Senior Mechanical Engineer

Bristol Source: WhatJobs

See advert for pay

Overview

As a Senior Mechanical Engineer, you own mechanical design for avionics, payload installations and airframe components, taking hardware from concept to qualification and production. You’ll work within an agile aerospace and defence team delivering fast, flight-ready solutions for tactical unmanned aircraft and mission systems. The role blends mechanical, thermal and electrical considerations to solve demanding integration challenges. You’ll shape designs that perform reliably in harsh environments, with rapid feedback from prototype to flight and cross-functional collaboration to meet tight timescales.

Pay / Benefits

competitive salary
discretionary annual bonus
pension contribution up to 10%
25 days holiday + Bank Holidays
Private Medical Insurance
flexible hybrid working

Responsibilities

Design avionics and payload installations and airframe components in SolidWorks
Own models, drawings and design packs through the product lifecycle
Design thermal management solutions for high-power electronics (heatsinks, ducting, fans, interface materials)
Plan and design installations with harness routing, connectors, grounding and serviceability
Develop sealing and environmental protection for maritime and extreme climates
Support qualification testing (vibration, shock, temperature, altitude, humidity, salt exposure)
Coordinate mechanical interfaces with electrical, systems and aerodynamics teams
Collaborate with suppliers and manufacturing on machining, additive manufacturing and composites
Support design reviews and produce analysis and test documentation
Provide guidance and technical support to junior engineers

Key requirements

Degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering
Mechanical design experience in aerospace/defence or similar demanding environments
Experience taking hardware through environmental qualification and testing
Experience with low-to-medium volume manufacturing (machining, additive manufacturing and/or composites)
Ability to apply structural or thermal FEA/CFD for initial analysis
Strong SolidWorks and engineering drawing experience; GD&T knowledge beneficial
Interest in cross-disciplinary work across mechanical, thermal and electrical interfaces
Practical engineering approach with ability to hand-calculate and sanity-check designs