Senior Systems Engineer

Cambridge Design Partnership; Cambridge; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

Discretionary bonus

Learning and development opportunities

12% pension

Private healthcare

EV salary sacrifice scheme

Share incentive plan

33 days holiday

Job summary

Cambridge Design Partnership is seeking a senior Systems Engineer to own product development from concept through to verification. You will align stakeholder needs with testable requirements, manage risks, and coordinate hardware, embedded software, controls and mechanical subsystems to deliver cohesive products.

Leads across engineering disciplines, defines interfaces, and guides designs with a focus on safety, performance and regulatory compliance.

Qualifications

• Extensive track record designing products in regulated industries.
• Hands-on practical engineering across mechanical, electrical, and software.
• Ability to lead across disciplines and manage interfaces.
• Strong problem-solving and communication with clients.
• Experience in system requirements, architectures, MBSE (SysML) helpful.

Responsibilities

• Take a whole-product view of development from feasibility to verification.
• Define interfaces between hardware, embedded software, controls and mechanical systems.
• Plan and carry out feasibility work, experiments and prototype tests.
• Lead technical reviews, risk assessments and design handovers.
• Collaborate with suppliers and clients to ensure design decisions meet requirements.

Skills

Systems engineering

Requirement tracing

Risk management

Cross-disciplinary leadership

SysML modelling

Embedded systems

Education

Bachelor’s/Master’s in engineering

Tools

SysML

DFMEA

Job description

Systems Engineering and Product Ownership

• Take a whole-product view of development, from initial feasibility and concept selection through detailed design, integration and verification.
• Turn stakeholder needs into practical requirements and trace them through to verification
• Manage Technical Risk and develop effective Risk Control Measures to ensure products are safe to use and meet regulatory constraints
• Comfortable managing mechanical, electronics, firmware, software and other specialists together so that individual subsystems work as one coherent product.
• Spot technical gaps and risks early, agree priorities with the team and drive engineering issues through to resolution.

Requirements, Architecture and Interfaces

• Take the lead on defining, reviewing and maintaining system requirements, making sure they are clear, testable and linked to the needs they address.
• Shape system architecture, data flow, and long-term technical roadmaps across multiple teams.
• Develop functional architectures, break products into manageable subsystems and agree technical responsibilities across engineering disciplines.
• Define interfaces between hardware, embedded software, controls and mechanical systems, including signals, power, communications and physical connections.
• Establish and assess key performance budgets, such as power, timing, accuracy or throughput, using analysis and test data to guide decisions.

Technical Problem Solving and Risk

• Take a hands‑on approach to technical challenges, working with engineers to investigate unexpected behavior and find the root cause of problems.
• Plan and carry out focused feasibility work, experiments and prototype tests to answer important engineering questions early.
• Manage design reviews and risk assessments, helping the team make sound decisions on performance, reliability, safety and design maturity.
• Manage DFMEA and Risk Registers, assessing risk acceptability and tracing risks through Risk Control Measures to implementation

Integration, Test and Verification

• Plan how subsystems will be brought together and tested, with clear methods and acceptance criteria for demonstrating product performance.
• Support the build and integration of electromechanical prototypes, helping diagnose issues across electronics, controls, firmware, software and mechanisms.
• Prepare test methods and plans, participate in testing, interpret results and follow through on failures and design changes.
• Maintain clear evidence that the product meets its requirements through traceability documentation, and support design handover and transfer with the necessary technical information.

Working with Clients and Project Teams

• Act as a technical lead point of contact, giving project teams a clear view of the overall design and the implications of technical decisions.
• Explain technical options, trade-offs and recommendations clearly to clients and colleagues, using the right level of detail for the audience.
• Work with project managers and technical leads to plan engineering activities, estimate effort and manage technical dependencies and priorities.
• Collaborate with suppliers and external partners to agree specifications, resolve interface issues and integrate their work into the product.
• Support writing proposals, costing and planning work, technical workshops and design reviews, and help colleagues use systems engineering methods in a practical, proportionate way.

Systems Engineering and Product Ownership

• Take a whole-product view of development, from initial feasibility and concept selection through detailed design, integration and verification.
• Turn stakeholder needs into practical requirements and trace them through to verification
• Manage Technical Risk and develop effective Risk Control Measures to ensure products are safe to use and meet regulatory constraints
• Comfortable managing mechanical, electronics, firmware, software and other specialists together so that individual subsystems work as one coherent product.
• Spot technical gaps and risks early, agree priorities with the team and drive engineering issues through to resolution.

