Senior Product Design Engineer

Senior Product Design Engineer Location: Swansea, Wales Salary: £50,000–£54,000 per annum Contract: Permanent, full-time Working pattern: Predominantly onsite, with hybrid flexibility under company policy

Vargo is recruiting a Senior Product Design Engineer for an innovative technology manufacturer developing highly engineered FMCG products.

This role combines creative product design with mechanical engineering. You’ll help develop products that balance appearance, ergonomics and user interaction with technical performance, reliability and manufacturability.

Working across the full development lifecycle, you’ll take ownership of your design work from initial concepts and prototypes through testing, refinement and production launch. You’ll collaborate with research, electronics, testing and manufacturing specialists within a multidisciplinary project team.

The role

• Develop concepts and detailed CAD designs for new products and improvements to existing products.
• Combine industrial and mechanical design to deliver practical, visually considered solutions.
• Create and evaluate prototypes to refine product form, function and performance.
• Investigate technical challenges through experimentation, data analysis and structured problem-solving.
• Support design verification and validation, interpreting test results and documenting findings.
• Apply design for manufacture and assembly principles, including consideration of plastic injection moulding and volume production.
• Develop robust mechanical components, assemblies and interfaces with close attention to detail.
• Support production transfer, design reviews and manufacturing trials.
• Present design proposals and findings clearly, working autonomously while coordinating with the wider project team.

Essential experience

• At least five years’ relevant industrial design or engineering experience.
• A combination of mechanical engineering and physical product or industrial design capability.
• Strong concept development and product development experience.
• Excellent 3D CAD skills in SolidWorks.
• CAD surfacing experience using SolidWorks and/or Rhino.
• Good knowledge of plastic injection moulding.
• Experience in design verification and validation, including testing and reporting.
• Strong data analysis and practical problem-solving skills.
• A degree or equivalent qualification in Product Design, Industrial Design, Mechanical Engineering or a related design discipline.

You’ll be methodical, proactive and comfortable taking responsibility for your work. Clear communication, attention to detail and effective collaboration are essential.

Desirable experience

• Broader knowledge of manufacturing methods.
• Simulation and finite element analysis.
• Visualisation and rendering tools such as Vizcom and KeyShot.
• Development of consumer electronic products.

Working arrangements The role is mainly office based in Swansea, with onsite attendance required for laboratory testing. A hybrid working policy is available, subject to project requirements.

The working pattern includes extended hours Monday to Thursday and a half-day Friday, with Friday onsite cover maintained across the team.

Interview process An initial Microsoft Teams interview, followed by a face-to-face interview.

For a confidential discussion or to apply, contact Chris Chugg at Vargo.

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