Job title: Design Engineer

Department: Design and Development

Responsible to: Head of Product Development

Salary Competitive

About the Company

Our mission is to transform the way people live in cities. With over 16 million possible combinations of gears, colours, handlebars and accessories, we make more than just a bicycle, and we are more than just a bicycle company.

We continue to make the Brompton in West London, where we started in 1975, but our product has travelled far - we now export 80% of our bicycles to 44 countries. In the past 36 months we have invested in a new purpose-built production facility, transformed our digital architecture, opened new flagship stores and had our biggest product launch in company history and we’re not stopping there…

To change urban living, we need passionate, innovative and talented people that want to challenge the status quo and make an impact.

The role

The Brompton is the iconic product of its type, a unique bike used and loved in over forty countries around the world. Sales have grown rapidly over the last ten years, making us the largest bicycle manufacturer in the UK, with our products still designed and made by hand right here in London. Despite this we feel like we’re just getting started and there is huge potential to make the bike lighter, more capable and more fun to use.

As a design team we are passionate about making the best bike we can and approach this in an unusual way; we design all our own components, so they are exactly what we want and need them to be. Brakes, gears, tyres, luggage, frame parts and almost everything else. Brompton is created by us from nose-to-tail. Each project is therefore different; in some you’ll be designing a part for minimum weight and high stiffness, other projects will emphasise ergonomics, or making Brompton intuitive to use.

The Person

We are seeking a passionate, imaginative and effective designer to join our team and create new products. You will work within the team on all stages of design from research and conception through to manufacture here in London.

We want you to get under the skin of the product, what it does and the broader aims of the Brompton company. Use your creativity and technical knowledge to make advances in our product that are of real value to our customers.

Skills and Requirements

• Design portfolio demonstrating experience in mechanism and product design.
• Experience in a similar role ideally within automotive, aerospace or consumer product development.
• Demonstrated ability in 3D CAD, preferably Solidworks.
• Experience of FEA is an advantage.
• Experience of part/assembly ownership from concept through to mass production is desirable.
• Proven ability to produce designs to specified lead times and costs.
• Exposure to and experience of relevant manufacturing techniques is an advantage:
• CNC
• Injection moulding
• Die casting
• Forging
• Fabrication
• Welding and brazing
• Paint and coating application
• Surface treatment
• Heat treatment
• Spring specification

Main duties

• Generate concepts for new developments in line with project briefs and specifications.
• Present ideas through sketches and hand-made prototypes for selection by the wider team.
• Carry out detailed mechanical design including
• 3D CAD modelling using Solidworks
• 2D critical dimension drawings
• Simulation (Finite element Analysis) where appropriate for validation.
• 3D prototyping (using internal and external resources)
• Follow design verification plans to physically validate concepts and designs in line with internal test procedures and industry standard requirements.
• Agree the mechanical, aesthetic and ergonomic approach with the design lead and senior designers within the team.
• Maintain bills of materials to document proposed product changes.
• As part of the team you will conduct research relevant to each project covering:
• Bicycle ergonomics
• Technical aspects of mechanical principles involved, including frame strength and stiffness.
• Appropriate manufacturing methods based on Brompton capabilities and state of the art methods
• Throughout your role you will also liaise with:
• The purchasing team to ensure design concepts meet the financial targets set out for the projects
• Production engineering to ensure designs are efficient for manufacture and meet the capabilities of our suppliers and the internal production team.
• Quality to help generate inspection plans in line with the critical design requirements.
• Third party suppliers to obtain initial tooling quotations
• Marketing and sales to ensure they are informed and consulted on the designs as they develop.

Education

Master’s or Bachelor’s degree in mechanical or product design engineering.

A minimum of 3 years of relevant industry experience.