Product Development Consultant

Science Group; Saffron Walden; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Sagentia Innovation, a division of Science Group plc, seeks a hands-on Product Development Consultant to join the Mechanical Systems & Design team in Cambridge. You will work across the product development lifecycle on diverse projects, collaborating with electronics, software, applied science, and design engineers.

You will translate requirements into validated concepts, prototype risk-reducing solutions, and drive development through to manufacture, often under tight timescales and with

Qualifications

• A degree (2.1 or above) in Mechanical Engineering or a relevant engineering discipline plus industry experience.
• Development experience in new products and platforms, ideally in a consultancy or commercial environment.
• CAD design experience with SolidWorks and/or CREO.
• Analytical skills including tolerance analysis, FEA, Multiphysics modelling (COMSOL), and first principles calculations (MATLAB and MATHCAD).
• Enthusiasm to work in multidisciplinary teams across diverse sectors.
• Experience contributing to projects to tight timescales.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills—client-facing ability.

Responsibilities

• Develop core delivery engine technology and take concepts through to manufacture.
• Lead requirements development and qualification to inform new concept generation.
• Prototype and validate designs with early-stage risk reduction techniques.
• Collaborate across electronics, software, applied science and mechanical design teams on multiple projects.
• Support pre-sales activities and interface with clients under guidance of senior staff.

Skills

Product development

CAD design

Tolerance analysis

FEA

Multiphysics modelling

MATLAB

Client-facing

Mechatronics

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

SolidWorks

CREO

Job description

Product Development Consultant

Date: 2026-09-17

Location: Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, GB, CB1 0

Application Deadline: 2026-12-16T11:39:11.09

Employment Type: Permanent - Full Time

Department: Mechanical Systems & Design

Description

Are you an enthusiastic Product Developer that thrives on applying your skills to the development of diverse products across a range of market sectors? Sagentia Innovation, a division of Science Group plc, is expanding its mechanical engineering team to support our continued growth in delivering world leading product development expertise to our clients. We have:

• A multitude of exciting projects in the medical, industrial, defence and consumer sectors
• An energetic and widely experienced product design and mechanical engineering team

The Opportunity

We are looking for an exceptional, hands-on product developer to join our group of world-class employees. If successful, you will have the opportunity to work with clients from start-ups through to global market leaders. You will have a passion for technology and will use a combination of innovation, flexibility and technical excellence to meet and exceed our customers' often demanding requirements and tight development timescales. You will work across the product development lifecycle, including:

• Requirements development and qualification to inform new concept generation activities
• Technology validation through early-stage risk reduction prototyping
• Detailed product development and ultimately transfer to manufacture

A Day in the life

You will have the opportunity to employ your product development skills on one or more projects simultaneously across sectors. Projects range from a couple of months to a couple of years. Many projects require a multidisciplinary approach involving our electronics, software, applied science, and of course, the mechanical and product design teams you will be part of. This role focuses on the creation and delivery of new product designs to our clients. Recent examples include:

• Development of core delivery engine technology for consumer beverage dispensing
• Development of a laparoscopic surgical robotic system: control interfaces, robotic manipulators, and surgical instruments
• Development of a topical cream dispenser in the personal care space
• Improvements in the efficiency of negative pressure wound therapy systems through design innovation

Opportunities

Develop your experience in managing projects or work packages to tight timescales throughout the full product development lifecycle. You should have strong interpersonal and communication skills—confidence and capability in a client-facing role. There are opportunities for business development by providing pre-sales input and interfacing directly with clients under the guidance of our business development team. Work will mainly be at our Sagentia innovation offices in Harston, Cambridge, with potential travel to other Science Group sites and client locations in Europe or the USA. We operate in a fast-paced environment solving a variety of industry problems.

Skills, Knowledge, and Expertise

• A degree (2.1 or above) in Mechanical Engineering, Product Design, or a relevant engineering discipline plus industry experience
• Development experience in new products and platforms, ideally in a consultancy or commercial environment
• CAD design experience (preferably with SolidWorks and/or CREO)
• Analytical skills including tolerance analysis, FEA, Multiphysics modelling (COMSOL), and first principles calculations (using MATLAB and MATHCAD)
• Enthusiasm to work in multidisciplinary teams across diverse sectors
• Experience contributing to projects to tight timescales
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills—confident and capable in a client-facing role

Additional (Optional) Skills

• Project management experience
• Experience developing products under medical regulatory constraints
• Mechatronic design, especially for complex electromechanical products such as robotics
• Designing complex plastic parts for moulding
• Design for manufacture and assembly

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