Mechanical Design Engineer

Mechanical Design Engineer | Robotics & Autonomous Systems

Location: Birmingham

Salary: up to £45K

Full time | Permanent

Design hardware that operates where failure isn’t an option

Are you a Mechanical Design Engineer working on drones, UAVs, robotics or advanced electromechanical products — and starting to feel boxed in by incremental upgrades or overly siloed roles?

This is an opportunity to take full ownership of real, mission-critical hardware, from concept through to manufacture, in a fast-moving engineering team building autonomous inspection systems for extreme environments.

What You’ll Be Working On

You’ll be designing field-deployable robotic hardware that must survive:

• Harsh weather and corrosive environments
• Confined, high-risk industrial spaces
• High consequence failure scenarios

Your role spans the entire product lifecycle:

• Concept design, prototyping and validation
• Detailed mechanical design and DFM-ready drawings
• BOM / CBOM ownership and engineering change control
• Close collaboration with electronics and software engineers

This is a hands-on, high-impact role — your designs won’t sit on a shelf.

This Role Is Ideal For Engineers With Experience In:

• Drones / UAVs / robotics / autonomous systems
• Lightweight structures and complex assemblies
• Electromechanical products with tight tolerances
• Designing for reliability, serviceability and manufacture
• Products that leave the lab and go into the real world

What You’ll Bring

• 2+ years’ experience in a mechanical engineering role
• Strong SolidWorks capability
• Proven mechanical design experience on physical products (portfolio required)
• Good DFM discipline and documentation practices
• Experience owning BOMs and engineering changes
• Enough electronics/software awareness to design intelligently alongside other disciplines

Nice To Have (Not Essential)

• Taking products from R&D into manufacture
• Experience with harsh environments (IP ratings, corrosion, impact)
• Background in aerospace, defence, energy or advanced robotics
• Cable management, tethered systems or deployable mechanisms