Senior Research Engineer - Additive Manufacturing; Arc-DED

The Vacancy Lead the Future of Metal Additive Manufacturing

Are you an experienced Additive Manufacturing specialist with expertise in Arc-based Directed Energy Deposition (Arc-DED)? Do you want to work at the forefront of manufacturing innovation, leading industry-transforming research and development projects?

At the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), we are looking for a Senior Research Engineer - Additive Manufacturing (Arc-DED) to play a pivotal role in advancing metal additive manufacturing technologies for UK industry. This is an exciting opportunity to combine technical leadership, strategic influence and team development within one of the UK's leading research and technology organisations.

Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) is a world-renowned research and development organisation that bridges the gap between academia and industry. Our engineers, scientists and technicians work with state-of-the-art equipment and technologies, delivering cutting-edge solutions that help manufacturers improve competitiveness, productivity and innovation. We collaborate across sectors including aerospace, automotive, defence, rail, infrastructure, energy and advanced manufacturing.

As part of the UK's High Value Manufacturing Catapult, we operate world-class facilities across Coventry, Liverpool and Oxford, supporting the future of UK manufacturing.

Joining our Additive Manufacturing team, you will be responsible for leading the technical delivery of Arc-DED projects, driving capability development and shaping the future direction of metal additive manufacturing technology within MTC. You will work closely with industrial customers, research partners and internal stakeholders to deliver innovative solutions that generate real-world impact.

This role also offers the opportunity to lead and develop a team of talented engineers, helping to build technical capability and support the growth of additive manufacturing expertise across the business.

• Lead the technical delivery of MTC's Arc-DED project portfolio, ensuring outstanding quality, customer satisfaction, budget control and on-time delivery.
• Drive the strategic development of Arc-DED technology capability, including capital investment decisions and industrial engagement activities.
• Deliver innovative research and development projects focused on Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) and Manufacturing Readiness Levels (MRL) 3+.
• Support business development activities, including identifying opportunities and contributing to technical proposals.
• Coach, mentor and develop engineers within the Additive Manufacturing team.
• Build strong relationships with customers, industry partners and academic collaborators to maximise the impact of additive manufacturing technologies.

• Strong technical background in Arc-DED Additive Manufacturing and associated manufacturing process chains.
• Experience delivering DED process development programmes using structured Design of Experiments (DoE) methodologies.
• Deep understanding of DED hardware, software and their impact on material consolidation and component quality.
• Knowledge of additive manufacturing process and material qualification methodologies.
• Experience with Arc-DED in-process monitoring technologies.
• Demonstrable experience leading medium to large-scale technical projects.
• Leadership or management experience within engineering teams.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.

• Experience with other additive manufacturing technologies across metals, polymers or ceramics.
• Knowledge of AM-related metallurgy.
• Experience in feedstock characterisation and mechanical testing.
• Surface finishing and post-processing of AM components.
• Expos…