Senior Technical Designer

SSA Digital Recruitment; Northampton; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 47,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Benefits

Job summary

SSA Digital Recruitment seeks a Senior Technical Designer / SolidWorks Designer for our Northampton client. Lead the translation of creative concepts into accurate SolidWorks models, drawings and manufacture-ready designs for retail displays and fixtures.

Hybrid role; 2 days in the office. You will work with project managers, suppliers and fabricators to ensure tolerances, BOMs and production feasibility are met, delivering manufacture-ready documentation.

Qualifications

• Strong professional SolidWorks experience essential.
• Experience in retail displays, POS, and brand activation.
• Ability to turn creative concepts into manufacture-ready designs.

Responsibilities

• Produce detailed 3D SolidWorks models and assembly drawings.
• Create BOMs and manufacture-ready technical drawings.
• Collaborate with managers, suppliers and fabricators to ensure manufacturability.
• Apply value engineering to improve efficiency and costs.
• Interrogate designs for tolerances and materials.

Skills

SolidWorks experience

Technical design

Retail display design

Manufacturing knowledge

Project coordination

Tools

SolidWorks

3D CAD

Job description

Senior Technical Designer / SolidWorks Designer

Northampton | Hybrid – 2 Days per Week in the Office

£42,000 – £47,000 + Benefits | Permanent

SolidWorks | Technical Design | Retail Display | POS | Manufacturing | 3D CAD

Are you an experienced Senior Technical Designer, SolidWorks Designer or Technical CAD Designer who knows how to take a creative concept and turn it into something that can actually be manufactured?

We're looking for a technically strong Senior Technical Designer to join one of Europe's leading retail marketing agencies, working on physical retail projects, POS displays, retail fixtures, brand activations and in-store environments for some of the world's most recognised consumer brands.

Strong professional SolidWorks experience is essential for this position.

This isn't a traditional 3D visualisation or purely creative design role. We're looking for a SolidWorks Designer / Technical Designer who understands how physical products, retail displays, POS, fixtures and branded environments are engineered, constructed and manufactured.

You'll take approved creative concepts and become the technical bridge between creative design and physical production – developing concepts into accurate 3D SolidWorks models, technical drawings and manufacture‑ready designs.

The Senior SolidWorks Designer Role

As a Senior Technical Designer, you'll take ownership of the technical design process across a varied portfolio of retail, POS and brand activation projects.

Working closely with Project Managers, creative teams, suppliers, fabricators and manufacturing partners, you'll take approved creative concepts and develop them into technically resolved SolidWorks designs ready for manufacture.

You'll produce detailed 3D CAD models, elevations, sections, assembly drawings, Bills of Materials (BOMs), specification sheets and manufacture‑ready technical drawings, ensuring dimensional accuracy, structural integrity and manufacturing viability.

A major part of the role will involve technically interrogating designs before they reach production. You'll consider materials, tolerances, construction methods, manufacturing processes, costs and assembly requirements, identifying potential problems early and recommending practical solutions.

You'll also apply value engineering to improve manufacturing efficiency and cost without compromising the original creative concept.

SolidWorks & Technical Design Experience

We're particularly interested in candidates with a strong background in SolidWorks and technical design for physical manufacture.

Your experience should ideally include:

• SolidWorks & 3D CAD: strong professional SolidWorks experience, parametric 3D modelling, assemblies and detailed technical drawings.
• Retail / POS Design: retail displays, Point of Sale (POS), Point of Purchase (POP), retail fixtures, shopfitting, branded environments, exhibitions or brand activations.
• Manufacturing Design: manufacture‑ready drawings, dimensions, tolerances, materials, construction methods, Bills of Materials and specification sheets.
• Production & Suppliers: working directly with manufacturers, fabricators and suppliers to resolve technical issues and ensure designs can be successfully manufactured.

You'll need to understand more than how something looks. You'll understand how it is made.

Experience working with materials such as timber, metal, acrylic, formed plastics and print would therefore be highly valuable, alongside an understanding of different fabrication and manufacturing processes.

What We're Looking For

The successful Senior Technical Designer / SolidWorks Designer will have proven experience within a technical design environment involving physical manufacture.

We're particularly interested in people currently working as a Senior Technical Designer, Technical Designer, SolidWorks Designer, CAD Designer, Senior CAD Designer, Technical CAD Designer, Retail Technical Designer, POS Designer, Retail Display Designer or Design Engineer.

Experience within retail display, POS/POP, shopfitting, retail fixtures, exhibitions, experiential, brand activation or a similar manufactured environment would be particularly relevant.

You'll be confident challenging a design rather than simply drawing what you've been given. You'll be able to identify manufacturing problems, question tolerances and construction methods and work collaboratively with creative teams to find a solution that retains the original design intent.

Strong communication and stakeholder management skills are also important, as you'll work closely with Project Managers, designers, suppliers, fabricators and manufacturing partners across multiple live projects.

Previous experience within an agency, production, retail design or brand activation environment would be particularly useful, especially if you've worked on projects for FMCG, grocery or major retail brands.

Why Consider This Senior Technical Designer Role?

This is an opportunity to join a leading European retail marketing agency and work on high‑profile physical retail projects for major global brands.

Rather than simply producing CAD drawings, you'll have genuine ownership of the technical design and manufacturing process, helping turn ambitious creative concepts into physical retail experiences that can be successfully engineered, manufactured and installed.

Salary: £42,000 – £47,000 + Benefits

Location: Northampton

Working Pattern: Hybrid – 2 days per week in the office

Employment: Permanent

Software: SolidWorks

Focus: Technical Design, Retail Display, POS, Manufacturing & Production

Portfolio Required

As this is a technically focused SolidWorks / Technical Designer position, a portfolio or examples of relevant work will be required as part of the application process.

We're particularly interested in seeing examples of SolidWorks 3D modelling, parametric models, technical drawings and completed manufactured projects, ideally involving retail displays, POS, fixtures, exhibitions or branded environments.

Key Skills: Senior Technical Designer, Technical Designer, SolidWorks Designer, SolidWorks, CAD Designer, Senior CAD Designer, Technical CAD Designer, Retail Technical Designer, POS Designer, Point of Sale Designer, POP Designer, Retail Display Designer, Design Engineer, 3D CAD, Parametric Modelling, Technical Drawings, Manufacturing Drawings, Production Drawings, Retail Design, Retail Display, POS, POP, Point of Sale, Retail Fixtures, Shopfitting, Brand Activation, Exhibitions, Manufacturing Design, Production Design