Senior Design Engineer in Southampton

This role requires travel to a manufacturing plant in China estimated at around 1 week per quarter plus supplier visits. All travel is planned in advance. A relocation package and Visa/Sponsorship support is available for this role if required.

About the Opportunity of the Senior Design Engineer

Our client is a fast-growing maritime technology business. They are now looking to appoint a Senior Design Engineer to join their growing engineering team. This is a hands-on role with broad involvement across the design lifecycle, from concept development through to detailed design, manufacturing release, and operational hardware. Working closely with the Head of Engineering, you will take ownership of key subsystems, helping to deliver designs that are robust, manufacturable, cost-effective, and ready for production. This is an excellent opportunity to join a mission-driven business developing real climate-impact technology in a highly innovative environment.

Key Requirements of the Senior Design Engineer

You will be an experienced Mechanical / Structural / Marine Engineer with strong expertise in mechanical design for production, manufacturability, and subsystem delivery in a demanding engineering environment. You will be able to evidence hands-on manufacturing experience and be confident in providing real-world feedback and learnings with natural intuition. You should bring:

• Degree qualification in Mechanical, Structural, or Marine Engineering
• Around 5-10 years’ hands-on experience designing mechanical systems in a production environment
• Proven ability to deliver designs from concept through to production within marine, wind, offshore, or similar sectors
• Strong proficiency in Siemens NX, Inventor, or equivalent 3D CAD tools
• Experience working with fabrication, welding, or large structural assemblies
• Strong understanding of Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA) principles
• Proven experience driving cost reduction and improving manufacturability
• Comfortable working in a fast-moving, high-accountability environment
• Experience with class or certification requirements, such as DNV or LR
• Whilst not essential, full or partial fluency in Mandarin would be of particular interest

Desirable experience includes:

• Knowledge of structural testing, validation, and manufacturing techniques

You will also bring:

• Strong practical engineering judgement
• High attention to detail
• The ability to balance creative design with engineering rigour
• A proactive, curious, and improvement-focused mindset
• The confidence to thrive in a startup-style engineering environment

Role & Responsibilities

As Senior Design Engineer, you will own the design and delivery of assigned subsystems, ensuring they are manufacturable, production-ready, and aligned with performance, cost, and delivery requirements. Responsibilities will include:

• Owning the mechanical design and delivery of subsystems from concept through to manufacturing release
• Producing 3D models, manufacturing drawings, and supporting calculations
• Owning manufacturability and production readiness of assigned subsystems
• Applying manufacturing knowledge to improve design standards, manufacturability, and cost
• Leading rapid resolution of design issues arising from manufacturing and supplier feedback
• Owning the engineering interface with international suppliers, ensuring timely progress toward delivery
• Guiding and reviewing work from more junior engineers to support quality and delivery
• Championing high standards of engineering integrity, safety, and sustainability

Why Join?

This is a rare opportunity to join a business developing real-world clean technology for the global shipping market. You will benefit from:

• Working on real climate-impact hardware
• High levels of ownership within a small engineering team
• Broad exposure from concept through to production
• The opportunity to grow with the business as the technology scales
• A collaborative, innovative, and mission-led environment