Advanced Mechancial Design Engineer

Vertical Aerospace; Bristol; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company in electric aviation, Vertical Aerospace is seeking an Advanced Mechanical Design Engineer to contribute to the development of cutting-edge battery systems for their eVTOL aircraft. You will be integral to managing complex design processes, collaborating with cross-functional teams, and driving innovation in a fast-paced environment. This position offers a unique opportunity to shape the future of advanced air mobility while enjoying a supportive and flexible work culture.

Benefits

26 days holiday, plus bank holiday

5 extra days per year to buy (or sell)

Company performance based bonus

Company Share Scheme

Company Pension Scheme - 5% matched

Breakfast on us, every day

Qualifications

• 5+ years' experience delivering designs for energy storage systems.
• Experience in DFMEA and interactions with various engineering disciplines.
• Ability to present complex problems to senior management.

Responsibilities

• Lead design development of mechanical and thermal sub-systems for battery packs.
• Collaborate with multiple engineering teams to manage internal and external interfaces.
• Create and verify design plans in accordance with prototype milestones.

Skills

Product Lifecycle Management

CAD modelling

Engineering drawings

DFMEA

Requirements decomposition

Thermal Simulation

Education

Degree in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent

Tools

CATIA V6

3dx

MS Office

Job description

Our Mission

At Vertical Aerospace, we are pioneering the way for electric aviation. The VX4, our eVTOL (electric, vertical, take-off and landing), 'zero emissions' aircraft will set a new safety standard for how we will navigate the sky.

We won't realise our mission following the same legacy processes and traditions our predecessors followed; instead, we want to 'redefine' aerospace best practices.

We are growing quickly from a prototype business to a scaling SME, and the next few years will be critical to our success and delivering on our ambitious goals of having the VX4 in service by 2030.

What to Expect

As an Advanced Mechanical Design Engineer, you will join the ESS (Energy Storage System) Team based in Bristol. Your team is responsible for delivering the Battery Packs for the fully electric propulsion system of our aircraft.

A typical day could range from designing and releasing components and engineering drawings in 3dx/CATIA to conducting DFMA with our Manufacturing Engineering team, or working with systems engineers to decompose and validate regulatory and company requirements. You might also find yourself producing technical requirements and engineering statement of work for supplied components, derisking your items and systems through DFMEA and verification planning, or creating and delivering plans against prototype and development milestones, e.g. CDR.

Your ability to take ownership of complex design and engineering interfaces from definition into verification will be critical, along with crystal clear communication to allow rapid progress.

What You'll Do

• Lead or support the design development of some of the mechanical and thermal sub-systems within the VX4 ESS.

• Work closely with a team of design engineers to manage internal interfaces, but also other aircraft teams to manage interfaces.

• Collaborate with stress engineers and simulation engineers to validate your design structurally and thermally.

• Partner with Manufacturing Engineering to enable the assembly of your battery designs.

• Interface with Supply chain and Quality to ensure components are delivered to schedule and meeting their key characteristics.

• Work in CAD, PLM and MS office, but also support builds and physical testing.

What You'll Bring

Essential

• A degree in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent.

• Minimum of 5 years' experience delivering designs for energy storage systems or other complex electrical/electronic systems.

• Good experience in Product Lifecycle Management, CAD modelling and engineering drawings, ideally with 3dx and CATIA V6.

• Ability to plan out several engineering workstreams.

• At ease with presenting complex problems with clarity to senior management.

• Experience in supporting DFMEA plus interfaces with PFMEA/Control Plan/Verification plan.

• Experience in requirements decomposition and validation.

• Strong ability to interface with the following engineering disciplines: Mechanical and Thermal Simulation Engineers, Electrical Design Engineers, Manufacturing Engineers, Integration Engineers, Systems Engineers.

Desirable

• Experience in Aerospace Qualification and Certification.

• Knowledge of Battery Mechanical, Electrical, Thermal and Thermal Runaway management.

• Knowledge in GD&T, tolerance stacking and management of Key/Critical Characteristics. Experience conducting DFMA processes.

• Knowledge of Manufacturing and Assembly methods suitable for Battery Packs.

• Mechanical or Thermal simulation capability.

• Experience managing non-conformance.

• Experience of full product development cycle from concept to production and in-service.

• Familiarity with DFMEA management tools such as APIS-IQ.

• Familiarity with Requirements Management tools such as DOORS, JAMA, etc.

What can you expect from us?

We're on a mission. Where others see limits, we see opportunity, and we work at pace. Working at Vertical isn't your average role but for those seeking a challenge, a flexible, supportive organisation and an incredible team; working here is an opportunity to do the best work of your career.

Our approach promotes ingenuity and courage, while our environment builds success through diligence in safety and being open in the way we work. The only way we're going to assure the next chapter of aviation history is by working as a team, relentlessly, towards our goal.

Our benefits

Our people matter - we're not going anywhere without them. Which is why our company benefits go beyond the essentials.

• 26 days holiday, plus bank holiday

• 5 extra days per year to buy (or sell)

• 5 extra days holiday when you get married or enter a civil partnership

• Additional 4% of your salary to spend on extra benefits

• Award-winning digital health and wellbeing service (Help@Hand)

• Company performance based bonus - rewarding company and individual performance

• Company Share Scheme - open to every Vertical employee

• Company Pension Scheme - 5% and we match it

• Breakfast on us, every day

We may just be the hardest job you've ever had, but we're confident it will be the most rewarding. Join the team today and help us shape the future of Advanced Air Mobility.

Disclaimer Statement

We encourage you to apply even if you may not have all the experience listed in the advert. We recognise that talent comes in various forms and we are committed to providing opportunities that create an environment of growth, diversity, and inclusion for everyone. As part of our desire to review and make our processes fair, we may ask you questions related to these aspects during the application process. For more information on how we will use your data, see our Legal section.