R&D Engineer - Fabrication / Prototype Development

Accora; Orwell; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Career progression

R&D development

Training & development

Holiday allowance

Growing R&D team

Impactful products

Job summary

Accora is seeking an experienced Fabricator to join its R&D team in Orwell, Cambridge, to move into a dedicated R&D and product development role. The successful candidate will bring strong hands-on fabrication skills, build bespoke prototypes, and work closely with design engineers to turn concepts into physical products.

The role emphasizes turning ideas into working prototypes, testing them in a fast-paced environment, and contributing to development towards manufacture.

Qualifications

• Strong fabrication and welding experience.
• Apprenticeship or recognised fabrication/engineering qualification.
• Experience working on bespoke, one-off or low-volume products.
• Ability to read engineering drawings and turn designs into finished builds.
• Strong practical problem-solving skills.
• Experience in prototype or product development is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Fabricate and build bespoke prototypes and new product concepts.
• Weld, cut, form, modify and assemble components in-house.
• Collaborate with Design and R&D Engineers to turn concepts into physical products.
• Modify and improve prototypes through testing and development.
• Solve practical engineering problems in a fast-moving project environment.
• Support products through development towards manufacture.

Skills

Fabrication and welding

Apprenticeship/qualifications

Low-volume / bespoke projects

Engineering drawings

Problem-solving

Prototype development experience

Job description

Role: R&D Engineer - Fabrication / Prototype Development
Location: Orwell, Cambridge
Fabricator by trade? Want to move into R&D and product development?
Accora is a rapidly growing manufacturer of innovative medical equipment, and we're looking for an experienced Fabricator to join our expanding R&D team.
This is not a traditional production fabrication role.
We need someone who is a Fabricator by trade, ideally apprentice trained, who can bring strong hands-on fabrication skills into a fast-paced R&D environment, building, modifying and developing bespoke prototypes and new products.
If you enjoy working from an idea or early-stage design and actually building, testing and improving it, this could be a brilliant next step.

The Role

Working within Accora's R&D team, you'll:

• Fabricate and build bespoke prototypes and new product concepts
• Weld, cut, form, modify and assemble components in-house
• Work alongside Design and R&D Engineers to turn concepts into physical products
• Modify and improve prototypes through testing and development
• Solve practical engineering problems in a fast-moving project environment
• Support products through development towards manufacture

Requirements

The Person

You must be a Fabricator by trade.

We're looking for someone with:

• Strong fabrication and welding experience
• Ideally an apprenticeship or recognised fabrication/engineering qualification
• Experience working on bespoke, one-off or low-volume products
• Ability to work from engineering drawings and turn designs into finished builds
• Strong practical problem-solving skills
• Experience within prototype development or product development would be a major advantage

We're looking for the person who knows how to make things, modify things and solve problems practically.

Benefits

What's On Offer

• Competitive Salary
• Excellent long-term career progression
• Opportunity to develop further into R&D and product development
• Extensive training and development
• Good holiday allowance + public holidays
• Join a growing, well-invested R&D team
• Work on innovative products that genuinely improve people's lives

This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced Fabricator who wants to take their trade skills beyond traditional production work and become a key part of a genuine R&D and new product development environment.