Product Development Engineer in Newtownards

At Eakin Healthcare, we put patients at the heart of everything we do. We are a family-owned global medical device company with a proud heritage of innovation and care. We deliver innovative solutions across Ostomy, Respiratory, and Surgical therapies, along with our Respond home delivery service. Founded over 50 years ago, we now have a team of over 700 dedicated people across three UK manufacturing sites, 12 international sales and distribution centres and export to over 60 countries. We have been recognised as a Great Place to Work! And we are proud to be named among the Best Workplaces in Healthcare and Best Workplaces for Women. At Eakin Healthcare, we are united by one mission: working together to improve lives - just like we have been doing for over five decades.

WHY JOIN US?

• Blended Working
• Bonus
• 25 days holiday plus bank holidays (rising to 28)
• Option to buy holiday days
• Wellbeing Programme
• Health Cash Plan
• Pension
• Life Assurance
• Enhanced Maternity/Paternity
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Referral Scheme
• Long Service Awards
• Free Parking

ABOUT THE ROLE

This role will be based in Comber. Reporting to the Design Manager, this is an exciting opportunity for a creative and driven designer or engineer to join our dynamic Development team within Eakin R&D. The successful candidate will come with experience in product design or development engineering. The role will require the post-holder to contribute to functional design projects and work within multi-disciplinary teams on product development programmes. The diversity within the Group product portfolio will provide excellent opportunities for the successful candidate to work on outcome-driven device development to support all our ostomy, surgical and respiratory businesses.

KEY ACTIVITIES

• Collaborate with Product and Insights Team to identify desired outcomes and unmet needs.
• Work with Products Insights Team to translate user insights into user specifications and product requirements.
• Apply innovative design methodology to develop product concepts to address desired outcomes.
• Refine concepts through prototyping, functional lab testing and evaluation.
• Use CAD software to create and review detailed designs and drawings.
• Project management including planning and delivering key milestones.
• Contribute as a team member to allocated work-streams within development projects, to meet project targets and ensure end-product meets with customer expectations and operational needs.
• Provide input and author technical reports and design documentation for internal and external users to review, ensuring that the content is accurate and informed.
• Adopt a continuous improvement approach by proactively seeking out personal development opportunities by learning and attending training courses to ensure that department has right skills to deliver business needs.
• Build relationships with external consultancies and academic institutions, working on product development projects and improve internal technical and design capabilities.
• Ensure all design and development documentation is completed in line with the quality management system and medical device regulations.
• Ensure regulatory compliance throughout the development process, for example undertaking product risk assessments.

DECISION MAKING AND INFLUENCE

Required to make decisions within remit above and to escalate issues with significant risk/implication to relevant senior management. Use a range of standard and well-established methods to guide decisions.

OTHER

• To adhere to the company’s Equal Opportunities policy and Dignity at work policy in all activities and to actively promote equality of opportunity wherever possible.
• To be responsible for your own health and safety and that of your colleagues, in accordance with the company’s Health and Safety policy.
• To adhere to the company’s Quality policy and Environmental policy.
• To undertake other duties as may be reasonably required.

KEY SKILLS

• Educated to Degree level in Product Design, Industrial Design, Mechanical or similar engineering qualification.
• Able to demonstrate expertise in understanding user requirements, developing ideas, turning them into concepts and refining them into commercial products.
• Proficient in both 2D and 3D CAD / surface modelling systems, preferably SolidWorks.
• Practical experience of plastic injection moulding, injection mould design and other manufacturing methods.
• Experience in 3D rendering to visualise concepts/products.
• Excellent presentation skills.
• Able to demonstrate working knowledge of experimental diligence and the ability to collect, analyse and interpret data.
• Experience of incorporating inclusive design in product development.

DESIRABLE

• Experience gained in a medical device company.
• Further Post Graduate qualifications such as a Masters degree in a design based subject or equivalent.
• Experience in the following: 3D printing and other prototyping techniques, qualitative research techniques, product risk management, tolerance analysis, proven project management experience, experience in Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator, knowledge or understanding of Human Factors research techniques and implementation, experience in conducting IP landscaping activities and identifying opportunities for innovation.

KEY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

• Internal Product and Insights team - identify desired outcomes and user needs (requirements and specifications).
• Development team - design and develop user centric products within market and commercial constraints.
• Mechanical Engineers - ensure that design requirements/concepts are robust.
• Industrialisation Engineers - ensure that product designs are realised.
• Clinical and Regulatory team - test and validate product designs.
• Regulatory Affairs teams - Ensuring that our new and existing products maintain regulatory compliance.
• Work in a multi-functional team and to build relationships with peers.
• External Suppliers, External Consultants and HCPs, Universities, Test houses, Medical device users.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Required to travel from time to time to support activities at other sites.

COMPETENCIES

• Customer Focus - Building strong customer relationships and delivering customer-centric solutions.
• Manages Complexity - Making sense of complex, high quantity, and sometimes contradictory information to effectively solve problems.
• Cultivates Innovation - Creating new and better ways for the organization to be successful.
• Action Oriented - Taking on new opportunities and tough challenges with a sense of urgency, high energy, and enthusiasm.
• Collaborates - Building partnerships and working collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives.
• Plans and Aligns - Planning and prioritising work to meet commitments aligned with organisational goals.
• Interpersonal Savvy - Relating openly and comfortably with diverse groups of people.
• Nimble Learning - Actively learning through experimentation when tackling new problems, using both successes and failures as learning fodder.

The closing date for applications is: 20th May 2026.