Design Engineering Technical Developer

Fixed Term Contract for 12 months 

Full time starting salary is normally in the range of £28,929 to £33,825 per annum 

Location: Cranfield, Bedfordshire 

We welcome applications from passionate, skilled, committed individuals to join our team.

About the Role

The Design Engineering Technical Developer will provide critical support to the Senior Lecturer in Product Design Engineering and the Centre for Digital Design Engineering team in design engineering and prototype development for the Cranfield Circular Toilet Project, a Gates Foundation-funded initiative developing next-generation sanitation solutions for global deployment. This role is essential to address the significant increase in prototyping deliverables, to ensure timely delivery of project outputs to commercial partners. 

The successful candidate will work on breakthrough innovations in sanitation technology, contributing directly to solutions that will impact global health and sustainability for billions of people worldwide. By leveraging extensive knowledge in design engineering and proven capabilities in prototype development, the postholder will help deliver multiple new prototypes on schedule. This role offers the opportunity to work independently on complex engineering challenges while collaborating with a multidisciplinary team, making a tangible difference in advancing Cranfield’s reputation as a leading powerhouse of innovation in design engineering. 

About You

You should hold a Master’s Degree. You should also be good at creating detailed CAD models for all sanitation system components and assemblies, preparing engineering drawings and technical specifications, and optimising the designs for manufacturability and cost-effectiveness. 

You should have excellent SolidWorks skills in modelling 3D parts and working systems, preferably with experience in developing sanitation-based technologies. A demonstrable track record of innovation through patents and prototyping is an advantage. You must be able to show evidence that you are a named inventor on any innovation you are presenting. You must be able to independently lead the development of a technology stream within Cranfield’s reinvented toilet portfolio, with minimal oversight.

About Us

As a specialist postgraduate university, Cranfield’s world-class expertise, large-scale facilities and unrivalled industry partnerships are creating leaders in technology and management globally. Learn more about Cranfield and our unique impact here.

Our Values and Commitments

Our shared, stated values help to define who we are and underpin everything we do: Ambition; Impact; Respect; and Community. Find out more here.

We aim to create and maintain a culture in which everyone can work and study together and realise their full potential. We are a Disability Confident Employer and proud members of the Stonewall Diversity Champions Programme. We are committed to actively exploring flexible working options for each role and have been ranked in the Top 30 family friendly employers in the UK by the charity Working Families. Find out more about our key commitments to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and Flexible Working here.

Working Arrangements

Collaborating and connecting are integral to so much of what we do. Our Working Arrangements Framework provides many staff with the opportunity to flexibly combine on-site and remote working, where job roles allow, balancing the needs of our community of staff, students, clients and partners.

How to apply                                     

For an informal discussion, please contact Dr Matt Collins, on (E): m.collins@cranfield.ac.uk

To apply please click above 'Apply' Button. Please do not hesitate to contact us for further details on E: peoplerecruitment@cranfield.ac.uk. Please quote reference number 5180.

Closing date: 18 January 2026

www.cranfield.ac.uk

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