Principal Design Engineer

Principal Design Engineer - Marine Experience is essential for this role!

Location: Southampton – hybrid, 3 days per week on-site

Salary: £70-85K+ (neg) plus excellent benefits package. More may be available for the right candidate.

A relocation package and Visa/Sponsorship support is available for this role if required.

About the Opportunity

Our client is a leading fast-growing maritime technology business developing wind-assisted propulsion systems that help reduce fuel consumption and emissions across global shipping.

They are now looking to appoint a Principal Design Engineer to join their growing engineering team. This is a hands-on role with broad involvement across the design lifecycle, from concept development through to detailed design and production-ready hardware.

Working closely with the Head of Engineering, you will take ownership of key subsystems, helping to deliver designs that are robust, manufacturable, compliant, and ready for real-world use. This is an excellent opportunity to join a mission-driven business developing real climate-impact technology in a highly innovative environment and would suit someone genuinely motivated by sustainability and the opportunity to contribute to cleaner shipping.

Key Requirements

We are looking for an experienced Mechanical / Structural / Marine Engineer with strong expertise in marine structural design, analysis, and classification-led approval.

You should bring:

• Degree qualification in Naval, Mechanical, Structural, or Marine Engineering
• Around 5-10 years’ experience designing marine structures approved by classification societies
• Strong proficiency in Siemens NX, Autodesk Inventor, or similar 3D CAD tools
• Strong experience in structural analysis, including FEA and hand calculations
• Proven experience translating load cases into robust design requirements and validated structures
• Experience working directly with classification societies and supporting technical approval
• Experience with DNV, LR, NK or similar bodies
• Strong understanding of DFMA, structural integrity, and manufacturability

Desirable experience includes:

• Experience in fatigue, buckling, and large welded structures
• Exposure to aero-structural systems or other performance-led structural design
• Experience validating models against real-world data
• Knowledge of structural testing, validation, and manufacturing techniques

Please do apply online today for more information, our client are looking to interview asap.