Design Engineer

Overthorpe, Northamptonshire
8 months ago
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Simulation Engineer - FEA

PhysicsX North Tyneside, NE29 8EP, United Kingdom
Posted
22 Sep 2025 (8 months ago)

What do we offer?

  • Competitive salary
  • Company performance bonus scheme
  • Pension scheme - up to 10% employer contribution
  • Private medical insurance
  • Comprehensive health cash plan
  • 25 days annual leave + bank holidays
  • Flexible benefits programme (buy & sell holiday allowance, discounted gym memberships, Maternity/ adoption leave- up to 52 weeks, first 26 weeks at full pay, subsequent 26 at 50% (basic pay)
  • Structured training & opportunities to progress
    What does the role look like?
    We are seeking a Composite Design Engineer to join our engineering team in Banbury. This role will focus on the design, development, and testing of advanced composite components, supporting both new product introduction and existing product maintenance. The successful candidate will be responsible for creating detailed CAD models and drawings, collaborating across teams, and ensuring technical compliance throughout the product lifecycle. This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to innovative engineering solutions in a dynamic and fast-paced environment.
    What will your day-to-day responsibilities look like?
  • Create detailed CAD models and drawings. Some knowledge of FEA would be helpful, but not essential.
  • Interpret drawings and technical specifications to assess and maintain compliance with all requirements. Where necessary, liaise with engineering management and suppliers to determine technical needs.
  • Perform or oversee qualification and development testing using in-house and subcontracted test facilities. Analyse test results to verify component and material performance.
  • Author qualification test procedures and reports.
  • Collaborate with other functions as needed to ensure successful project delivery.
  • Support product lifecycle maintenance activities.
  • Clearly communicate progress on engineering tasks.
    Essential Skills:
  • Degree-qualified in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent.
  • Highly motivated, with the ability to work independently under clear instruction.
  • Capable of analysing and solving new engineering problems using first principles.
    Desirable Skills:
  • Willing to take a hands-on approach to component development and testing methods.
  • Strong, open, two-way communication skills.
  • Comfortable working in both office and test-lab environments.
  • Able to fit into CTG's dynamic and enthusiastic culture, with flexibility around working hours.
  • Knowledge of Polymer Matrix Composites-including different types of resins, fibres, manufacturing techniques, and testing methods-is beneficial but not essential.
    About us:
    Safran is an international high-technology group, operating in the aviation (propulsion, equipment and interiors), defense and space markets. Its core purpose is to contribute to a safer, more sustainable world, where air transport is more environmentally friendly, comfortable and accessible. Safran has a global presence, with 100,000 employees and sales of 27.3 billion euros in 2024, and holds, alone or in partnership, world or regional leadership positions in its core markets.
    Safran is in the 2nd place in the aerospace and defense industry in TIME magazine's 'World's best companies 2024' ranking.
    Safran Electronics & Defense offers its customers onboard intelligence solutions allowing them to understand the environment, reduce mental load and guarantee a trajectory, even in critical situations, in all environments: on land, at sea, in the sky or space. The company harnesses the expertise of its 13,000 employees towards these three functions: observe, decide and guide, for the civil and military markets.
    Apply now and be part of the team that’s redefining aerospace, every day!
    Please note that potential candidates will be subject to Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) and background checks and that project access restrictions may apply to some nationalities

Industry Insights

Discover insightful articles, industry insights, expert tips, and curated resources.

Where to Advertise Materials Science Jobs in the UK (2026 Guide)

Advertising materials science jobs in the UK requires a different approach to most technical hiring. The candidate pool spans physicists, chemists, metallurgists, ceramicists, polymer scientists and computational materials researchers — a highly multidisciplinary community with distinct professional identities, academic networks and job search behaviours. The strongest candidates are typically embedded in university research groups, national laboratories, government-funded programmes or deep tech R&D teams, and move between roles through specialist academic channels, professional societies and sector-specific networks rather than mainstream job boards. This guide, published by MaterialsScienceJobs.co.uk, covers where to advertise materials science roles in the UK in 2026, how the main platforms compare, what employers should expect to pay, and what the data says about hiring across different role types.

Materials Science Jobs UK 2026: What to Expect Over the Next 3 Years

Materials science sits at the foundation of almost every technology transition that matters right now. The batteries powering the electric vehicle revolution, the semiconductors enabling artificial intelligence, the lightweight composites reducing aircraft emissions, the biomaterials replacing damaged human tissue, the thin films making solar cells more efficient — none of these advances are possible without breakthroughs in the science and engineering of materials. And breakthroughs in materials science require people. The UK materials science jobs market has historically been one of the quieter corners of the STEM hiring landscape — important, deeply technical, and consistently in demand, but rarely the subject of the breathless coverage that AI or blockchain attract. That relative obscurity is beginning to change. The convergence of the net zero transition, the semiconductor sovereignty agenda, the advanced manufacturing investment wave, and the growing role of computational and AI-driven materials discovery is elevating materials science to a strategic priority for governments, investors, and employers in a way that is directly reshaping the jobs market. For job seekers, this shift represents a genuine opportunity — but one that rewards those who understand the specific technical, commercial, and policy dynamics driving materials science hiring rather than those who simply arrive with a materials science degree and expect the market to do the rest. The roles being created now are more interdisciplinary, more computationally demanding, and more commercially oriented than the materials science jobs of even three years ago. This article breaks down what the UK materials science jobs market is likely to look like through to 2028 — covering the titles emerging right now, the technologies driving employer demand, the skills that will matter most, and how to position your career at the leading edge of a discipline that has never been more consequential.

How Many Materials Science Tools Do You Need to Know to Get a Materials Science Job?

If you’re navigating the materials science job market, it can feel like the list of tools, techniques and platforms you should learn grows every week. One job advert mentions electron microscopy, another mentions X-ray diffraction, yet another wants experience with thermal analysis, spectroscopy, simulation software, statistical packages, manufacturing QA systems and more. With so many specialised methods and instruments, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed — and to start thinking you need to know everything just to be considered. Here’s the honest truth most materials science hiring managers won’t tell you directly: 👉 They don’t hire you because you know every piece of equipment or software. They hire you because you can use the tools you do know to answer real questions, make reliable measurements and communicate results clearly. Tools are essential — no question — but they are secondary to problem-solving ability, scientific reasoning and experimental rigour. So the real question is: how many materials science tools do you actually need to know to get a job? The precise number depends on the role you want, but for most job seekers the answer is far fewer than you think. This article breaks down what employers really value, which tools are core, which are role-specific, and how to focus your learning so your CV and interviews stand out for the right reasons.