Senior Mechanical Design Engineer in Cambridge

This is an excellent opportunity for a Senior Mechanical Design Engineer who wants technical ownership, programme variety and the chance to influence real engineering outcomes.

This is a Mechanical Design role, focused on the design, development, modification and support of complex physical products. You will use Autodesk Inventor for 3D CAD, detailed design and drawing production, with Windchill PLM used for product data management, configuration control, engineering change and release.

At Marshall Land Systems, our mechanical design engineers do not work on the same product day after day. Our programmes are varied, technically challenging and often bespoke, meaning every project brings a different engineering problem to solve. Our teams work across a wide range of specialist land systems, including deployable infrastructure, command and control modules, medical and support facilities, protected mobility solutions, mission systems and complex vehicle‑mounted equipment.

This role is not about repeatedly designing the same product. You will support bids, new product development, modifications, configuration control, production support, integration, trials and in‑service improvements.

As a Senior Engineer – Mechanical Design, you will be expected to apply sound engineering judgement, guide others, make technical decisions and help maintain continuity of design intent across complex programmes. You will also support the development of less experienced engineers through technical guidance, coaching and checking.

You will be joining a strong and supportive mechanical design team, working from our modern Cambridge offices and collaborating with colleagues across the UK, Canada and the Netherlands.

This opportunity is a hybrid role requiring you to be onsite in Cambridge around 50–70% of the time.

Job Description

A Senior Engineer – Mechanical Design is required to take lead responsibility for mechanical design activities, provide continuity of design intent and configuration control, and ensure effective coordination across programme, manufacturing, supply chain, quality and integration stakeholders.

The role will be to act as a senior mechanical design engineer, providing Subject Matter Expert leadership and guidance in the development of bids and delivery of projects. There will also be occasions where the successful candidate will lead specific projects or work packages.

The role will require working with the current team to generate and develop requirements, define mechanical architecture, produce and check engineering data, and support technical planning. The role will also involve coaching and supporting others within the team.

The successful candidate will use Autodesk Inventor for 3‑D modelling, detailed design and drawing production, with Windchill PLM used to manage product structures, item data, configuration control, engineering change and release.

Your Responsibilities Will Include

• Act as a Mechanical Design Subject Matter Expert across bids, projects and product modifications.
• Take technical ownership of mechanical design activities across varied programmes and product types.
• Produce, review and check mechanical design outputs, including 3‑D models, 2‑D drawings, item lists, product structures, design data and technical documentation.
• Use Autodesk Inventor to develop robust 3‑D models, assemblies, drawings and design solutions.
• Use Windchill PLM to manage product data, configuration control, engineering change, item data, Bills of Material and release activity.
• Support the generation of complex mechanical design architectures for new and existing product design concepts, from initial risk assessment and feasibility studies through to functional design freeze.
• Lead technical input into bids, modifications and project delivery activities.
• Generate, review and check technical documentation, including project plans, technical proposals, customer and supplier statements of work, design data and certification evidence.
• Apply sound systems engineering thinking to mechanical design activities.
• Work with stakeholder and customer requirements to derive internal design requirements.
• Develop mechanical approaches for modifications, upgrades and new project work.
• Provide technical leadership, coaching and support to mechanical design engineers and early careers engineers.
• Support continuity of design intent and maintain configuration control across complex programmes.
• Support design reviews, technical reviews and change boards.
• Work collaboratively with programme, manufacturing, supply chain, quality, integration and operations teams.
• Support the resolution of technical issues during build, integration, trials and in‑service support.
• Help improve engineering quality, design standards, manufacturability and ways of working across the Mechanical Design function.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory, customer and Marshall processes.
• Bring significant platform, product and regulatory experience to the efficient and effective completion of engineering data sets.

What Makes Someone Successful Here

We are looking for engineers who enjoy solving practical problems, working with others and taking ownership of their work. The best people in our team are curious, hands‑on, comfortable with detail and able to balance technical quality with programme needs.

