Principal Mechanical Engineer

BAE Systems; Barrow-in-Furness; On-site; GBP 100,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

An aerospace and defense company in Barrow-in-Furness is seeking a Principal Mechanical Engineer to lead design and manufacturing solutions for weapon platforms. The ideal candidate will have a degree in engineering, experience leading design tasks, and proficiency in CAD software. This role offers hybrid working arrangements and a competitive salary from £54,500+, along with a range of benefits including a pension scheme and enhanced annual leave.

Benefits

Competitive pension scheme

Enhanced annual leave

Employee discounts

Qualifications

• Educated to degree level or equivalent with relevant postgraduate experience.
• Experience presenting design concepts and specifications to stakeholders.
• Exposure to testing and qualifications of designs.

Responsibilities

• Lead design and manufacturing solutions for weapon platforms.
• Oversee and delegate tasks to a team of engineers.
• Act as the key contact for engineering matters.

Skills

Degree in a relevant engineering discipline

Leading design tasks

Presenting design concepts

Mentoring engineers

Using CAD software

Education

Degree level education in engineering

Tools

CREO Parametrics

Teamcenter

Job description

Overview

Job title: Principal Mechanical Engineer

Location: Barrow-in-Furness — We offer a range of hybrid and flexible working arrangements. Please speak to your recruiter about options for this role.

Salary: £54,500+ depending on skills and experience

Responsibilities

• Lead on design and manufacturing solutions to support weapon platforms, their derivatives and support equipment through technical analysis, investigations and generation of detailed design using CAD models and drawings.
• Lead a small team of engineers from a technical perspective, delegating tasks, checking and approving technical documentation and overseeing the team\'s workload.
• Act as the key point of contact with customers, suppliers and stakeholders on engineering matters.
• Lead and participate in internal and external design reviews and meetings with the customer.
• Carry out technical analysis and investigations, and prepare reports with suggested recommendations to support the resolution of problems and the improvement of engineering capability.
• Lead solutions to production and manufacturing technical queries raised by suppliers, internal stakeholders (i.e. Operations Team) and non-conformance reports within required project time frames.

Your skills and experiences

• Educated to degree level or equivalent in a relevant engineering discipline, with a high level of postgraduate experience.
• Experience leading design tasks across the entire product lifecycle in a production and/or prototype environment, considering requirements, product safety and integrity.
• Experience presenting design concepts, technical reports and specifications to stakeholders.
• Exposure to testing, trials and qualifications of designs and/or systems.
• Experience mentoring less experienced engineers and overseeing and delegating technical work packages.
• Working experience using CAD software (e.g. CREO Parametrics) and PLM software (e.g. Teamcenter)

Benefits

You'll receive benefits including a competitive pension scheme, enhanced annual leave allowance and a Company contributed Share Incentive Plan. You'll also have access to additional benefits such as flexible working, an employee assistance programme, Cycle2work and employee discounts - you may also be eligible for an annual incentive.

About the Weapon Systems UK Engineering Team

As part of BAE Systems Platforms and Services sector, Weapon Systems (UK) designs, develops, manufactures, and supports artillery systems, naval guns, and provides engineering capability to the wider BAE Systems business. Within the Mechanical Engineering team, you may also be involved in supporting technical changes to our existing product portfolio (i.e. M777 towed howitzer, 4.5" MK.8 MOD 1 Naval Gun, AS90 Self Propelled Howitzer & 105 Light Gun) through analysis, concept design and tests and trials. This role also allows you to put forward your innovative ideas and solutions to the next generation of weapon platforms for the future battle space.

Why BAE Systems?

This is a place where you\'ll be able to make a real difference. You\'ll be part of an inclusive culture that values diversity of thought, rewards integrity, and merit, and where you\'ll be empowered to fulfil your potential. We welcome people from all backgrounds and want to make sure that our recruitment processes are as inclusive as possible. If you have a disability or health condition (for example dyslexia, autism, an anxiety disorder etc.) that may affect your performance in certain assessment types, please speak to your recruiter about potential reasonable adjustments.

Please be aware that many roles at BAE Systems are subject to both security and export control restrictions. These restrictions mean that factors such as your nationality, any nationalities you may have previously held, and your place of birth can restrict the roles you are eligible to perform within the organisation. All applicants must as a minimum achieve Baseline Personnel Security Standard. Many roles also require higher levels of National Security Vetting where applicants must typically have 5 to 10 years of continuous residency in the UK depending on the vetting level required for the role, to allow for meaningful security vetting checks.

Closing Date

12th November 2025

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.