Lead Project Engineer; Mechanical Innovation

Safran Seats is a premium designer and manufacturer of First and Business Class seating and technology. Our passenger experience prides itself on innovation, customization, quality and industrial design.

We interface with both the world's biggest airlines and airframers alike, with the largest seats portfolio of all seats suppliers. One day you could be liaising with one of the world's largest airframers, and the next, some of the biggest airline brands around the world!

In the UK, Safran Seats specialises solely in the First Class and Business Class seating markets for wide body aircraft, with industrial and engineering teams in Cwmbran and Newport, Wales and Brackley, England.

In this new role you will lead and deliver a pipeline of mechanical innovation projects that add value to our products, through a balanced focus on leadership and hands‑on engineering. Working across premium seat subsystems, you will drive improvements in light weighting, reliability and robustness, mechanism simplification, safety, passenger comfort/experience, cost and design for manufacture and assembly (DFMA). You will scope and secure external funding for innovation projects, lead a small team of engineers and trainees, and be accountable for the mechanical design, creation and maintenance of our showcase technology demonstrators.

You will be responsible for defining and delivering mechanical innovations that differentiate our products and support future customer needs. Reporting to the Head of R&T, you will lead a small team, setting technical direction and providing day‑to‑day guidance. Your team will also manage departmental prototyping and workshop facilities and ensure effective use of wider company prototype/test services.

• Deliver a portfolio of mechanical innovation projects that improve weight, reliability, safety, passenger comfort and cost.
• Provide line management for a small team of engineers and trainees, including objective setting, performance reviews, and day‑to‑day coaching.
• Secure financial support through proposals and engagement with funding bodies.
• Provide hands‑on technical leadership: perform and review mechanical design work, using analysis tools (e.g. FEA, tolerance and kinematics analysis) to de‑risk designs.

Essential:

• Degree (or equivalent experience) in Mechanical Engineering or a closely related engineering discipline, with significant experience (typically 5+ years) delivering mechanical systems from concept through detailed design.
• High proficiency in 3D CAD, with experience using structural analysis (e.g. FEA) and tolerance/kinematic analysis to support design decisions.
• Experience with PLM and configuration management tools and processes.
• Practical, hands‑on prototyping and workshop skills (e.g. mock‑up build, basic fabrication, assembly and debugging of mechanical systems).

Desirable:

• Experience leading project work packages and providing mentoring or line management to engineers, graduates or trainees.
• Proven experience designing for manufacture and assembly (DFMA) across relevant materials (e.g. metallics, composites, plastics).
• Experience collaborating with external partners (e.g. universities, research organisations, technology suppliers) and contributing to externally funded innovation proposals.
• Familiarity with structured technology maturation approaches, such as Technology Readiness Level (TRL) frameworks or equivalent.

Essential:

• Technical Leader – able to set clear direction, prioritise work and provide day‑to‑day guidance, coaching and support to an engineering team. You collaborate effectively beyond departmental boundaries.
• Communicative – can explain complex topics clearly to non‑experts, influence stakeholders and share learning verbally and in writing. Careful documentation of your work is second nature.
• Practical – hands‑on, comfortable engaging with prototypes and hardware, and applies a structured approach to diagnosing issues, generating options and converging on robust, practical solutions.
• Organised – reliable in planning,…