Senior Product Development Engineer

Location: Hampshire
Contract: Permanent
Working arrangement: Primarily on-site, some hybrid flexibility

An established engineering business specialising in defence and underwater technology is seeking a Senior Product Development Engineer to take technical ownership of specialist sonar systems.

This is a hands-on role overseeing product performance, development and support throughout the product lifecycle. You''ll work across engineering, manufacturing, quality, supply chain and customer teams to ensure products remain reliable and continually improve.

You don''t need to be an acoustics specialist. Strong engineering design, product development and product ownership experience are the priorities.

Product ownership and development

• Take technical ownership of products throughout their lifecycle.

• Manage product performance, capability and configuration.

• Identify improvements, new capabilities and future technology developments.

• Contribute to technical roadmaps, balancing customer, engineering, manufacturing and commercial requirements.

• Ensure products remain reliable, supportable and competitive.

Engineering and manufacturing

• Support new product transitions into manufacture.

• Resolve manufacturing issues affecting quality, cost and delivery.

• Investigate production failures, recurring faults and field issues, implementing improvements.

• Review and approve engineering changes.

• Maintain technical documentation and product configurations.

• Support suppliers with technical manufacturing queries.

Testing and continuous improvement

• Oversee verification, validation and qualification activities.

• Coordinate factory, integration and trial testing.

• Monitor operational performance and improve reliability.

• Support obsolescence management, product maintenance and implementation of engineering changes.

Customer and technical support

• Act as senior technical contact for customers, partners and internal teams.

• Support customer visits, technical discussions, installation and commissioning.

• Investigate operational issues and provide solutions.

• Support demonstrations, trials, bids and proposals.

• Work with Business Development to shape customer solutions and communicate product capabilities.

• Degree in Engineering, Physics or equivalent technical qualification.

• Background in engineering design, product development or systems engineering.

• Experience taking technical ownership of products or complex engineering systems.

• Understanding of product development, testing, manufacturing and continuous improvement.

• Experience resolving manufacturing issues, investigating faults and implementing engineering changes.

• Knowledge of product configuration and technical documentation.

• Strong communication and customer-facing skills.

• Experience in defence, marine, subsea or another high-reliability engineering environment.

Sonar or underwater acoustics experience is advantageous but not essential. Engineers from related disciplines with strong design and product ownership experience are encouraged to apply. A basic understanding of acoustics is sufficient.

Additional beneficial experience:

• 3D CAD, particularly SolidWorks.

• Autonomous or remotely operated systems.

• Qualification testing and defence standards.

• Technical ownership: Become the go-to technical authority for your products.

• Varied work: Combine design, development, manufacturing and problem-solving.

• Customer exposure: Work directly with customers and see solutions in operation.

• Long-term involvement: Influence product improvements and future development.

• Specialist technology: Work on complex systems for demanding applications.

Based in Hampshire, primarily on-site with some potential hybrid flexibility. Regular site attendance and customer visits are required.

Candidates must be suitable for BPSS clearance and have five years'' continuous UK residency.

If you have strong engineering design experience and enjoy taking ownership of products, we''d like to hear from you.

Apply via the link or email (url removed) to discuss the opportunity.

INDTECH

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