Principal Engineer

We are looking for a highly-motivated and ambitious Principal Engineer to take a lead role in current product development and commercialisation activity, along with R&D aimed at more speculative concepts. This client is a very output-oriented company solving real problems and selling commercial products into various industry segments, not presentations. They expect the successful applicant to work to very rapid product development timescales, taking products though the complete development process from concept to preliminary design, technical review, prototyping, testing, live trials, final technical review, and certification.

The successful applicant will be able to work to tight deadlines, have strong communication skills, and the ability to work independently within a small team. They will be working alongside talented PhD level engineers, and would be expected to integrate well into this environment, contributing to a range of live projects while taking the lead on others. The successful applicant will report to the Engineering Manager, but a high degree of technical independence is expected. This is a role with a high degree of responsibility and autonomy.

Areas in which the recruit is expected to be capable of taking a technical lead within the company will include the following:

Technical lead on projects from concept through to market ready products

Develop models and simulations in Simulink and MATLAB to solve technical problems, including post-processing of results, analysis and presentation.

Use of CFD simulation software (preferably STAR-CCM+) for compressible flow problems, including scripting, post-processing of results, analysis and presentation.

oProduct drawings in an appropriate CAD package, including detailed understanding of tolerancing, dimensioning and stress analysis (finite element and hand calculation).

Skills and Experience

The successful candidate will have:

A degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering at Masters or PhD level (First class, high 2:1, or equivalent)

At least 2 years of industry experience and / or applied academic research experience

In-depth knowledge of thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluid mechanics principles

A high level of proficiency in simulation and simulation tools (low order and high order fluid/mechanical modelling using a variety of existing and self-developed tools)

Experience of rapid numerical/experimental validation of concepts to meet technical specifications

Proven experience in leading or supporting product or technology development with significant hands-on prototyping and development experience

Track record of delivery of technical solutions where creative thinking and a pragmatic, problem solving mindset is key

Strong understanding of engineering and scientific principles with ability to rapidly learn and apply new concepts