Principal Design Engineer

Fantastic challenges. Amazing opportunities.

GKN Aerospace is reimagining air travel: going further, faster and greener! Fuelled by great people whose expertise and creativity sets the standards in our industry, we’re inspired by the opportunities to innovate and break boundaries. We’re proud to play a part in protecting the world’s democracies. And we’re committed to putting sustainability at the centre of everything we do, opening up and protecting our planet. With over 16,000 employees across 33 manufacturing sites in 12 countries we serve over 90% of the world’s aircraft and engine manufacturers and achieved sales of £3.35 bn.in 2023. There are no limits to where you can take your career.

Job Summary

It’s great to know you’re making a difference to the future of aviation! Whatever part you play you’ll be helping us deliver operational excellence to our customers. Based at our Luton manufacturing plant you’ll do just that. Established in 1993, GKN Aerospace in Luton is a world leader in commercial and military ice protection systems and transparencies. Offering a full range of capabilities; design, analysis, testing, certification and manufacture of electro-thermal ice protection, military fast jet canopies and flight deck windows to over 20 programmes including: Boeing 787, Dreamliner, Airbus A320, AgustaWestland, AW101, Eurofighter Typhoon and Lockheed, Martin F-22 Raptor. Our customers include Boeing, Airbus, Lockheed Martin, Bell Helicopters, Textron, BAE Systems, Pratt & Whitney, Leonardo. Our Luton site is home to 370+ employees and onsite facilities including onsite parking, food hub and vending machines.

Join our Transparencies team as a Principal Design Engineer and help drive innovative design solutions.

We are looking for a Principal Design Engineer to join our Transparencies team to support a portfolio of new and existing programmes including Fast jet canopies, Helicopter Windscreens and Flight Deck Windows.

The Principal Design Engineer is a technical authority within the Transparency Systems team, responsible for leading complex product development, driving technical strategy, and ensuring engineering excellence across multiple programmes. It spans the full lifecycle: advanced concept development, requirements definition, geometric design, materials and process selection, supporting tooling design, manufacturing development, qualification, and in service support.

The Principal Design Engineer also plays a major role in shaping technology roadmaps, mentoring engineering teams, and representing the business in high‑level customer, regulatory, and airworthiness discussions.

This role requires flexibility for occasional travel, both within the UK and internationally. Core operational hours at our Luton site are: 07:30 - 16:30 Monday to Thursday & 07:30 - 12:30 Friday.

Job Responsibilities

• Act as the technical authority for transparency design across multiple programmes, ensuring design integrity, safety, and compliance with customer, regulatory, and airworthiness requirements.
• Lead the definition of design standards and engineering best practices for transparency systems and approve design solutions, specifications, concessions, rework schemes, and compliance documentation.
• Provide expert guidance on requirements management, materials selection, structural performance, optical performance, manufacturing processes and qualification methods.
• Represent Design function in MRBs and serve as the primary escalation point for all MRB-related queries, exercising technical authority to determine and approve the disposition of non conforming parts.
• Define and validate test methods and/or alternate means of compliance (analysis/similarity) as required to demonstrate design solution complies with requirements.
• Act as a senior technical interface with customers, suppliers, regulatory bodies, and internal stakeholders. Communicate complex technical information clearly to both technical and non technical audiences.
• Lead major technical reviews, gate reviews, and customer design reviews, ensuring high quality technical data and presentations.
• Identify, assess, and manage technical risks across programmes, proposing mitigation strategies and influencing programme direction.
• Support capability development within the Transparency Systems team including training, knowledge capture, and succession planning.
• You will contribute to the development of GKN as a 'Great Place to Work', aligned with the core principles - safe, innovative, open & honest, care & respect, and ownership.

What You'll Bring

To help us make a difference, you’ll bring your passion and talent for what you do along with the following skills, experience, qualifications and attributes:
Essential:
• Degree in Aerospace, Mechanical or similar
• Experience in Aerospace design / or Aerospace product development.
• Deep understanding of the full product lifecycle, design practices, manufacturing processes, and airworthiness requirements.
• Proven ability to lead complex engineering work packages and solve complex technical problems using evidence based, methodical approaches.
• Familiarity with digital engineering and model based design preferably using CATIA V5.
• Excellent communication skills, able to create clear, concise, and accurate technical content and present to senior stakeholders.

Desirable:
• Expert user of CATIA V5 for complex modelling and drawing creation
• Chartered Engineer status (CEng)
• Experience working with defence customers and regulatory authorities.
• Experience in transparencies, composites, or specialist structures/ systems.

This is a hands on role, and the work will entail a high level of collaboration with Manufacturing Engineering and Operations as part of an integrated programme team to ensure both technical and programme objectives are met. You'll have strong leadership qualities with experience mentoring and developing engineering teams.

You should be adaptable in your approach to work, and be willing to understudy other team members in their areas of responsibility to ensure overall department objectives are met.

As Principal Design Engineer, you will be naturally detail oriented and appreciate the need for procedural compliance to meet both regulatory requirements and maintain product safety. Your proactive nature will enable you to understand and adapt to new technology areas quickly. Your good communication skills shall enable you to confidently engage with a wide variety of internal stakeholders. You should seek to increase/deepen own technical knowledge through study, training, collaborative working and continual professional development.

Note: Some GKN programmes are subject to regulatory restrictions which may impact certain nationalities. As part of the application process you will be asked to declare when applying for this role.

The position requires UK National Security Vetting (UKNSV) Security clearance (SC) due to the nature and responsibilities of the work carried out. In order for us to obtain an SC you usually need to have been resident in the UK for a minimum of 5 years to current date (but we do assess each case individually).

What We'll Offer

Once you’re on board you’ll get the following perks and benefits:
• Competitive salary dependent on experience
• The opportunity to earn up to 15% bonus
• Industry Leading Pension Scheme = we’ll match your contributions up to 8% on a 1 : 1.5 basis
• Life Assurance 8 x salary
• 185 hours holiday + bank holidays
• Income protection
• Shopping discounts
• Cycle To Work Scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Virtual GP Clinic for you and immediate family
• Free onsite parking
• Local gym discount
• Free airport parking
• Enhanced family friendly leave
• A collaborative, dynamic working environment

Join us and keep the world moving … click on the link below to apply

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We’ll offer you fantastic challenges and amazing opportunities. This is your chance to be part of an organisation that has proven itself to be at the cutting edge of our industry; and is committed to pushing the boundaries even further. And with some of the best training on offer in the industry, who knows how far you can go?

A Great Place to work needs a Great Way of Working

Everyone is welcome to apply to GKN. We believe that we can only achieve our ambitions through a coming together of diverse minds who enjoy collaborating in an inspirational environment. Through our commitment to diversity, inclusion and belonging and by living our five powerful principles we’ve created a culture where everyone feels welcome to contribute. It’s a culture that won us ‘The Best Workplace Culture Award’. By embracing and celebrating what makes us unique we encourage everyone to bring their full self to work.

We’re also committed to providing an accessible recruitment process, so if you require reasonable adjustments at any stage during our recruitment process please get in touch and let us know.

We are the place where human dreams, plus human endeavour, shape the future of aerospace innovation and technology.