Lead Fluid Mechanical Design Engineer

Job Description:

SECURITY CLEARANCE:  You will be subject to a BPSS check (including a criminal record check)

TRAVEL REQUIRED: Occasional travel within UK 

LOCATION: Filton (60% of your working week must be office based)

TYPE: Full time 

WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU

• Financial Reward: Competitive salary, annual profit share, contributory pension, share options, car leasing scheme, free onsite parking, season ticket loan, tax-free technology scheme, shopping discounts and much more

• Work / Life Balance: 35 hour week, flexible working around core hours and Friday afternoons off, hybrid working, flexible working, option to buy/sell holiday 

• Personal Development: Personalised development plan, Airbus Leadership University and unlimited access to 10,000+ E-learning courses, internal mobility including international opportunities

• Health & Wellbeing: Bupa health insurance (including assisted fertility treatments and gender dysphoria & reassignment support), wellbeing benefits (including 24/7 online GP and mental health support), discounted family health / dental insurance / eye tests, cycle-to-work scheme, on-site canteen and coffee shop, lunchtime yoga / meditation 

• Family and Caregiving: Life assurance, enhanced pay for maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave and caregiving and purpose built maternity rooms on site

• Inclusive Environment: Wellbeing room, Multi-faith room, Employee Representative Groups (Gender, LGBTQ+, International, Generational, Disability, Social & Cultural Diversity, Neurodiversity) 

Our world is changing. And so are we. From our commitment to zero-carbon flight (#ZEROe) to cleaning up space, sustainability is at the heart of our purpose. So what's your next change?

An exciting opportunity awaits a Lead Fluid Mechanical Design Engineer to join the Airbus Flight and Integration Test Centre in Filton.

You will be a key player in both Fuel and Landing Gear Fluid-Mechanical Systems Test campaigns—responsible for the design, build, and maintenance of cutting-edge ground-based laboratory test means that ensure the safety and performance of Airbus aircraft fuel systems across all programs. This is a cradle-to-grave engineering role that combines hands-on testing, conceptual design, and advanced data analysis.

HOW YOU WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE TEAM 

As a Lead Engineer, your role sits at the intersection of technical mastery and project steering. You aren't just following a blueprint; you are defining the architecture that proves our future flight technologies are safe and efficient.

• Lead a multi-disciplinary team to deliver the end-to-end conceptualization, detailed design, and integration of complex fluid-mechanical lab test means for current (Serial) and future (R&T) aircraft programs.

• Ensure all test rig designs strictly adhere to Health, Safety, and Environmental (HSE) regulations, ATEX requirements for hazardous environments, and internal Airbus quality standards. You will be responsible for undertaking technical risk assessments and defining safe systems of work.

• Translate high-level customer needs into rigorous technical specifications, ensuring every rig is fit-for-purpose and compliant.

• Drive the project through critical milestones, including Preliminary Design Reviews (PDR) and Critical Design Reviews (CDR), ensuring technical integrity at every stage.

• Oversee the verification and validation of test means, ensuring a seamless and safe transition to our internal customers.

• Establish and maintain precise A/C system configuration records to ensure data integrity as we enter into critical test campaigns.

• Contribute your expertise to the long-term technology roadmap for the department, identifying where we need to be in 5–10 years.

• Evaluate and implement emerging technologies—such as Test Automation and Digital Twin platforms—to modernize our laboratory capabilities.

• Act as the primary technical point of contact for external suppliers, driving quality and performance in design and build sub-packages.

• Lead the technical costing and resource estimation for new test mean proposals.

• Serve as the senior point of escalation for complex fluid mechanical problem troubleshooting, ensuring maximum availability of our legacy test infrastructure.

ABOUT YOU

We are looking for a candidate with a strong foundation in mechanical engineering and a passion for fluid systems testing:

• BEng/Meng in Mechanical Engineering or a HNC qualification in Mechanical Engineering with Significant experience working in a test laboratory environment.

• Practical experience with systems testing techniques.

• Experience working with Large, High Pressure, Fluid Mechanical Systems (e.g hydraulics, pneumatics, high-flow pumps, etc).

• Familiarity with Fluid-Mechanical instrumentation and Data Logging/Acquisition.

• Experience working within hazardous environments (e.g. ATEX) and with combustible fluids/kerosene.

• Proven ability in Design documentation writing/reviewing, and a proactive ability to influence and work effectively across transnational teams.

Not a 100% match? No worries! Airbus supports your personal growth with customised development solutions.

HOW WE CAN SUPPORT YOU

Many of our staff work flexibly in many different ways, including part-time. Please talk to us at the interview about the flexibility you need and we’ll always do our best to accommodate your request. 

Please let us know if you need us to make any adjustments for the selection process – you can share this with your Talent Acquisition Partner if you are invited to interview. Examples may include (but not exclusive to) accessible facilities; auxiliary aids; room layout, etc. Any information disclosed will be treated in the strictest confidence.

As a Disability Confident Employer, Airbus UK will offer an interview to any applicant that considers themselves to have a disability or long-term condition and meets the minimum criteria of the role (as set out in the job advert). To ‘opt in’, just select the option during your application submission and our Talent Acquisition team will contact you.

#LI-CG1

This job requires an awareness of any potential compliance risks and a commitment to act with integrity, as the foundation for the Company’s success, reputation and sustainable growth.

Company:

Employment Type:

-------

Experience Level:

Job Family:

By submitting your CV or application you are consenting to Airbus using and storing information about you for monitoring purposes relating to your application or future employment. This information will only be used by Airbus.
Airbus is committed to achieving workforce diversity and creating an inclusive working environment. We welcome all applications irrespective of social and cultural background, age, gender, disability, sexual orientation or religious belief.

Airbus is, and always has been, committed to equal opportunities for all. As such, we will never ask for any type of monetary exchange in the frame of a recruitment process. Any impersonation of Airbus to do so should be reported to [email protected].

At Airbus, we support you to work, connect and collaborate more easily and flexibly. Wherever possible, we foster flexible working arrangements to stimulate innovative thinking.