Graduate R&D Engineer

Oliver Valves; Knutsford; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 36,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension

Cash plan for medical expenses

Life Assurance

Long service awards

Employee Assistance Programme

Training opportunities

Job summary

Oliver Valves is seeking a Graduate R&D Engineer to join our Knutsford team. You’ll work on assembly, testing, and development of valve prototypes, helping maintain quality data and contribute to new product reviews.

Ideal candidates have a hands-on engineering background, attention to detail, and strong communication and problem-solving skills. Level 3 Engineering qualification preferred, with relevant practical experience welcomed.

Qualifications

• Practical and hands-on approach to engineering tasks.
• Excellent attention to detail and accuracy in work.
• Strong communication skills for team collaboration.
• Good problem-solving abilities to support design and testing.
• Level 3 qualification in Engineering preferred; relevant experience also considered.

Responsibilities

• Assemble and test prototype valves.
• Maintain test data and reports to Oliver standards.
• Contribute to new product design reviews.
• Support FMECA activities and risk assessments.
• Coordinate workload on development projects.
• Develop automated testing of products.
• Ensure efficient use of test facilities and equipment.

Skills

Practical hands-on

Attention to detail

Communication skills

Problem solving

Excel (advanced)

Education

Engineering Level 3 qualification

Tools

SolidWorks

Autocad/ACAD

Microsoft Office

Job description

Role: Graduate R&D Engineer

Location: Knutsford, Parkgate Industrial Estate

Working Hours: Mon-Fri, 8:30am till 5pm. 40 hours per week

We’re on the lookout for a Graduate R&D Engineer e to join our team in Knutsford.

It’s a really exciting time to join us as a Graduate R&D Engineer, as we continue to grow as one of the UK’s leading family-owned valve manufacturers.

About Us

With over 45 years of valve technology innovations, Oliver Valves is a global leader in the design, manufacture, and supply of high-quality valves and valve systems, serving industries such as oil and gas, petrochemical, and other critical sectors. We have won recognised awards for Export, Manufacturing and Growth – as well as the coveted Queens Award and more recently Kings Award for Industry. We’re a profitable, privately owned, and fast-moving company looking for talented individuals to join our team and deliver our strategic objectives.

What You’ll Be Doing as a Graduate R&D Engineer

• Assembly and testing of prototype valves
• Maintaining the Oliver Standard of Quality for test data and reports
• Contribution to new product design reviews
• FMECA Work
• Co-ordinating workload of larger development projects
• Developing automated testing of products
• Ensuring test facilities and equipment are utilised efficiently.

What You’ll Bring

• Practical and hands on
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Good communication skills.
• Strong problem-solving abilities.
• Level 3 qualification in Engineering (e.g. BTEC, NVQ, or equivalent) preferred; candidates with relevant practical experience also considered
• Solidworks/ACAD proficient
• Experience with Microsoft Office Software
• Advance level in Excel desirable

What’s On Offer?

Here’s what you can expect as a Graduate R&D Engineer with us:

• Depending on experiance + discretionary annual bonus
• Annual leave starting at 31 days a year (includes bank holidays)
• Great benefits including: pension (you put in 5%, we put in 4%), cash plan to reimburse you for medical expenses (dental, optical, physio and more), retailer discount platform, Life Assurance ("Death in Service"), long service awards, and Employee Assistance Programme
• Training opportunities including apprenticeships and college courses available