Senior Mechanical Design Engineer

Unipart; Crewe by Farndon; Hybrid; GBP 43,000 - 53,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

33 days holiday

Pension

Bonus

Life assurance

Employee assistance programme

Wellbeing support

Cycle to work scheme

Job summary

Unipart is seeking a Senior Mechanical Design Engineer to join the Engineering team. You will design and develop mechanical and hydraulic systems for railway-related equipment, ensuring robust performance and regulatory compliance.

Based at multiple sites in the UK, this role requires collaboration with cross-functional teams and occasional site presence. You will deliver comprehensive documentation, support design reviews, and help drive reliability improvements.

Qualifications

• A degree in Mechanical Engineering (or equivalent practical experience).
• Excellent interpersonal skills to build cross-functional relationships and influence stakeholders.
• Experience / knowledge of rail industry standards and approvals processes.
• Experience of the Railway industry, or other safety critical industry sector.
• Electrical knowledge (solenoids, E-Stops, PLC).

Responsibilities

• Create 3D models, 2D details and schematics for hydraulic circuits and mechanical assemblies.
• Validate designs using FEA and calculations to ensure structural integrity.
• Oversee testing of new plant attachments or vehicle modifications.
• Produce technical files for independent rail assessment (PAB/NoBo).
• Provide updates via gate reviews and delivery plans.

Skills

Mechanical engineering degree

Interpersonal skills

Rail industry standards

Railway/safety-critical experience

Electrical knowledge

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Job description

Job Advert

Interested in this role You can find all the relevant information in the description below.

Senior Mechanical Design Engineer

Up to £48,000 (depending on experience) plus 33 days holiday (including bank holidays), pension, bonus, life assurance, employee assistance programme, wellbeing support, flexible benefits including cycle to work scheme.

This role will enable you to work from home however you should be prepared to commute to your base site for a minimum of 3 days per week.

Based at either Trax Park (Doncaster), Crewe or Southport.

About The Role

Responsible for working as part of the Engineering Design Team to develop and innovate products for manufacture using new and emerging technologies to support the businesses growth plans. Support current products with technical design changes and modifications.

You will design, develop and integrate robust mechanical and hydraulic pressure systems that enable Yellow Plant machinery to perform maintenance and construction tasks efficiently within a railway infrastructure environment.

You will perform design and development work for projects normally under supervision of Head of Design but will be able to act as design authority for smaller product / project. You will be capable of producing full documentation, drawings, technical specifications and user manuals pertaining to project / and or product and will contribute to safety cases and Design for Reliability reviews.

Your principal accountabilities are to create 3D models, 2D details and schematics for hydraulic circuits and mechanical assemblies and when necessary, validate using FEA and calculations to ensure structural integrity. As part of a team, oversee and test new plant attachments or vehicle modifications and ensure technical files for independent rail assessment (e.g. PAB/NoBo approvals) are produced.

Creativity is paramount in the role, but still works within broad policy and procedure, governed by professional and industry standards. It's a fairly autonomous role with the ability to design and develop ideas and solutions to problems whilst keeping stakeholders updated on progress and give regular updates of progress via gate reviews, technical reviews and delivery plans.

About You

• A degree in Mechanical Engineering (or equivalent practical experience)
• Excellent interpersonal skills to build strong cross-functional relationships, and influence stakeholders at all levels of the business, including customers and suppliers
• Experience / knowledge of rail industry standards and approvals processes
• Experience of the Railway industry, or other safety critical industry sector
• Electrical knowledge (solenoids, E-Stops, PLC)

About Unipart

We are a supply chain performance improvement partner. We Design, Make, Move, and Improve components in our customers’ supply chains, keeping their operations and assets moving and working better, for longer. Through our commitment to continuously driving operational efficiencies, we improve performance - saving time, cost, and carbon. Our ambition is to be the driving force behind efficient, resilient, and sustainable supply chains.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

We believe that a great workplace is one where you can bring your whole self to work. Our recruitment process is designed to be accessible, inclusive, and based entirely on merit. We define merit through a combination of technical skills and the core behaviours that help our people thrive at Unipart. We welcome applications from everyone, regardless of background or circumstances. We are committed to a policy of equal opportunity that exceeds our statutory obligations under the Equality Act 2010 and subsequent legislation. Whether it’s your age, disability, neurodiversity, gender identity, family status, or any other characteristic that makes you ‘you’ - it is your talent and potential that we value most. We want you to perform at your best. If you require any reasonable adjustments or have specific accessibility needs at any stage of the application or interview process, please let us know. We are here to support you.

Department

Engineering

Contract type

Full time

Hours

37

Salary

Up to £48,000 (depending on experience) plus 33 days holiday (including bank holidays), pension, bonus, life assurance, employee assistance programme, wellbeing support, flexible benefits including cycle to work scheme

Closing date for applications

7th September, 2026

Hiring Manager

Gavin McCarthy