Requirements, Architecture and Interfaces

• Take the lead on defining, reviewing and maintaining system requirements, making sure they are clear, testable and linked to the needs they address.
• Shape system architecture, data flow, and long-term technical roadmaps across multiple teams.
• Develop functional architectures, break products into manageable subsystems and agree technical responsibilities across engineering disciplines.
• Define interfaces between hardware, embedded software, controls and mechanical systems, including signals, power, communications and physical connections.
• Establish and assess key performance budgets, such as power, timing, accuracy or throughput, using analysis and test data to guide decisions.

Technical Problem Solving and Risk

• Take a hands‑on approach to technical challenges, working with engineers to investigate unexpected behavior and find the root cause of problems.
• Plan and carry out focused feasibility work, experiments and prototype tests to answer important engineering questions early.
• Manage design reviews and risk assessments, helping the team make sound decisions on performance, reliability, safety and design maturity.
• Manage DFMEA and Risk Registers, assessing risk acceptability and tracing risks through Risk Control Measures to implementation

Integration, Test and Verification

• Plan how subsystems will be brought together and tested, with clear methods and acceptance criteria for demonstrating product performance.
• Support the build and integration of electromechanical prototypes, helping diagnose issues across electronics, controls, firmware, software and mechanisms.
• Prepare test methods and plans, participate in testing, interpret results and follow through on failures and design changes.
• Maintain clear evidence that the product meets its requirements through traceability documentation, and support design handover and transfer with the necessary technical information.

Working with Clients and Project Teams

• Act as a technical lead point of contact, giving project teams a clear view of the overall design and the implications of technical decisions.
• Explain technical options, trade-offs and recommendations clearly to clients and colleagues, using the right level of detail for the audience.
• Work with project managers and technical leads to plan engineering activities, estimate effort and manage technical dependencies and priorities.
• Collaborate with suppliers and external partners to agree specifications, resolve interface issues and integrate their work into the product.
• Support writing proposals, costing and planning work, technical workshops and design reviews, and help colleagues use systems engineering methods in a practical, proportionate way.

Requirements

• Track record of at least 10 years' experience designing products in a highly regulated industry, preferably medical devices.
• Hands‑on and practical engineering skills, willing and able to get stuck in to designing solutions and able to demonstrate a passion for engineering in and out of work.
• Able to see the complete product while still understanding enough technical detail to make informed engineering decisions at all levels and engineering disciplines.
• Strong problem‑solving skills, with the curiosity and judgement to challenge assumptions and work through unfamiliar technical problems.
• Pragmatic and organized, able to bring structure to an ambiguous brief without creating unnecessary complexity or paperwork.
• Confident working across disciplines, with technical strengths in mechanical and electrical engineering or mechatronics.
• A clear communicator who can build strong relationships with clients, explain technical issues and influence decisions constructively.
• Able to balance performance, usability, cost, risk and development timescales when recommending engineering solutions.
• Proactive, collaborative and accountable, with the drive to take ownership and see technical issues through to completion.
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in electrical engineering, mechanical/mechatronics, systems engineering or a closely related engineering discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
• Experience developing physical products that combine electronics, software or firmware, and mechanical components, ideally through more than one stage of development.
• Practical experience defining system requirements, developing architectures and managing interfaces between engineering disciplines.
• Hands‑on experience building, integrating, testing or troubleshooting electromechanical systems and resolving issues that span hardware and software.
• A good grounding in sensors, actuators, embedded controls, power and communications, and confidence interpreting schematics and technical test results.
• Experience planning and carrying out system‑level tests, assessing performance against requirements and documenting engineering findings.
• Familiarity with requirements tools, simulation, modelling, scripting or model‑based systems engineering (including SysML) would be beneficial.
• Strong AI skills and experience in applying tools to streamline technical activities, including requirements management
• Experience in a product development consultancy, medical devices, diagnostics, scientific instruments, robotics, automation or other regulated industries would be advantageous.

Benefits

Cambridge Design Partnership (CDP) is an end-to-end innovation partner, propelling global brands and ambitious start‑ups to success. We build breakthrough products and services - from insight to ideas, prototypes to production - bringing innovation to life. Our teams are multi-disciplinary, uniting scientific rigor, design ingenuity, and engineering excellence for consumer and healthcare clients. People‑centred, deeply collaborative, and - above all - expert, we're uniquely positioned to shape the future for consumers, patients, and industry. Even our ownership model is innovative: We're 100% owned by our employees, ensuring an open culture and a total commitment to our projects' success. As part of our benefits package, we offer:

• flexible working
• a discretionary bonus
• excellent learning and development opportunities
• a 12% non‑contributory pension
• private healthcare
• electric vehicle lease salary sacrifice scheme
• share incentive plan
• 33 days holiday inclusive of bank holidays