Lead Design Engineer

Ishida Europe Ltd; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Ishida Europe Ltd is seeking a Lead Design Engineer to guide and oversee the design efforts for bespoke and standard machines. You will lead cross-functional teams, manage projects from concept to completion, and ensure on-time, on-budget delivery with high quality and ISO-compliant designs.

The role requires a technical degree (HNC/HND in Mechanical Engineering), extensive experience in bespoke machine design, and strong leadership, project management, and SolidWorks skills.

Qualifications

• HNC/HND in Mechanical Engineering or related technical field.
• Experience in bespoke machine design and delivering projects.
• Site commissioning experience and strong leadership/management skills.
• Excellent project management and organisational abilities.
• In-depth knowledge of design and manufacturing techniques.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.
• Proficient use of SolidWorks (concepts, layouts, detailing) and ISO standards.

Responsibilities

• Leads cross-functional technical teams; provides mentorship and performance feedback.
• Plans, manages and oversees design projects from concept to completion.
• Designs detailed, complex systems; performs simulations and optimisation with sustainability and cost in mind.
• Collaborates with production, software/electrical, quality and aftersales teams; coordinates with external partners.
• Keeps documentation updated; reports progress to senior management; ensures compliance with standards.

Skills

Leadership

Project management

Team management

Analytical thinking

Problem solving

Communication

Education

HNC/HND in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

SolidWorks

Job description

What is the purpose of the role?

The Lead Design Engineer is responsible for creating, guiding and overseeing the design efforts within the organisation. This role involves leading an team to innovate, design standard, configured and bespoke orders. The Lead Design Engineer will collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure that projects are completed on time, within budget, and meet the company's quality standards.

Primary Responsibilities

• Leadership and Management:
• Leads cross functional technical teams providing mentorship in both technical and interpersonal skills.
• Sets clear goals and expectations and provides regular feedback and performance evaluations.
• Leads collaborative efforts on complex projects, ensuring clear communication and coordination across disciplines.
• Project Management:
• Plan, manage, and oversee design projects from conception to completion.
• Coordinates project timelines and manages multiple high-priority tasks, ensuring all stakeholders meet deadlines and budgets while maintaining high quality.
• Design:
• Designs detailed and complex systems with precision, performs advanced simulations, and leads impactful design optimisation projects that consider sustainability and cost.
• Conduct feasibility studies and risk assessments.
• Design, prototyping, testing, and validation of new designs or improvements.
• Utilising Design for Manufacture and Value Engineering techniques to ensure a smooth transition from design concept into manufacture. Design and detail to ISO standards.
• Collaboration:
• Work closely with other departments, such as production, software/electrical, quality and aftersales, to ensure alignment and integration of design efforts.
• Liaise with external partners, suppliers, and industry experts to solve problems.
• Technical Expertise:
• Stay updated with the latest industry trends, technologies, and best practices.
• Provide technical support to the design team.
• Ensure compliance with industry standards and regulations.
• Documentation and Reporting:
• Maintain comprehensive documentation of all design activities.
• Prepare and present regular progress reports to senior management.
• Ensure proper filing and accessibility of all technical documents.

What skills are we looking for?

The successful candidate must have a HNC/HND in a technical area – preferably Mechanical Engineering, experience within bespoke machine design, proven record of successfully managing and delivering projects, commissioning and site experience, strong leadership and team management skills, excellent project management and organisational skills, in depth knowledge of design and manufacturing techniques, strong analytical and problem solving skills, proficient use of SolidWorks (concepts, layouts, detailing and dimensioning to ISO standards) and utilise appropriate calculations and formula to back up design ideas.

The ideal candidate will have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, Innovative, pro‑active, self‑motivated, the ability to work individually or as part of a team and have methodical approach to tasks.