Contractor - Principal Design Engineer - Vehicle and Suspension Engineering

Ricardo, Inc.; Royal Leamington Spa, Shoreham-by-Sea; Hybrid; GBP 89,000 - 133,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working arrangements

Global project exposure

Job summary

Ricardo is seeking a Contractor - Principal Design Engineer in Vehicle and Suspension Engineering to join the Global Mechanical Design team. You will lead a team of mechanical designers to deliver complete systems from concept to production, coordinating across engineering disciplines.

You must have strong mechanical design background for vehicle/chassis, experience with CATIA V5 and PLM tools, and the ability to mentor engineers while delivering client-focused solutions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering.
• Substantive experience in mechanical design for vehicle and chassis.
• Ability to lead small design teams and collaborate with other disciplines.

Responsibilities

• Concept and 3D design of vehicle and suspension systems.
• Coordinate with FEA/CFD, suppliers and manufacturing teams.
• Produce technical reports and manage BOMs for projects.
• Mentor design engineers and lead small to mid-size projects.

Skills

Mechanical design expertise

Leadership of small teams

Strong English communication

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

CATIA V5

Windchill PLM

Job description

Contractor - Principal Design Engineer - Vehicle and Suspension Engineering

Pushing Boundaries: a World leader in propulsion engineering from concept to production Ricardo is a trusted engineering partner specialising in complex propulsion, driveline, and energy systems. We work with customers globally to deliver end-to-end solutions from initial design through to full production. For over 110 years, we have been at the forefront of world changing engineering innovation, partnering with many of the world’s most ambitious organisations to improve performance, push boundaries, and accelerate progress.
Headquartered in Shoreham by Sea (UK), Ricardo brings together more than 1,000 experts and delivers in excess of 200 major programmes globally at any given time. For more information, visit www.ricardo.com

The Role

Ricardo’s Engineering Division are seeking an enthusiastic and dynamic Contractor - Principal Design Engineer, you will be a part of the Global Mechanical Design team responsible for leading activities in the design of a Vehicle and Suspension Engineering, from clean sheet to production.

You will take responsibility for leading a team of mechanical designers to deliver a particular mechanical system or complete product and will need to manage and work effectively with other Engineering disciplines to develop system level solutions to implement designs, that satisfy component, system, product, and client requirements.

Key Responsibilities

• Concept and definitive 3D mechanical design of systems, system assemblies and complex components such as …subframes, suspension knuckles, control arms, tie rods, pitman arms.
• Detailed mechanical design work including basic stress calculations, FMEA’s, 2D detailing, 2D layouts, Tolerance stacks as required
• Close cooperation with FEA and Simulation teams to ensure products meet design validation requirements.
• Close cooperation with manufacturing and process engineers to ensure products meetDFMArequirements.
• Management ofBill of Materials.
• Creationof technical reports and documentation asrequiredfor engineering projects.
• Liaison with suppliers and other Ricardo departments to ensure the required information is available when needed and customer requests are dealt with in a timely manner.
• Responsibility forcoaching and mentoring design engineers in design techniques.Ability to take on project roles such as Lead Designer as required by the project,ability to lead small to mid size project teams.
• Understanding ofmarket sector trends and market development.

Key Competencies and Experience

• Degree (Bachelor or Masters) in Mechanical Engineering or similar field or with equivalent technical experience.
• Substantive experience in Mechanical Design Engineering with focus on Vehicle and Chassis Engineering.
• Broad range ofmechanical design knowledge specializing in one of the following areas: suspension design, sub frame design, suspension and steering components.
• Solid understanding ofmechanical engineering principles with ability to interpret FEA, CFD results and incorporate them in mechanical design. Good appreciation of suspension and steering design fundamental and vehicle dynamics, NVH, durability.
• Solid understanding ofmanufacturing processes, and their impact on design, experience with DFMA.
• Ability to understand, produce and check2D technical drawings to a high standard with high GD&T competency.
• Experienced user of CATIA V5.
• Experience with PLM systems,Windchill preferred.
• Leadership of small teams.
• Advanced capabilities inMicrosoft Office.

Personal Attributes

• Confident, proactive and adaptive ability to take the lead in challenging situations to achieve company goals and objectives.
• Acting as a role model representing the company values.
• Strong technical and report writing communication skill in English.
• Excellent problem solving and analytical skills.
• Able to prioritize and organize multiple project workloads and tasks working to tight deadlines.
• Able to travel to support supplier and customer discussions overseas.

Working here

You will be warmly welcomed into our workplace where every voice matters. We are diverse thinkers and doers, coming together to create a culture of inclusion. We will support you to find your place.

We will encourage you to use your passion and expertise to make a positive impact through the projects you work on. Your knowledge and desire to bring about change will be invaluable in helping deliver innovative solutions that support communities across the globe in becoming safer and more sustainable.

Work life balance

We offer flexible approaches to work, whether that is working from home, being in the office, or as a hybrid worker. We're happy to discuss flexible working arrangements. Wellbeing is at the core to our culture, allowing employees to flourish and to achieve their full potential.

Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion statement

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in each person's potential, and we'll help you reach yours. We have an ambitious diversity, equality, and inclusion approach as explained here. We value diversity; recognising that a more diverse workforce creates a richer and more varied working environment. Diversity also drives innovation, by allowing us to offer our clients the best consultancy service that we can. As part of our commitment to engage positively and pro-actively with all our employees and to ensure an inclusive culture, we are a recognised as a 'disability confident' employer.