Lead Design Engineer

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

Stourport-on-Severn

£40,000 - £45,000

Our client, a market leading design and manufacturer of conveyors, has an exciting opportunity for a motivated and technically minded Lead design engineer. Managing the design team, this role reports to the Engineering Director. This is a role for a technicallycompetent mechanical engineer with a focus on design and development and project management. The role will extensively use the company's CAD packages in use at the time (AutoCad and SolidWorks presently) to produce drawings and CAD models of existing and newproducts. The role will involve the building and testing of new designs and prototypes as development projects require.

Overall responsibility for the design/development of new products and maintaining the designs, drawings and product documentation of existing group products. Ensuring adherence to legal compliance of machinery and associated adherence to health and safetylegislation.

**Main duties and responsibilities**:
**Managing New Product Developments**:
Adherence to agreed timescales and budgets,

Adherence to the company's product development procedures and completion of required documents.

General arrangement and detail drawings in AutoCAD/ Solidworks.

Generate creative ideas/solutions, and work with those of others, to move the company's products forward.

Create, draw and contribute concept ideas for new products and for existing product improvements.

Deliver successful new product developments on time and on budget.

**Prototype Manufacture and Testing**:To arrange manufacture of prototypes through the in house factory or external suppliers and be present and instrumental in their build and test. This will involve yourself and/or your staff undertaking/assistingin prototype builds and first off production units.

To co-ordinated testing of prototypes to ensure they fulfil the design brief and to document such tests.

**Supporting Contract Designers**:At peak times the Contracts Designers may need some support by taking on some drawing / design activities. This may also be non-project based work which is prioritised by Management. The same level of careand attention must be given to all design/drawing work and therefore treated as above.

**Test Specifications**:Define specific testing requirements including what to test and how long with a statement of objectives and required outcome.

**Staff Management**:To manage the other designers in the department. To ensure they are performing to the levels expected and to support them with your engineering knowledge and experience to enhance their skill set over time. To hold annualemployee appraisals with them and address any performance issues should they arise.

To also engage and manage the use of sub contract designers as and when required.

**Progress Reports**:To manage, review and document each projects progress in terms of both technical and financial measures. To be submitted monthly.

**Ad hoc Design Work**:Non project-based work, which is prioritised by Management, may be required. The same level of care and attention must be given and therefore treated as above.

**Product Documentation**:Creation and maintenance of product manuals / technical documentation as required to keep these in line with the current product's status.

**Standard Drawings Control**:Ensuring the department is issuing new drawings and controlling changes to current standard drawings through the companies New Drawing Issue and Drawing Change Note procedures.

**Sales Support**:To support the adoption and sales of any new products developed. It may be required to produce and present supporting presentations and / or 2D or 3D cad blocks.

**Site Visits**:It will be expected to make the occasional site visit to either gain information on product requirements or competitors' products or to support recently launched products to resolve any 'teething troubles and feedback improvementsback into the designs.

Of benefit to this role would be, practical assembly skills an appreciation of the production processes and capabilities used in the production of the company's products and also of general maintenance and service requirements of conveyors and associatedmaterial handling equipment.

The role may involve doing similar CAD work to fulfil company sales contract deliveries too and site visits as required to fulfil the expectations of the design role.