Senior/Principal Designer and Mass Engineer

Our client, a well-funded early-stage aerospace and defence business, is seeking a Senior/Principal Designer and Mass Engineer to support the development of advanced air vehicles for the defence and security market. This permanent role offers the opportunity to join a small, senior engineering team delivering a complete flight vehicle from initial concepts through design, development and testing.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead vehicle design activities from system architecting and concept development through to detailed design
• Generate and assess alternative design concepts, balancing performance, aerodynamic, structural, thermal and manufacturing requirements
• Produce and maintain CAD models and technical drawings using tools such as CATIA, SolidWorks, Creo or similar
• Support design reviews, trade studies and technical decision-making across integrated engineering disciplines
• Own mass properties engineering, including component mass estimates, centre of gravity and inertia data
• Maintain mass properties databases, monitor mass growth and margins, and report trends against programme targets
• Work with subsystem suppliers to validate mass, centre of gravity and inertia information
• Present technical findings clearly while providing technical leadership, mentoring and input into engineering roadmaps

Job Requirements:

• Degree or higher qualification in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or a related discipline
• Significant design engineering experience within the missile, aerospace, defence or another high-reliability sector
• Experience leading design activities from initial concept architecting through to detailed design
• Strong CAD capability and practical experience in design for manufacture, including consideration of unit cost, part count and assembly complexity
• Experience in mass properties estimation, tracking and reporting throughout the design lifecycle
• Understanding of how design decisions influence performance, aerodynamic, structural and thermal requirements
• Knowledge of Model Based Systems Engineering and integrated systems design principles
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, communication and technical presentation skills

Desirable Skills and Experience:

• Experience with mass properties, configuration management or engineering data management tools
• Familiarity with Python, MATLAB or similar scripting languages for analysis automation
• Experience working closely with performance, structures and thermal engineering teams
• Background in a defence, government or high-technology start-up environment
• Chartered Engineer status or progress towards professional registration
• Experience mentoring engineers or leading small technical teams

Personal Attributes:

• A collaborative and self-motivated approach, with a strong sense of ownership for technical outcomes
• Confidence working with autonomy in a fast-moving, early-stage engineering environment
• A pragmatic approach to solving complex problems while maintaining appropriate technical rigour
• Ability to communicate complex engineering information to technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Integrity, discretion and an understanding of the sensitive nature of defence-related work
• Enthusiasm for building new products and helping to shape engineering culture

Additional Information:

• Full-time, permanent employment within a multi-year development programme
• Opportunity to influence significant technical decisions as part of the senior engineering team
• Equity participation and a comprehensive benefits package
• Applicants must have the right to work in the UK
• Applicants must be eligible to obtain UK Security Check (SC) clearance; existing clearance is not essential

This is an opportunity for an experienced aerospace or defence design engineer to take significant responsibility for the development of an advanced flight vehicle.