Senior R&D Engineer - NPD at Thomas Lee Recruitment

This is not a lab-coat, blue-sky R&D role. Its a proper senior engineering role for someone who knows how to take a product from concept and turn it into something that can actually be built, validated, and shipped in a regulated environment.

Youll sit at the sharp end of new product introduction. Leading projects, owning technical decisions, managing risk, and being the engineer people look to when things get complex. If you enjoy responsibility, autonomy, and being trusted to make judgment calls, this will suit you.

This role suits someone who has grown up in regulated product development. Medical devices ideally, but aerospace or automotive backgrounds also fit if you understand structured design control and validation.

What you'll be doing

• Leading NPI and design transfer projects from early concept through to manufacturing.
• Acting as the senior technical interface internally and externally during development.
• Owning design outputs, including drawings, BOMs, specifications, DMRs, and manufacturing documentation.
• Driving risk management activities across products and projects, not just filling in templates.
• Working closely with Quality, Regulatory, Manufacturing, and Suppliers to ensure smooth transfer.
• Supporting validation activity, including IQ, OQ, and PQ during scale-up and early production.
• Making independent engineering decisions and escalating only when genuinely needed.
• Mentoring junior engineers and setting technical direction within the team.
• Improving products and processes based on real manufacturing and field feedback.

What you'll need

• A strong background in regulated product development and design transfer.
• Experience working to ISO 13485, or equivalent regulated standards from aerospace or automotive.
• Confidence leading projects and technical discussions without needing hand-holding.
• Solid understanding of risk management, validation, and design control.
• Ability to translate engineering intent into documentation that manufacturing can use.
• A practical mindset. You care about DFM, DFA, yield, and real-world outcomes.
• An engineering degree, HND, or HNC with solid experience behind it.
• Typically 5–8+ years in a similar environment.

Why is this role interesting

• Senior technical ownership without layers of bureaucracy.
• Real influence over how products are designed and transferred.
• Long-term product lifecycle involvement, not just project handovers.
• Scope to shape processes, mentor others, and contribute IP.
• A role built around trust and competence, not micromanagement.
• If you're currently stuck being the safe pair of hands with no real authority, this role gives you the space to actually lead.