Mechanical Design Engineer- Interior​/Exterior

40000 - 50000 per annum

Norwich, England Permanent Yacht  Designer Company Overview We are a world-class British builder of luxury bluewater sailing yachts, recognised internationally for exceptional design, engineering excellence, and high-quality craftsmanship. With a long-standing heritage in yacht building, we deliver bespoke sailing yachts designed for offshore performance, comfort, and safety. Our teams combine modern digital design methods with hands-on production expertise to produce truly premium vessels.

The Opportunity We're looking for an Yacht Designer to join a busy in-house Design team working on exterior and interior designs , collaborating with designers, naval architects, and project managers to take exterior concepts through to production release.

Based in Southampton or Wroxham, you'll produce detailed exterior outfit and deck-layout designs, assemblies, and fabrication drawings, and provide ongoing technical support throughout the build cycle. This role suits someone who enjoys combining creative exterior design with practical engineering and production realities, working closely with build teams and suppliers.

Key Responsibilities Create and maintain detailed drawings aligned to project plans, build schedules, and new-product programmes

Develop and maintain an accurate 3D digital model ("digital twin") of the yacht for production use Produce, manage, and control technical information relating to exterior outfit and supporting engineering data Release design packs and coordinate with external suppliers and fabricators

Support surface modelling and GRP tooling design activities

Provide project teams with technical input to support customer decision-making and specification selections

Work closely with production teams to identify issues early, resolve design/buildability challenges, and reduce rework/lost time Maintain and update design databases (e.g., drawing registers, weight estimates, sail/deck plans, general arrangements)
Design deck fittings, standard parts, bespoke components, and custom fabrications

Develop designs for stainless steel and other metalwork fabrications

Design exterior mechanical systems and installations (e.g., pushpits, passerelles, biminis, deck hatches)
Provide clear, accurate technical documentation to enable efficient build and installation

About You (Required Skills & Experience)
Proven experience in a comparable design role (marine preferred)
Strong 3D parametric CAD capability (experience with NX is desirable)
Strong 2D AutoCAD drafting skills

Understanding of fabrication/manufacture in stainless steel, aluminium, and composites

Good understanding of mechanical systems and installations

Practical knowledge/interest in sailing yachts and how systems are used in the real world

Ability to interpret and produce detailed technical drawings and design documentation

Confident communicator, comfortable working closely with production teams and translating design intent into buildable solutions

Competent in Microsoft Office (especially Excel)
Proactive, organised, and able to manage multiple priorities and deadlines

Qualifications /

Desirable Experience Degree (or equivalent experience) in Design, Engineering, or similar

Practical experience within the marine industry

Knowledge of naval architecture principles

Understanding of sailing systems (e.g., hydraulic rams, furlers, winches)
Experience designing/specifying exterior yacht components and systems