Principal Engineer - Design Lead

Principal Engineer - Design Lead - Defence Sector - Permanent - Attractive  – Buckinghamshire

A Principal Engineer - Design Lead is needed for an established supplier of engineering solutions for the defence sector. They specialise in the design, manufacture and support of control systems, and power systems for defence platforms within the safety critical and harsh environment domain.

The Principal Engineer - Design Lead will lead the design and development of new equipment, primarily with mechanical but also electrical skills. The Principal Engineer - Design Lead must be creative, inquisitive, keen to learn, question everything and have an eye for detail.

With the support of the Technical Director the Principal Engineer - Design Lead role also covers the full product life cycle, and you must take the technical lead, the design authority role and develop into a subject matter expert (SME).

The Principal Engineer - Design Lead will have a broad range of experience and skills within mechanical design, sheet metal fabrication, manufacturing and prototyping, product development, CAD, and project management but also a good understanding of other manufacturing methods and electrical design. This opportunity will have 3–6 months of Training and Development built in.

Key Duties for the Principal Engineer - Design Lead

Product development, designing new solutions to meet complex customer requirements.

Lead a team of mechanical engineers to design and develop solutions for customers.

Create concepts, managing design compliance and regulatory compliance.

Ensure solutions are viable and designed efficiently for manufacture and assembly.

Be a technical point of contact for customers and accountable for successful delivery of projects.

Drive the team towards excellence by improving standards and processes.

Mentoring, motivating, and developing the teams’ skills and capabilities.

May be required to help with general engineering tasks and CAD to support day to day activities.

Create effective technical reports to support bid responses, etc.

Providing design justifications, managing the design process, and managing the product lifecycle.

Designing, prototyping, and developing electro-mechanical products.

Substantiating designs using analytical methods, FEA software, and other simulation tools.

Developing high quality, cost effective and production ready designs in 3D CAD.

Promote a culture of excellence and team expertise in DFMA.

Conducting material selection, evaluation, and leading internal and external design reviews with customers.

The certification and compliance management and developing comprehensive technical documentation.

Managing configuration control, product safety, and obsolescence.

Providing peer review of drawings, reports, and other engineering output

Assisting in the development of company procedures, codes of practise and work instructions.

Promoting continual improvement and contributing to business process improvements.

Key Skills / Experience Required for the Principal Engineer - Design Lead

Knowledge and experience and a background in design and development.

Designing for sheet metal fabrication and associated manufacturing techniques.

Experience in analysis, e.g. Stress, CFD, FEA etc, using associated software tools, ideally NASTRAN.

Demonstrable mechanical design experience and knowledge of Autodesk Inventor 3D CAD is desirable.

A background in the naval, marine or defence sectors would be advantageous.

Qualified with the equivalent of a UK degree or have significant relevant industry experience.

Ability to analyse complex technical issues and develop innovative solutions for customers and clients.

Strong problem-solving and project management ability with clear & effective communication, both written and verbal.

Ability to produce concept designs to satisfy a customer’s equipment specification.

Familiar with and able to understand standards e.g. DEF STANS to identify relevant requirements.

Confident in design justification, hand calculations, simulations, project management, and testing.

Articulate and able to influence stakeholders for an optimal solution with effective presentations.

Able to work with cross-functional teams, including engineers, designers, and other stakeholders.

Writing test specifications, test requirements, ITPs, and documents to demonstrate compliance.

Prepared to challenge existing SME, question traditional solutions and to drive innovation.

Courageous and innovative mindset, unafraid to challenge conventional thinking.

Motivating, able to plan own time, priorities, and deadlines to ensure project success.

• Candidates must be British Nationals as full UK Security Clearance (SC) may be required, and this is due to the nature of the Defence products involved

Demand for this role will undoubtedly be high, and interviews will be arranged very soon. If you have the right experience and you want to be considered, please apply today. If you have any questions about the Principal Engineer - Design Lead role, please contact Peter Heap at Jonathan Lee Recruitment on (phone number removed) or send suitable CV’s to

Your CV will be forwarded to Jonathan Lee Recruitment, a leading engineering and manufacturing recruitment consultancy established in 1978. The services advertised by Jonathan Lee Recruitment are those of an Employment Agency.

In order for your CV to be processed effectively, please ensure your name, email address, phone number and location (post code OR town OR county, as a minimum) are included