Mechanical Lead

Mechanical Product Development Lead / Senior Mechanical Design Engineer
Birmingham | £45,000-£55,000 + 10% bonus + benefits
Take an ambitious product vision. Own it. And bring it to life.

We're partnering with an exciting, well-funded UK technology start-up at a pivotal point in its journey. Founded by two ambitious entrepreneurs and recently backed by US investment, the business has developed an innovative AI-enabled consumer product combining sophisticated mechanical, electrical, electronic, and thermal technologies. But what exists today is only the beginning.

The architecture for the company's next-generation commercial product is already taking shape. Now they need an exceptional mechanical engineer to help turn that vision into reality. This is a rare opportunity to take genuine ownership of a product's development. We're looking for someone smart, creative, organised, intensely curious and hungry to build.

The opportunity
Working closely with the founders and wider engineering team in Birmingham, you'll become one of the key people responsible for developing the next generation of the company's technology. You'll start with an existing product, an established technology platform and a vision for its future commercial application. Your job is to connect the dots.

What have we already built? Where does the commercial product need to get to? What do we already know will work? Where are the gaps? And what engineering, technology and design decisions will get us there?

You'll take those questions and turn them into a structured product development programme. That means mechanical design, prototyping and testing - but it also means systems integration, research, certification, supplier engagement, technology selection, and real-world product discovery.

What you'll own
You'll take significant ownership for the mechanical development and integration of a complex physical product, including:

- Developing the mechanical architecture from concept through prototype, validation, and manufacture
- Owning parts, assemblies, and production drawings
- Integrating mechanical, electrical, electronic, thermal, gas, and control systems into one cohesive product
- Identifying technical gaps and creating structured development plans to resolve them
- Exploring different technologies and engineering approaches rather than defaulting to what's been done before
- Designing precision mechanisms, enclosures, seals, and thermally managed assemblies
- Applying GD&T and tolerance stack-up analysis to ensure designs work reliably in production
- Selecting materials and finishes for demanding environments
- Using thermal and mechanical analysis to de-risk designs before prototyping
- Designing for manufacture across sheet metal, CNC, additive manufacturing, fabrication, stamping, and casting
- Developing prototypes, test methods, and validation programmes
- Driving reliability, durability, and life testing
- Working with suppliers to turn technical requirements into manufacturable components
- Maintaining disciplined CAD, BOM, revision and engineering change data
- Supporting product certification and generating the engineering evidence required to achieve it
- Managing the day-to-day development activity required to keep the programme moving forward

Some of the most important answers won't necessarily be found in Birmingham. This role will involve international travel, including Canada and the US, as part of product research, certification, and development. That could mean working alongside certification specialists, visiting suppliers, investigating technologies, or spending time with potential commercial users to understand how products are used in the real world.

Who we're looking for
Your background could come from:
Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace, Biomedical / Med Tech, Robotics, Consumer Products, Automotive, Industrial Design, Advanced Engineering. However, industry isn't the deciding factor. You may already have several years of product development experience and have taken complex mechanical products from concept into manufacture. Or you may be earlier in your career but able to demonstrate…