Principal Mechanical Engineer
(Through-Life Support)
Overview
A leading aerospace engineering organisation is expanding its Through-Life Support engineering capability and is seeking a Principal Mechanical Engineer to provide technical leadership across operational products, supporting reliability, performance, and continuous improvement of complex electromechanical systems.
This role sits at the intersection of engineering design, production support, and operational problem-solving, ensuring that high-value aerospace systems perform safely and reliably throughout their operational lifecycle.
You will play a key role in technical investigations, design optimisation, and cross-functional collaboration with engineering, production, MRO, and supplier teams.
Why this role is attractive
* Principal-level technical ownership and leadership
* Work on highly complex aerospace electromechanical systems
* Strong technical engineering culture
* Long-term product lifecycle engineering exposure
* Significant influence on product reliability and performance
Key Responsibilities
Engineering leadership & technical authority
* Provide senior mechanical engineering leadership across through-life support activities
* Represent engineering in technical review and quality meetings
* Lead engineering investigations into product performance and reliability issues
* Mentor engineers and support technical development across the team
Design, validation & product optimisation
* Design and validate mechanical components and electromechanical systems
* Apply engineering calculations, analysis, and simulation to validate designs
* Ensure designs are optimised for manufacture, cost, reliability, and performance
* Support design assurance, validation, and approval processes
Production & operational support
* Support production teams in resolving engineering and manufacturing issues
* Work closely with suppliers, manufacturing, and test teams to deliver solutions
* Provide technical support for operational products and in-service equipment
Root cause analysis & continuous improvement
* Lead structured root cause investigations (RCA)
* Identify corrective actions and drive engineering improvements
* Support continuous improvement initiatives across engineering and manufacturing
Documentation & lifecycle engineering
* Author and approve engineering documentation
* Support product lifecycle engineering across operational and legacy products
* Ensure compliance with aerospace engineering and regulatory standards
Candidate Requirements
Essential experience
* Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related discipline
* Extensive experience designing complex mechanical or electromechanical systems
* Experience within highly regulated industries such as aerospace, defence, or similar
* Strong background in mechanical design, validation, and engineering investigations
* Experience performing root cause analysis and engineering problem solving
* Experience working with manufacturing, suppliers, and production environments
Technical expertise
* Mechanical design and engineering analysis
* Engineering calculations and validation
* Root cause analysis and reliability engineering
* Engineering investigations and product improvement
* Manufacturing support and production engineering collaboration
* Materials, manufacturing processes, and mechanical system design
Software & tools
Experience with:
* CAD tools (NX, CATIA, Creo, SolidWorks or similar)
* PLM tools (Teamcenter, Windchill or similar)
* Engineering analysis interpretation (FEA, stress, thermal, bearing calculations)
Highly desirable
* Aerospace electromechanical systems experience
* Motors, generators, or rotating machinery design experience
* Experience supporting in-service aerospace products