Kenwood Limited
Design Engineer/Senior Design Engineer
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Design Engineer/Senior Design Engineer
Design / Senior Design Engineer (dependent upon experience)
Kenwood Business | Kenwood Global Headquarters, Havant, Hampshire | Competitive salary + excellent benefits package
Closing Date: 5th July 2026
About Kenwood & the Role
Kenwood’s R&D Department at its Havant Headquarters serves as the group’s centre of excellence for designing and developing food preparation appliances—ranging from domestic to semi-commercial—sold worldwide. Our engineers collaborate with Marketing, Industrial Design, Approvals, Quality Assurance, Production, and Aftersales Support, as well as our in-house Development Chefs, to create, refine, and develop technical specifications for innovative new products. These concepts progress through prototyping and manufacturing, ensuring smooth transitions into production and successful launches.
We’re seeking a skilled and enthusiastic Design Engineer or Senior Design Engineer to join our small, friendly team. Your primary focus will be designing and developing domestic food preparation appliances (such as stand mixers and food processors) within Kenwood’s New Product Development (NPD) programme.
You’ll be expected to:
- Elevate the team by bringing specialist skills (e.g., stress analysis, computational fluid dynamics, or related disciplines).
- Engage in hands-on work, including competitor evaluation, concept definition, and cross-functional collaboration.
- Take a leading role in the design of iconic products recognised and admired globally.
The Role
As a Design / Senior Design Engineer, you’ll play an end-to-end role in drafting, refining, and executing the design and development of our food preparation appliances. However, your responsibilities go beyond simply delivering a product—you’ll be involved in benchmarking, ideation, prototyping, and validation to align with clear customer needs.
You’ll be responsible for:
- Actively participating in research and competitor assessment to identify user requirements and competitive advantages.
- Evaluating, refining, and testing design concepts, including the creation and testing of prototypes.
- Identifying and mitigating technical issues throughout the development lifecycle and ensuring timely delivery to manufacturing.
- Balancing detailed engineering work while maintaining clarity around resource allocation, schedules, and project management.
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Success in this role means:
- Delivering designs that satisfy both internal and external customers.
- Ensuring the timely launch of high-quality products within budget.
Key Responsibilities
(Core tasks may include, but are not limited to:)
- Taking a leading technical role in planning, executing, and reporting on design and development projects to ensure successful delivery.
- Identifying technical risks and risks mitigation strategies (proactive resolution or avoidance).
- Managing workloads against project timelines, setting clear objectives with the Design & Development Team Leader, and escalating any issues.
- Supporting the Team Leader in translating project requirements into a Product Design Specification, generating proposals, and reaching fully functional designs at or below targeted cost.
- Operating CAD and related software tools.
- Participating in (and occasionally leading) design review sessions.
- Engaging as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) in key technical disciplines, sharing knowledge and supporting colleagues.
- Ensuring compliance with relevant regulatory standards, including pre-compliance and verification testing.
About You
Blue-sky thinking won’t get you very far here—you’re not just required to have the technical skills but to communicate fluently both within the Havant team and across global De’Longhi Group facilities. Success also depends on your ability to collaborate effectively, adhere to our "one team, one goal" philosophy, and share best practices.
We’re particularly interested in candidates with expertise in:
- NVH (Noise, Vibration, Harshness)
- CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics)
- FEA (Finite Element Analysis)
- Thermal design
- Electric motor design
Essential Qualifications & Experience
- Relevant degree, HNC, or HND in Engineering (preferably Electromechanical or Small Domestic Appliances).
- Demonstrable experience in product development—from concept through to mass production.
- Competence with proprietary CAD software (2D & 3D).
- Practical understanding of materials and manufacturing requirements, including rapid prototyping techniques.
- A prudent, cost-sensitive approach to design—balancing functionality, manufacturability, quality, and consumer-driven requirements.
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Desired Traits
- Highly motivated, ambitious, and career-oriented professional with growth potential.
- Strong interpersonal skills—ability to engage and influence a diverse, global workforce.
- Willingness to step up and support colleagues during busy periods.
What’s in It for You?
You’ll join a dynamic team with state-of-the-art laboratories, cutting-edge facilities, and access to new technologies, especially as Kenwood products become increasingly software-enabled. Our workplace culture and investment in learning and development provide the environment for you to thrive while enjoying a competitive remuneration package and ideally:
- Competitive salary
- Excellent contributory pension
- 25 days of holiday + bank holidays
- Superb subsidised restaurant
- Free on-site parking
- Flexible benefits package
- Range of wellbeing initiatives and activities
About Kenwood
Kenwood is a world-leading innovator in food preparation technology—our iconic kitchen appliances bridge the gap between novice cooks and professional chefs. Known for reliability and creativity, we consistently push the boundaries of kitchen technology, empowering users to express themselves through food.
The Location
Based in our global headquarters on the stunning South Coast—between Portsmouth and Chichester—this is where our products are conceptualised, tested, and manufactured. As part of your role, you’ll support manufacturing operations in China and collaborate with colleagues in Germany and Italy. Occasional international travel may be required (subject to local and global travel restrictions).
Kenwood is an equal opportunities employer—we’re a people-centric team that values diversity, inclusivity, and creativity. If this role speaks to you, apply now and help us *design the future of food preparation.
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