Senior Hardware Engineer

Electromechanical Systems Location: near Berkshire Salary: £50,000–£65,000 depending on experience Working pattern: Full-time, predominantly on-site Clearance: Candidates must be eligible for UK SC clearance Venn Group is working exclusively with a Defence technology company to recruit a Senior Hardware Engineer. This is a senior individual-contributor role without formal line-management responsibility. You will take ownership of projects from an initial brief through concept, design, prototyping, build, testing and final documentation. Work will include UAV and UGV platforms, payload integration, launch mechanisms, ground-support equipment, power and charging systems, test equipment and production tooling. Key responsibilities Deliver engineering projects from initial concept to operational hardware

Produce mechanical parts, assemblies and manufacture-ready CAD drawings

Integrate power systems, wiring, harnessing, avionics and payloads

Develop prototypes and personally diagnose or modify hardware

Plan and conduct bench, environmental and integration testing

Support operational trials and customer acceptance activities

Maintain engineering records, drawings, build documents and test evidence

Direct technician activity across your projects

Manage suppliers, manufactured components and technical procurement

Apply practical design-for-manufacture principles

Maintain configuration control and ISO 9001 compliance

Support and mentor junior engineers and technicians

Essential experience Degree in an engineering discipline or equivalent practical experience

At least seven years’ experience in hardware engineering

Experience within UAVs, robotics, aerospace or another demanding electromechanical environment

A track record of delivering hardware projects with minimal supervision

Strong mechanical design or electrical/electronic engineering capability, with practical knowledge of the other discipline

Mechanical CAD and production-drawing experience, or schematic and wiring-harness design capability

Hands-on workshop, prototyping and fault-finding experience

Test planning, execution and disciplined evidence capture

Strong engineering documentation and configuration habits

Eligibility to obtain UK SC clearance; some programmes may require sole UK nationality

Desirable experience UAV, UAS or UGV platform development

Mechanisms, actuation systems, latches or deployment equipment

Composites, machining or sheet-metal design

Batteries, power distribution and charging systems

Avionics or payload integration

Embedded programming or test-automation scripting

ISO 9001 and engineering change control

Flight trials or field-support experience

Current or previously held SC or DV clearance

Package £50,000–£65,000 depending on experience

Company benefits

Occasional home working where project activity permits

Broad ownership across design, prototyping, build and testing

This opportunity would suit a Senior Engineer, Senior Hardware Engineer, Electromechanical Engineer, Mechanical Design Engineer or Electrical Design Engineer who enjoys taking complete ownership of physical products. Apply with an up-to-date CV for a confidential discussion.