Chief Mechanical Design Engineer

BAE Systems; Chatham; On-site; GBP 63,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading aerospace and defense company in Chatham is looking for a Chief Mechanical Design Engineer. In this role, you will provide technical guidance in Mechanical Design, develop innovative processes for engineering excellence, and inspire and lead teams. The ideal candidate will have a strong Mechanical Engineering background, proven leadership skills, and experience engaging stakeholders. This position offers competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits.

Benefits

Competitive pension scheme

Employee share plans

Flexible health and wellbeing benefits

Qualifications

• Experience in engineering development lifecycle execution.
• Ability to provide technical direction across various engineering levels.
• Demonstrable ability to drive growth.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical guidance for Mechanical Design aspects.
• Develop processes for engineering excellence.
• Chair technical design reviews.

Skills

Mechanical Engineering background

Leadership skills

Stakeholder engagement

Avionic Systems experience

Education

Relevant qualification in Mechanical Engineering

Job description

Job Title: Chief Mechanical Design Engineer

Location: Rochester

Salary: Circa £75,000 per annum + annual bonus

What you’ll be doing:

• Providing technical guidance and governance of the design and delivery of all aspects of Mechanical Design
• Developing purpose-fit processes for engineering excellence. Your insights will lead to streamlined operations, enhanced craftsmanship, and vendors, raising the bar in tool improvement
• Providing valuable insight and advice on wider industry Mechanical Design technology, tools and processes
• Inspiring both teams and the larger enterprise to embrace innovative paradigms, to bridge disciplines and influence a culture of excellence
• Chairing and/or providing guidance to technical design reviews
• Deploying cross functional Model Based Engineering approaches into our development programmes, sharing best practice across both teams and the wider enterprise

Your skills and experiences:

• Mechanical Engineering background with a relevant qualification and experience
• Engineering development lifecycle execution experience within Mechanical Engineering domains
• Ability to provide technical direction and guidance at all engineering levels within the Mechanical Engineering department and Engineering as a whole
• Demonstrable leadership skills, in order to drive growth
• Ability to engage and negotiate with stakeholders, being able to deliver information at all levels, influence decision making and embed Process Improvement initiatives
• Ideally experience with Avionic Systems, Mission Systems, Safety Critical Control Systems, or Real-time Embedded/Display Systems, adds valuable insight to our teams

Benefits:

As well as a competitive pension scheme, BAE Systems also offers employee share plans, an extensive range of flexible discounted health, wellbeing and lifestyle benefits, including a green car scheme, private health plans and shopping discounts – you may also be eligible for an annual incentive.

The Engineering team:

You will provide technical guidance & oversight to our Engineering Teams within Mechanical Engineering, having a vital role in continuous improvement, enhancing processes, inspiring teams and driving efficiency in one of the world’s leading defence, security and aerospace companies. You will play a key part in technically guiding Mechanical design teams enabling the development and supply of products across a diverse mix of commercial and military platforms; Head Up and Head Worn Displays, Safety Critical Pilot Control and Flight Control Systems.

This will give you a direct influence on leading process innovation and propelling excellence, whilst driving a culture of creativity and collaboration.

Why BAE Systems?

This is a place where you’ll be able to make a real difference. You’ll be part of an inclusive culture that values diversity of thought, rewards integrity, and merit, and where you’ll be empowered to fulfil your potential. We welcome people from all backgrounds and want to make sure that our recruitment processes are as inclusive as possible. If you have a disability or health condition (for example dyslexia, autism, an anxiety disorder etc.) that may affect your performance in certain assessment types, please speak to your recruiter about potential reasonable adjustments.

Please be aware that many roles at BAE Systems are subject to both security and export control restrictions. These restrictions mean that factors such as your nationality, any nationalities you may have previously held, and your place of birth can restrict the roles you are eligible to perform within the organisation. All applicants must as a minimum achieve Baseline Personnel Security Standard. Many roles also require higher levels of National Security Vetting where applicants must typically have 5 to 10 years of continuous residency in the UK depending on the vetting level required for the role, to allow for meaningful security vetting checks.

Closing Date: 28th November 2025

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.