Senior Mechanical Engineer

The Opportunity

We're looking for a Senior Mechanical Engineer to design and develop advanced electro-optical systems used in autonomous tracking and drone interception, deployed globally to protect critical military and civilian assets.

You'll work on new product development and rapid iterations of operational systems, solving complex engineering challenges and seeing your designs move quickly from concept to deployment in a fast-moving Design Engineering environment.

This is a hands-on engineering role, owning mechanical design across the product lifecycle – from concept design and CAD modelling through to testing, verification and production support.

Who We Are

OpenWorks is a rapidly growing business operating globally with a passion for exceptional engineering and building on a legacy of defence innovation in the North East of England.

Our products provide ultra-high performance, real-time detection, tracking, identification and targeting of dynamic aerial threats. They have been deployed internationally to protect high profile military and civilian assets, and contribute towards the defeat of nuisance, misguided and maliciously deployed drones during operations.

We are very proud to have supported a wide range of law enforcement and military operators, protecting many of the most high profile sites and individuals around the world.

The amazing things we do are only possible because of a dedicated and passionate team.

Why You’ll Love Working With Us

Join a high-energy, collaborative team where great ideas thrive, challenges are embraced, and people genuinely love what they do.

Here’s what our benefits have to offer:

Competitive remuneration package, with performance-related bonuses and clear progression opportunities.

25 days holiday + public holidays, with long-service rewards and the option to buy up to 5 additional days.

Free breakfast and freshly cooked lunches every day, courtesy of Chef Mark and his team.

Private healthcare through Aviva, keeping you feeling your best.

Life assurance for peace of mind.

Salary sacrifice schemes – including EV car and Cycle to Work options for easy, sustainable travel.

Paid team socials – from quiz nights and football to board games and more; we love to have fun together.

Pension plan with employer-matched contributions to help you plan for the future.

A culture that empowers – we enable change, encourage challenge, and celebrate personal growth.

The engineering challenge

Our mission is critical. Counter-UAS represents a uniquely asymmetric threat and is a top priority for militaries across NATO and allied nations.

You’ll be designing precision electro-mechanical systems, taking into account environmental loads, thermal behavior, vibration, manufacturability, and assembly constraints. These systems operate in demanding real-world environments, where every aspect of mechanical design directly impacts performance and reliability.

If you enjoy solving complex engineering problems and seeing your designs operate in the real world, this is the kind of work you’ll thrive in.

What you’ll be doing

• Design mechanical systems for electro-optical products used in defence and surveillance applications
• Develop new products, taking designs from concept through prototyping, testing and production
• Improve existing products, enhancing reliability, manufacturability and cost efficiency
• Produce engineering documentation including CAD models, drawings, BOMs and test reports
• Design for manufacture, considering tolerance stack-ups and assembly constraints
• Manage multiple technical tasks in a fast-paced R&D environment

What we’re looking for

• Engineering degree – 2:1 or higher in Mechanical Engineering or similar
• Product design experience – experience developing mechanical products in complex engineering environments
• CAD expertise – professional 3D CAD experience (ideally Autodesk Inventor)
• Engineering analysis – familiarity with FEA tools such as Ansys
• Problem solving – strong analytical and practical engineering judgement
• Attention to detail – disciplined engineering approach and documentation
• Collaboration – comfortable working in multidisciplinary engineering teams
• Delivery mindset – able to manage work effectively in a dynamic development environment

What you’ll get

• Challenging engineering work – design systems used in demanding real-world environments
• End-to-end product exposure – see designs progress from concept to deployment
• Autonomy – ownership of key design areas and real influence on product performance
• Team collaboration – work with highly capable mechanical, electronics and software engineers
• Career growth – develop your skills within a growing and ambitious engineering company

· Flexibility – as a highly collaborative team, we value working together on-site, but fully support flexible hours and remote work where possible

As a fast growing company, with almost 100 people which is continually expanding, we offer the opportunity for a professional to have autonomy and responsibility. You’ll directly see the impact of your efforts.

Don’t worry if you don’t meet all of the criteria – we’re interested in talented engineers with the right mindset and core skills. If you’re excited by the challenge and meet most of the requirements, we encourage you to get in touch.

More about us

Vision
Help protect the territory and airspace of NATO countries and their allies.

Mission
Be a world-leading provider of autonomous technology for Surveillance applications and Defence.

Values

Be a Good Egg: Earn respect, have mutual trust and be honest
Do cool stuff: We develop cool tech with an awesome team, and we get stuff done
Be empowered: We are autonomous, reliable and take personal responsibility
We are one team: Look out for each other and the team
Things go wrong: Fail fast, learn and move on
Have fun: We’re doing amazing things with passionate people