Lead Design Engineer

Lead Design Engineer

Location: Derby

Salary: Negotiable + Annual Bonus & Benefits

Type: Permanent | Full-Time | Office-Based

Lead Design Engineer – Electrical / Multidisciplinary Engineering

Are you an experienced Design Engineer ready to take greater ownership of technical delivery, lead engineering work packages and guide other engineers through complex design challenges?

An established engineering consultancy operating within the UK transportation sector is looking for a Lead Design Engineer to join its Design Engineering team in Derby.

While experience within rail or rolling stock would be advantageous, it is not essential . We are equally interested in experienced engineers from other highly regulated, safety-critical engineering sectors, including Aerospace, Automotive, Transportation and Vehicle Engineering , where robust design processes, technical assurance and engineering standards are fundamental.

An electrical engineering bias is particularly desirable , although strong multidisciplinary candidates and those with mechanical backgrounds will also be considered.

This could suit an experienced Senior Design Engineer, Principal Design Engineer, Lead Engineer or Project Engineer with a strong design background who wants to combine technical engineering with project leadership and design governance.

The Opportunity

This isn't a role where you'll spend every day producing CAD models and drawings yourself.

Instead, you'll take responsibility for bringing engineering design together.

Working across varied rolling stock modification and engineering projects, you'll oversee the delivery of design work packages and provide technical leadership to the engineers allocated to your projects.

You'll coordinate mechanical and electrical activities, challenge engineering decisions, review technical outputs and ensure the team is considering the complete picture – from installation and maintainability through to safety, compliance, cost and customer requirements.

You'll also act as a key interface between Design Engineering, Project Engineering, Project Management, customers and suppliers , ensuring projects remain structured, controlled and deliverable.

The emphasis is on technical leadership rather than formal line management . You'll guide and coordinate engineers according to the projects you're responsible for, rather than managing their appraisals and HR activities. Lead Design Engineers take technical governance of projects while the design unit retains formal line management responsibility. The emphasis is on technical leadership rather than formal line management.

What You'll Be Doing

• Lead and coordinate the delivery of engineering design work packages.
• Provide technical direction to Design Engineers working across electrical and mechanical disciplines.
• Translate engineering requirements into clear, structured and deliverable design activities.
• Allocate work according to engineering competency, project priorities and available resources.
• Monitor progress, engineering hours and key deliverables, identifying issues before they impact the project.
• Lead design reviews and support projects through key design gateways.
• Review and check engineering drawings, models and technical documentation.
• Ensure designs satisfy customer, safety, operational, structural, fire, human factors and other applicable requirements.
• Challenge engineering solutions to ensure installation, maintenance, integration, cost and whole-life considerations have been addressed.
• Coordinate design inputs and ensure different engineering disciplines successfully integrate.
• Manage design changes, drawing registers, technical actions, risks and project documentation.
• Work closely with Project Engineers and Project Managers to communicate progress and resolve technical issues.
• Liaise directly with customers, suppliers and other engineering stakeholders.
• Support project estimating, bids and design work-package budgeting.
• Mentor and support Design Engineers, helping develop their technical capability.
• Identify opportunities to improve engineering processes, standards and ways of working.

Depending on the project, you could take ownership of a major long-term engineering programme or coordinate several shorter consultancy projects simultaneously, requiring strong organisation and the ability to manage competing engineering priorities.

What We're Looking For

We're looking for someone with a strong design engineering foundation who has progressed beyond simply producing their own designs and can now take ownership of wider engineering delivery.

You may already be operating as a Lead or Principal Engineer, or you could be a strong Senior Design Engineer or Project Engineer who has been technically leading work packages without necessarily holding a formal management title.

You'll ideally bring:

• A strong background within electrical, mechanical or multidisciplinary design engineering.
• Experience within a regulated, safety-critical engineering environment .
• Experience leading or taking ownership of engineering design work packages.
• The ability to coordinate and technically guide other engineers/designers.
• Strong understanding of engineering drawings, models and technical documentation.
• Experience reviewing/checking engineering drawings and challenging design solutions.
• Knowledge of structured design reviews, technical assurance or design gateway processes.
• Experience managing technical risks, actions, changes and project deliverables.
• Strong stakeholder communication skills, including working with customers, suppliers or multidisciplinary project teams.
• A structured, process-driven approach to engineering quality and delivery.
• The confidence to challenge existing thinking, identify improvements and drive actions through to completion.
• An HNC, HND, Degree or equivalent experience within a relevant engineering discipline.

Candidates with an electrical engineering background are particularly encouraged to apply.

Experience within rail or rolling stock remains highly desirable , but candidates should not be discouraged from applying if their background instead comes from Aerospace, Automotive, Transportation, Vehicle Engineering or another comparable safety-critical engineering environment .

Experience with Solid Edge would be useful but isn't essential. Experience with comparable CAD platforms is transferable; what's more important is the ability to understand and review models, drawing structures and high-quality 2D engineering outputs.

Why Apply?

This is an opportunity to move beyond purely hands-on design and take genuine ownership of how engineering is delivered.

You'll work across a varied portfolio of projects rather than being limited to one product or programme, combining technical engineering, design leadership, project delivery and customer interaction .

You'll join an established engineering consultancy and experienced design function where you'll have the opportunity to influence engineering decisions, mentor other engineers and contribute to improvements in processes and technical standards.

The package includes a negotiable salary, company bonus and comprehensive benefits , alongside support for continued professional development.