Degree Apprentice - Product Design Engineering (September Start)

Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship: Product Design and Development Engineering

Location: Maidenhead SL6 7RJ (training at Newbury College, RG14 7TD)

Hours: Full-time, up to 5 days per week on site (at our offices or college)

Starting Salary: £26,500, rising to c. £40k over 4 years

Are you someone who wants to build a safer world through smart, creative design?

At AVIRE, we design life-saving technologies for people in high-rise buildings. Whether it\’s an intercom that helps someone call for help during a fire, or a device that keeps lifts operational during an emergency, our products are trusted to protect the most vulnerable people in society. We are looking for a driven, imaginative apprentice to join our Product and Innovation team and begin their career as a design engineer.

This is a four-year degree apprenticeship, combining hands-on work at our design centre in Maidenhead with expert tuition from Newbury College. You\’ll graduate with a university-level qualification, debt-free and ready to step into a career where your ideas make a difference from day one.

You\’ll join a friendly, international team where you\’ll be supported to grow your confidence, develop your skills and play a part in designing products that matter.

What you\’ll do

Throughout the programme, you\’ll be immersed in real engineering work – not just observing, but contributing. You\’ll learn how to:

• Design elegant solutions to complex safety challenges – turning early ideas into real products
• Work through the entire design cycle – from sketches and prototypes to fully engineered solutions
• Combine creativity and logic to make products that are not only functional but reliable, manufacturable and user-friendly
• Use 3D CAD software and simulation tools to test your ideas in the virtual world before they\’re built
• Collaborate with engineers, manufacturers and end users to balance performance, safety and cost
• Troubleshoot and refine designs based on testing and feedback – and feel proud of the final result
• Think like a project manager – planning your time, managing risks and seeing things through to delivery
• Understand how global safety standards shape design decisions in the real world
• Contribute to meaningful projects where every detail you shape could one day protect someone\’s life

This is a job where you\’ll see your designs brought to life in our labs and on production lines. And you\’ll do it knowing that every product you help create is designed to protect real people, in real buildings, in moments that matter.

What we\’re looking for

You\’re the kind of person who:

• Is curious, thoughtful and never satisfied with the first answer
• Takes pride in solving problems and making things better
• Enjoys working with others and values open, honest communication
• Wants to be part of a company that values purpose, not just profit
• Believes engineering is not just technical – it\’s creative, human and important

We believe that great engineers come from all walks of life. If you\’re a sixth form or college leaver and you\’re excited by the idea of building products that serve real people, we\’d love to hear from you.

Entry requirements

To apply, you\’ll need one of the following:

• A-Levels: ABB (including Mathematics and another STEM subject)
• BTEC National Diploma: DDM
• IB: 30 points with Higher Level Mathematics and Science at Grade 5 or above

And:

• A full UK driving licence
• The right to live and work in the UK
• The ability to be on site in Maidenhead or Newbury up to 5 days per week

Travel and remote working

This is an on-site role, with one day each week spent at Newbury College during term time. As part of the programme, you\’ll have the opportunity to visit our teams in Barcelona (Spain), České Budějovice (Czechia), Sussex (Wisconsin, US) and Holmdel (New Jersey, US). Additional travel may be required occasionally, with full support from the business.