Product Development Engineer

Department: New Product Development

Location: Luton, Bedfordshire

Reports To: Principal Engineering Manager

DETA is a well-established and thriving manufacturer and distributor of electrical products, including wiring accessories, LED lighting, safety alarms and EV chargers. The group incorporates brands such as Deta, Timeguard, Tower, Vimark, Bracken heath, Briticent, and Deta.e. DETA products are widely specified by major UK house builders and distributed through electrical wholesalers, merchants, and DIY retailers.

The company continues to grow strongly with a UK turnover in excess of £90 million.

The role requires a highly organised and proactive engineer with a disciplined, structured approach to problem‑solving and a positive, can‑do attitude. The successful candidate will communicate effectively at all levels, demonstrating strong verbal and written skills, and will confidently challenge assumptions and question designs in a constructive and professional manner. They will be comfortable working autonomously, using their own initiative to drive tasks forward, while also collaborating effectively within a multidisciplinary engineering and operational team to deliver robust product solutions.

• Support New Product Development (NPD) from early concept through to volume production.
• Collaborate with DETA’s manufacturing partners to translate product requirements, user needs, and applicable standards into robust and manufacturable mechanical designs.
• Plan, coordinate, and support prototype builds and design iterations.
• Lead FMEA reviews with relevant operations teams and drive the implementation of resulting action plans.
• Collaborate closely with Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Quality, Sourcing, and Supply Chain teams.
• Conduct internal product testing and coordinate external testing activities for products in development, investigating and resolving any identified issues.
• Define and manage product and packaging labelling and marking requirements, including packaging labels, instruction leaflets, and data sheets.
• Work with the Quality Team to investigate product issues, report findings, and manage product improvements with partner factories.
• Ensure products comply with relevant BS EN safety standards and directives, including EMC, REACH & RoHS.
• Produce and maintain technical documentation, including product specifications, packaging specifications, instruction leaflets, and data sheets.
• Maintain accurate and up‑to‑date technical support records, including WEEE and packaging weight data.

• Educated in an Engineering discipline with a Mechanical and Product Design Engineering bias.
• Able to identify product features and benefits.
• An appreciation of manufacturing processes, product standards and a quality approach to problem solving.
• Knowledge of electrical product application and electrical installation, including work practices on building sites would be of benefit.
• Ideally, knowledge of British/European Standards and legislation that relates to products within DETA’s portfolio.
• Experience in collaborating with offshore factories remotely.
• Ideally, knowledge of IET Wiring Regulations.
• Computer literate in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.