Mechanical Engineer

Smiths Group; Slough; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

John Crane, a business of Smiths Group, is seeking a Mechanical Engineer with a strong background in R&D, innovation, and product development to help shape the future of Dry Gas Seal technology. The successful candidate will identify market opportunities, engage directly with customers, and develop innovative solutions from concept to validation.

This highly collaborative role requires technical excellence, commercial awareness, and initiative, with hands-on design work in SolidWorks and

Qualifications

• Degree-qualified in Mechanical Engineering or a related discipline.
• Proficiency in SolidWorks.
• Experience in R&D, product development, or innovation-focused engineering roles.
• Demonstrable evidence of initiating and leading new ideas or technology developments.
• Experience taking concepts through design, prototyping, testing, and validation.

Responsibilities

• Drive innovation and future technology initiatives within the Dry Gas Seals function.
• Identify market trends and emerging customer needs to influence product development strategy.
• Build relationships with customer engineering teams and engage in engineer-to-engineer and customer discussions.
• Develop concepts and designs using SolidWorks.
• Manage prototype development, including ordering components and supporting test builds.
• Work cross-functionally with: Procurement, Testing teams, Materials teams, Core technology groups.
• Secure resources and coordinate testing activities to validate new concepts.
• Support an agile development environment where experimentation and learning from failure are encouraged.

Skills

R&D

Product development

Innovation

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

SolidWorks

Job description

John Crane, a business of Smiths Group, is a global leader in mission-critical flow control solutions for energy and process industries that enable efficient and sustainable operations. Our products include mechanical seals and systems, couplings, bearings, filtration systems, and predictive digital monitoring technologies.

We have a global network of more than 200 sites in over 50 countries and employ more than 6,000 people worldwide. We partner with our customers to help them keep their operations safe, reduce downtime, improve efficiency, and meet the latest environmental standards.

John Crane is part of Smiths Group. For over 170 years, Smiths has been pioneering progress by engineering for a better future. We serve millions of people every year, helping to create a safer, more efficient, productive, and better-connected world across four global markets: energy, security & defence, space & aerospace, and general industrial. Listed on the London Stock Exchange, Smiths employs approximately 16,000 colleagues in over 50 countries.

Job Description

John Crane is seeking a Mechanical Engineer with a strong background in R&D, innovation, and product development to help drive the future direction of Dry Gas Seal technology. The successful candidate will proactively identify market opportunities, engage directly with customers, and develop innovative solutions through concept, design, testing, and validation.

This is a highly collaborative role suited to someone who combines technical excellence with commercial awareness, curiosity, and initiative.

In the role you will:

• Drive innovation and future technology initiatives within the Dry Gas Seals function.
• Identify market trends and emerging customer needs to influence product development strategy.
• Build relationships with customer engineering teams and engage in engineer-to-engineer and customerdiscussions.
• Develop concepts and designs using SolidWorks.
• Manage prototype development, including ordering components and supporting test builds.
• Work cross-functionally with:
  • Procurement
  • Testing teams
  • Materials teams
  • Core technology groups
• Secure resources and coordinate testing activities to validate new concepts.
• Support an agile development environment where experimentation and learning from failure are encouraged.

Qualifications

Technical

• Degree-qualified in Mechanical Engineering or a related discipline.
• Proficiency in SolidWorks.
• Experience in R&D, product development, or innovation-focused engineering roles.
• Demonstrable evidence of initiating and leading new ideas or technology developments.
• Experience taking concepts through design, prototyping, testing, and validation.

Industry Background

Ideal candidates will come from one or more of the following areas:

• Dry Gas Seals
• Turbomachinery
• Rotating Equipment
• Compressors
• Bearings
• Filtration Systems
• Gearboxes
• Wind Turbine Mechanical Systems

Preferred Qualifications

• Chartered Engineer status (CEng) or actively working towards it though not essential.
• Master's degree or PhD beneficial, though not essential.
• Experience influencing product strategy through customer or market insights.

Additional Information

With colleagues stretching across the globe, we are proud of our diversity. To foster inclusivity, we run employee resource groups (ERGs) to provide a safe space for employees to connect and support each other. Our cross-business ERGs include Veterans, Pride Network, Black Employee Network, Women@Work Network, and Neurodiversity.

Across our company, we recognize excellence, culminating in the Smiths Excellence Awards, our annual celebration of the most extraordinary activities, people, and projects that best showcase our strengths and help drive our business forward. We announce these on our annual Smiths Day, a global celebration of Smiths around our network.

We believe that different perspectives and backgrounds are what make a company flourish. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment regardless of color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, economic status, disability, age, or any other legally protected characteristics. We are proud to be an inclusive company with values grounded in equality and ethics, where we celebrate, support, and embrace diversity.