Senior Design Authority

Expleo is a leading Global Engineering Services Provider with UK presence in 10 locations. We are seeking an Embedded Design Authority Team Leader. The successful candidate will be a Technical Lead, working across development programmes, leading and engineering team through design of projects spanning from concept design, demonstration, development, qualification, and production, through to customer in‑service support. Ensuring that the products meet strict customer requirements. This position offers the opportunity to contribute directly to advanced defence technology, supporting the security of the UK and its allies. Ideal candidates will be collaborative, self‑motivated, detail‑focused, and methodical in their approach to problem solving.

Responsibilities

• Managing design evolution to meet customer requirements.
• Responsibility for clearance of detail production drawings, ensuring conformance to BS8888 and manufacturability.
• Leading and completing DFMEA’s.
• Approving production processes and tooling.
• Demonstrating compliance with customer requirements.
• Specifying and reviewing structural, thermal and ballistic analyses.
• Reviewing key suppliers’ methods of manufacture and control procedures.
• Specifying, monitoring and reporting rocket motor trials.
• Leading trials readiness reviews.
• Working with a customer Improvement Plan, to help with the improvement of customer products.
• Adhering to internal EN9100 processes, particularly the RD2 process, understanding and sharing Technology Readiness Levels and Class of Difficulty Assessments.
• Producing and delivering formal technical presentations to the customer.
• Producing product technical specifications and detailed technical reports.
• Ensuring appropriate validation testing is carried out prior to formal qualifications.
• Leading formal design reviews (PDR, DDR, CDR etc.) at the relevant design phases and ensuring actions are taken and completed on time.
• Responsible for producing a Certificate of Design for the rocket motor and associated documentation; Qualification reports, Compliance Matrix, Safety Case etc.
• Customer technical interface leading on all technical matters with the missile prime contractor (e.g. MBDA, Thales, SAAB) and the end user (e.g. MoD, DGA).
• Leading technical investigations.
• Liaison at all levels within the business, manufacturers and suppliers.
• Arranging/managing specific trials such as structural testing, rocket motor firings, laboratory scale testing (quantitative testing of materials, etc).
• Dis‑assembly/assessment of fired rocket motor hardware.
• Promote zero harm objective by operating in accordance with any Health, Safety and Environmental policies and procedures to ensure the safety and wellbeing of staff and visitors and pro‑actively promote and support SWIM.
• Perform any other duties necessary, as requested to by the business to carry out job function.

These responsibilities require close liaison and understanding with customer specialists in CAD design, stress analysis, thermal analysis, ballistic analysis, solid propellants, materials, trials, production engineering and project management.

Qualifications

Essential Qualifications

• A formal qualification (degree level or equivalent) in mechanical, aeronautical, physics or related engineering discipline. Alternatively, a fully time‑served engineer supported by recognised apprenticeship and / or significant demonstratable experience in a related discipline.

Desirable Qualifications

• Professional membership / Chartered Engineer (CEng) of a relevant institute e.g., Institute of Mechanical Engineers, Royal Aeronautical Society, Institute of Explosive Engineers etc.

Essential skills

• Proven Experience as a Design Authority - Leading a technical development programme.
• Working within a safety critical environment.
• Very High Level Knowledge and Experience of DFMEA - with the ability to:
• Setup and manage DFMEA's.
• Identify Key Manufacturing & Design Processes.
• Identify Key design characteristics.
• Working with regulatory Standards.
• Must be a good Engineering Leader/Manager (Not Line Manager).
• Good Communication skills written and verbal.

Desired skills

• Rocket Motor Experience - Desired but not essential.
• Understanding in CAD design, stress analysis, thermal analysis, ballistic analysis, solid propellants, materials, trials, production engineering and project management.
• Demonstrates behaviours that align with values of ‘Commitment’, ‘Innovation’, ‘Trust’ and ‘Teamwork’.
• Proven ability to manage projects through the entire engineering development lifecycle.
• Motivated and driven to deliver results according to defined timescales and expected standards.
• Strong communicator with the ability to build relationships with the customer and other internal technical specialists.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Positive attitude and work ethic.
• Able to manage own time and prioritise tasks.

Experience

Essential Experience

• Proven Experience as a Design Authority.
• Significant previous proven experience in an engineering team environment developing products to meet customer requirements.
• A sound understanding of engineering (mathematics, stressing, materials (metals and polymers) and manufacturing techniques.
• IT literate with experience of working with Microsoft Office tools (Power Point, Excel, Word, etc).
• An interest and aptitude in both the theory and practical aspects of engineering and in particular rocket motor design.
• An ability to assimilate and evaluate technical information from a wide range of disciplines with a high attention to detail.
• An ability to present complex problems clearly and logically to other specialist and non‑specialist engineers.
• Experience working with safety‑critical products and knowledge of regulatory standards requirements e.g. DEF STAN 07-085.
• Excellent document/report writing skills.
• Trials/assessment testing experience (e.g. structural testing, vibration, etc).

Desirable Experience

• A good understanding of DFMEA, ‘Design to Cost’ and ‘Design for Manufacture’ principles.
• Experience of bids and commercial management in Defence, Automotive or Manufacturing Engineering environment.
• Experience of Managing within a EN9100 or Quality Management System culture.

What do I need before I apply

• Ability to gain SC level of clearance.
• Ability to work on the client site near Kidderminster 5 days per week. Once bedded into team there will be opportunities to work 1 day per week from home.

Benefits

• Collaborative working environment – we stand shoulder to shoulder with our clients and our peers through good times and challenges.
• We empower all passionate technology loving professionals by allowing them to expand their skills and take part in inspiring projects.
• Expleo Academy - enables you to acquire and develop the right skills by delivering a suite of accredited training courses.
• Competitive company benefits.
• Always working as one team, our people are not afraid to think big and challenge the status quo.

As a Disability Confident Committed Employer we have committed to:

• Ensure our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible.
• Communicating and promoting vacancies.
• Offering an interview to disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for the job.
• Anticipating and providing reasonable adjustments as required.
• Supporting any existing employee who acquires a disability or long term health condition, enabling them to stay in work.

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation or age. We treat everyone fairly and equitably across the organisation, including providing any additional support and adjustments needed for everyone to thrive.