Principal Engineer

Pertemps Bristol Commercial; Caulcott; On-site; GBP 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A UK engineering firm is seeking a Principal Engineer to provide senior technical leadership in Bedfordshire with a salary up to £80,000 DOE. The ideal candidate will have over 10 years of experience in mechanical or rotating equipment design and a degree in Mechanical Engineering. This position involves influencing product strategy, supporting bids, and ensuring compliance with industry standards. Strong communication and technical skills are essential, along with experience in regulated industries being desirable.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in mechanical or rotating equipment design.
• Chartered Engineer or working towards it.
• Experience with condition monitoring or reliability engineering.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership across product development.
• Act as authority on design integrity.
• Influence technology and product strategy.
• Support commercial activity with technical input.
• Drive value engineering and continuous improvement.

Skills

Mechanical Engineering

Technical Leadership

Communication

Design Principles

Problem-Solving

Commercial Awareness

Education

Degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

Modern CAD tools

Analysis tools

Job description

Principal Engineer

Up to £80,000 DOE | Bedfordshire

A long‑established UK engineering business is strengthening its senior technical capability and is seeking a Principal Engineer to help shape product direction, technical standards and future innovation. This role suits a technically authoritative engineer who enjoys influencing strategy, mentoring others and applying engineering judgement across complex, engineered products.

What You'll Be Responsible For

• Providing senior technical leadership across product development and engineering delivery
• Acting as technical authority on design integrity and performance
• Influencing technology and product strategy in line with market needs
• Supporting commercial activity through technical input into bids, proposals and selections
• Driving value engineering, standardisation and continuous improvement
• Leading structured problem‑solving and root cause analysis
• Ensuring compliance with relevant industry and regulatory standards
• Offering expert technical guidance to internal teams and external stakeholders

What We're Looking For

• Degree‑qualified Mechanical Engineer
• Extensive experience (10+ years) in complex mechanical or rotating equipment design
• Strong grounding in design principles, analysis and validation
• Comfortable balancing technical excellence with commercial realities
• Confident communicator, able to influence at senior and customer level
• Regulated industry experience (e.g. utilities, infrastructure, energy) – desirable
• Chartered Engineer or working towards – desirable
• Experience with modern CAD/analysis tools – desirable
• Exposure to condition monitoring, diagnostics or reliability engineering – desirable

Please contact Kirk at Pertemps Bristol on (phone number removed) with any questions on the role.