Mechanical Design Engineer

Job Title: Mechanical Engineer – Automation & Product Design
Location: Reading
Salary: Circa £50,000 + Benefits
Employment Type: Full-Time | Permanent

Are you a Mechanical Engineer passionate about automation, robotics, and designing real-world systems that make a tangible impact? I’m working with a growing tech company developing next-generation production technology that’s helping revolutionise sustainable agriculture.

This is a hands-on, design-focused role where you’ll contribute to the scale-up of precision automation systems for high-throughput manufacturing. You’ll join a small, agile engineering team tackling novel mechanical design challenges — everything from intricate material handling to seamless integration with electronics and software.

What You’ll Be Doing:

• Design and develop automation components and mechanisms for handling high-volume small objects

• Integrate mechanical systems with multidisciplinary teams across software, electronics, and controls

• Rapidly prototype, test, iterate and improve hardware solutions in a live production setting

• Troubleshoot and optimise existing systems to ensure performance, uptime, and ease of assembly

• Help refine design processes, tools, and methodologies in a fast-paced start-up environment

What We’re Looking For:

• Degree-qualified in Mechanical Engineering (or related field)

• 3+ years' experience in mechanical design within automation, robotics, or mechatronics

• Skilled in SolidWorks (or similar CAD), with a strong grasp of DFM and GD&T

• Proven ability to design for production and tight tolerances

• Practical experience working with prototyping tools and workshop equipment

• Comfortable working hands-on, thinking creatively, and solving novel design problems

Desirable (Not Essential):

• Experience with stepper/servo motors, precision mechanisms, or small-part automation

• Familiarity with 3D printing, CNC, and manufacturing methods like injection moulding

• Worked in industries with high hygiene or regulatory standards (e.g., medical, food, cosmetics)

• Background in low-power automated systems like animatronics, vending machines, or lab devices

• Exposure to control panels, basic electronics, or cross-functional integration work

Why Apply?

• Salary circa £50,000 + benefits

• Work on mission-driven, sustainable technology

• Join a small, passionate team building production systems from the ground up

• Real impact: your designs will go from CAD to real-world deployment in weeks

• Creative environment with high autonomy, responsibility, and technical variety

Location: Reading (commutable from Oxford, Basingstoke, Newbury, Swindon, Maidenhead)
Salary: £50,000 + benefits
Career Path: Pathway to Senior Engineer roles and project leadership within a fast-growing start-up

If this sounds like something you'd like to explore, please apply with your CV or get in touch for more information.