You do not need to have worked on exactly the same products before. Experience in aerospace, defence, automotive, rail, special purpose machinery, heavy engineering, structural fabrication, vehicle systems, marine, energy or other complex engineering environments could all be relevant. What matters is your ability to think clearly, work from requirements, produce robust design solutions and collaborate across functions.

Our programmes vary significantly in size, scope, customer need and technical challenge. That variety keeps the work interesting and gives engineers the opportunity to keep learning, solve new problems and build a broad engineering skillset.

Qualifications

Qualified to degree level in Engineering, Mathematics or Physics with relevant and sufficient experience in the field. Alternative qualifications and/or experience will be considered.

Apply if you have most of the following

• Demonstrable experience working as a Senior Mechanical Design Engineer or experienced Mechanical Design Engineer within a complex engineering environment.
• Experience producing, reviewing or checking mechanical design data, including 3‑D models, 2‑D drawings, item lists, product structures and technical documentation.
• Experience using Autodesk Inventor for mechanical design would be beneficial. Experience with other 3‑D CAD systems will also be considered.
• Experience using Windchill PLM for product data management, configuration control, engineering change and release would be beneficial. Experience with other PLM or PDM systems will also be considered.
• Strong understanding of mechanical design delivery, including CAD modelling, drawing production, design checking, configuration management and release.
• Ability to apply sound systems engineering thinking to mechanical design work.
• In‑depth understanding of industry standard design practices such as tolerance assessment, design for manufacture and assembly, configuration management and design governance.
• Experience working from stakeholder or customer requirements to derive practical internal design requirements.
• Experience developing mechanical approaches for modifications, upgrades, new designs or complex project work.
• Ability to compile technical reports, certification documentation and supporting design evidence.
• Understanding of mechanical certification and validation methods, with the ability to identify appropriate means of compliance.
• Experience planning and delivering complex tasks to schedule and budget.
• Ability to manage priorities across multiple projects or work packages.
• Confidence to provide sound technical input based on facts, evidence and engineering judgement.
• Ability to support, coach and guide less experienced engineers.
• Experience in aerospace or defence would be beneficial, but we are also interested in engineers from other complex or regulated engineering sectors such as automotive, rail, heavy engineering, special purpose machinery, structural fabrication, vehicle systems, marine, energy or industrial equipment.
• Structural design experience would be beneficial, including understanding of structural theory and experience developing structural solutions, particularly for steel welded frames.

The Benefits We Will Offer You Include

• 27 days holiday increasing with service up to 30 days, with the option to buy or sell leave.
• Pension contributions up to 9%.
• Private medical insurance.
• Extensive flexible benefit programme including Cycle to Work.
• Life assurance at 4× basic salary.
• Enhanced parental leave and pay.
• Paid volunteering leave.
• Access to industry‑leading wellbeing resources and tools.

Introduction to Marshall Land Systems

Marshall Land Systems is a Canadian‑owned global company with an unrivalled pedigree of British engineering excellence. From its origins in Cambridge, UK, through more than a century of innovation, pioneering advances from the nose of Concorde to the early Hydrogen fuel cell technology that ultimately powered the moon landings, Marshall engineers now continue to innovate specialist vehicles and infrastructure for NATO forces across the world.

From bomb disposal vehicles to deployed shelters, from command and control to CT scanners on the battlefield, Marshall Land Systems protects people in critical situations with the very best in engineering. It employs around 600 people with major facilities in the UK, Canada and the Netherlands.

Due to the nature of our business, all employment is subject to satisfactory references being obtained, attainment of either a SC Security Check, Disclosure Scotland Criminal Record Check or Foreign Police Check, whichever is applicable depending on duration of UK residency, and, as applicable, a medical assessment. Access to US technical data by employees requires prior Trade Control function approval. Clearance must be carried out against all applicable US export control authorisations.