Lead Mechanical Design Engineer in Rishton

Lead Mechanical Design Engineer – Special Purpose Machinery – East Lancashire – £60-65k – 4-Day Week Are you a Lead Mechanical Design Engineer, Principal Design Engineer or Senior Mechanical Design Engineer who wants to own the whole machine, not just one corner of it? Samuel Frank is working with an established special purpose machinery manufacturer in East Lancashire to recruit a Lead Mechanical Design Engineer. You’ll take a customer specification from first concept through to a finished, commissioned machine, leading a small team of design engineers along the way. About the business They design and build bespoke, special purpose machinery for advanced manufacturing, including battery development, carbon fibre and defence. No two projects are the same. Some adapt proven designs, others start from a blank sheet for a brand-new process. Lead times are short, so you’ll see your designs manufactured, assembled and commissioned within months rather than years. The Lead Mechanical Design Engineer role * Take the customer specification and initial sales layout and develop the overall machine concept and full 3D assembly. * Identify proven designs that can be adapted, and design new mechanisms and equipment where nothing existing will do the job. * Break each special purpose machinery project into sub-assemblies and allocate work across a team of up to four mechanical design engineers. * Review drawings, design progress and technical decisions to keep quality, programme and cost on target. * Work with specialist colleagues on engineering calculations and FEA, checking results against the technical brief. * Lead design reviews and contribute to risk assessments, technical files and CE/UKCA compliance. * Work closely with manufacturing, controls, purchasing and project teams through machine build and commissioning. What you’ll need * Strong mechanical design experience in special purpose machinery, bespoke machinery, industrial automation or similar engineered capital equipment. * The ability to turn an initial specification into a workable whole-machine design, not simply detail existing assemblies. * Experience leading, coordinating or mentoring design engineers, reviewing their work and keeping projects on schedule. * Good commercial awareness: design hours, manufacturing deadlines and the knock-on effect of late drawing releases. * 3D CAD skills. Autodesk Inventor is preferred, but other 3D CAD packages will be considered. * A practical understanding of manufacturing methods, mechanical components and machine design. * Web handling, coating, converting or roll-to-roll machinery experience would be a bonus but isn’t essential. Why take this Lead Mechanical Design Engineer role? * Salary £60,000 – £65,000, depending on experience. * 40-hour week compressed into four days – a three-day weekend, every weekend. A four-and-a-half-day option is also available. * Varied, technically advanced special purpose machinery projects in niche industrial processes and R&D. * Full ownership of complete machine designs, and the chance to see the finished equipment built on site. * A senior technical position leading a team of mechanical design engineers. Who will this suit? This Lead Mechanical Design Engineer position will suit someone who enjoys conceptual design, likes solving unfamiliar engineering problems and wants more variety than a repetitive product design role. It would equally suit a Senior Mechanical Design Engineer, Principal Mechanical Engineer, Design Team Leader or Machine Design Engineer from a special purpose machinery or automation background who is ready for the next step. Location Office-based in East Lancashire, within easy reach of Blackburn, Burnley, Darwen, Rossendale, Clitheroe, Preston, Bury, Bolton and Rochdale. Interested? If you’re a Lead Mechanical Design Engineer or Senior Mechanical Design Engineer from a special purpose machinery or bespoke machinery background, apply now or contact Samuel Frank for a confidential conversation