.G. Mechanical engineering or similar) or extensive experience in a relevant area.
- Relevant experience within defence, maritime, and/or aerospace sector
- Working knowledge of Mechanical Design Defence Standards and regulations.
- Experience leading and developing high performing teams.
- Experience in reviewing mechanical drawings, analyses and project documentation.
- Evidenced substantial experience in a Mechanical Engineering role (e.G. Mechanical or Electrical), including but not limited to:
- Experience in design for manufacture, Design for Six Sigma, or similar continuous improvement philosophies.
- Knowledge of Electrical and Mechanical Design.
- Knowledge of Production and Manufacturing techniques.
- Experience designing for: safety, security, maintainability, reliability, etc.
- Knowledge of various analysis techniques, including FEA, CFD, electrical loads, etc.
- Materials knowledge (including REACH and RoHS regulations).
Preferred qualifications/experience/knowledge
- Chartered Engineer
- Previous experience using CREO or similar CAD software package
- Previous experience using Windchill or similar PLM software package
- Previous experience using AutoCAD Electrical or similar electrical design package
Other requirements
- Travel requirements: Occasional UK travel may be required to attend team/customer/supplier meetings and training activities
- Clearance requirements: Post-holder must hold and maintain UK Government clearances where required
