Senior Systems Engineer

Cambridge Design Partnership · Cambridge

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Systems Engineering and Product Ownership

• Take a whole-product view of development, from initial feasibility and concept selection through detailed design, integration and verification.
• Turn stakeholder needs into practical requirements and trace them through to verification
• Manage Technical Risk and develop effective Risk Control Measures to ensure products are safe to use and meet regulatory constraints
• Comfortable managing mechanical, electronics, firmware, software and other specialists together so that individual subsystems work as one coherent product.
• Spot technical gaps and risks early, agree priorities with the team and drive engineering issues through to resolution.

Requirements, Architecture and Interfaces

• Take the lead on defining, reviewing and maintaining system requirements, making sure they are clear, testable and linked to the needs they address.
• Shape system architecture, data flow, and long-term technical roadmaps across multiple teams.
• Develop functional architectures, break products into manageable subsystems and agree technical responsibilities across engineering disciplines.
• Define interfaces between hardware, embedded software, controls and mechanical systems, including signals, power, communications and physical connections.
• Establish and assess key performance budgets, such as power, timing, accuracy or throughput, using analysis and test data to guide decisions.

 Technical Problem Solving and Risk

• Take a hands-on approach to technical challenges, working with engineers to investigate unexpected behavior and find the root cause of problems.
• Plan and carry out focused feasibility work, experiments and prototype tests to answer important engineering questions early.
• Manage design reviews and risk assessments, helping the team make sound decisions on performance, reliability, safety and design maturity.
• Manage DFMEA and Risk Registers, assessing risk acceptability and tracing risks through Risk Control Measures to implementation

Integration, Test and Verification

• Plan how subsystems will be brought together and tested, with clear methods and acceptance criteria for demonstrating product performance.
• Support the build and integration of electromechanical prototypes, helping diagnose issues across electronics, controls, firmware, software and mechanisms.
• Prepare test methods and plans, participate in testing, interpret results and follow through on failures and design changes.
• Maintain clear evidence that the product meets its requirements through traceability documentation, and support design handover and transfer with the necessary technical information.

 Working with Clients and Project Teams

• Act as a technical lead point of contact, giving project teams a clear view of the overall design and the implications of technical decisions.
• Explain technical options, trade-offs and recommendations clearly to clients and colleagues, using the right level of detail for the audience.
• Work with project managers and technical leads to plan engineering activities, estimate effort and manage technical dependencies and priorities.
• Collaborate with suppliers and external partners to agree specifications, resolve interface issues and integrate their work into the product.
• Support writing proposals, costing and planning work, technical workshops and design reviews, and help colleagues use systems engineering methods in a practical, proportionate way.

Requirements

• Track record of at least 10 years' experience designing products in a highly regulated industry, preferably medical devices.
• Hands-on and practical engineering skills, willing and able to get stuck in to designing solutions and able to demonstrate a passion for engineering in and out of work.
• Able to see the complete product while still understanding enough technical detail to make informed engineering decisions at all levels and engineering disciplines.
• Strong problem-solving skills, with the curiosity and judgement to challenge assumptions and work through unfamiliar technical problems.
• Pragmatic and organized, able to bring structure to an ambiguous brief without creating unnecessary complexity or paperwork.
• Confident working across disciplines, with technical strengths in mechanical and electrical engineering or mechatronics.
• A clear communicator who can build strong relationships with clients, explain technical issues and influence decisions constructively.
• Able to balance performance, usability, cost, risk and development timescales when recommending engineering solutions.
• Proactive, collaborative and accountable, with the drive to take ownership and see technical issues through to completion.
• Bachelor's or Master’s degree in electrical engineering, mechanical/mechatronics, systems engineering or a closely related engineering discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
• Experience developing physical products that combine electronics, software or firmware, and mechanical components, ideally through more than one stage of development.
• Practical experience defining system requirements, developing architectures and managing interfaces between engineering disciplines.
• Hands-on experience building, integrating, testing or troubleshooting electromechanical systems and resolving issues that span hardware and software.
• A good grounding in sensors, actuators, embedded controls, power and communications, and confidence interpreting schematics and technical test results.
• Experience planning and carrying out system-level tests, assessing performance against requirements and documenting engineering findings.
• Familiarity with requirements tools, simulation, modelling, scripting or model-based systems engineering (including SysML) would be beneficial.
• Strong AI skills and experience in applying tools to streamline technical activities, including requirements management
• Experience in a product development consultancy, medical devices, diagnostics, scientific instruments, robotics, automation or other regulated industries would be advantageous.

Benefits

Cambridge Design Partnership (CDP) is an end-to-end innovation partner, propelling global brands and ambitious start-ups to success. We build breakthrough products and services – from insight to ideas, prototypes to production – bringing innovation to life. Our teams are multi-disciplinary, uniting scientific rigor, design ingenuity, and engineering excellence for consumer and healthcare clients. People-centred, deeply collaborative, and – above all – expert, we’re uniquely positioned to shape the future for consumers, patients, and industry. Even our ownership model is innovative: We’re 100% owned by our employees, ensuring an open culture and a total commitment to our projects’ success. As part of our benefits package, we offer:

• flexible working
• a discretionary bonus
• excellent learning and development opportunities
• a 12% non-contributory pension
• private healthcare
• electric vehicle lease salary sacrifice scheme
• share incentive plan
• 33 days holiday inclusive of bank holidays

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