Cordon Technologies
Principal Mechanical Engineer
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Principal Mechanical Engineer
Location: Maidenhead, UK (1-2 days a week remote)
Salary: £60K, plus significant share options
About Cordon
Most crop sprayers still use the same tech as they were using 100 years ago, mixing chemicals by the tankful and applying them at a single rate, whether the crop needs it or not. Cordon completely reinvents that.
Our first product, the Loop, is a completely unique real-time precision mixer. It mixes on the move, so growers apply only what each part of the crop needs. Less waste, lower costs, and less fertiliser and pesticide going onto the land.
The Loop launched in mid 2025. It has already been sold to customers covering 12% of UK vineyard land. Vineyards are where we started, but the same approach can work across almost all crops across the world.
Why You'll Enjoy It Here
- Your work leaves the building. Designs go from CAD to the workshop to a working farm, and you'll be there when growers put them to use.
- No layers of sign-off. If a field test shows something isn't right, you can change it, test it again and see the result quickly.
- Hard, interesting engineering. Fluids, mechanics, electronics and software all meet in one product that has to survive mud, heat, vibration and farmers!
- Impact you can measure. Every litre of chemical the Loop saves is money back for the grower and less in the soil and water.
- Early enough to shape things. You'll help set our design standards, our processes and the team that comes next.
- A real stake in the outcome. Share options mean you benefit directly from what you help build.
- New places, new challenges. Opportunities to travel to the US and Europe to support the Loop’s expansions into new markets and new crops.
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The Role
We're looking for a Principal Mechanical Engineer to own the mechanical design of the Loop and every product that follows it, taking them from small-batch builds through to full-scale production.
Reporting to the CTO, you'll be our technical authority in mechanical design. It's a hands-on role. You'll spend real time in CAD and in the workshop, with regular trips out to see the kit working on farms in the UK and further afield. Alongside this, you'll manage engineers in the team, help shape how our teams grow, and build relationships with our manufacturing partners as production scales up. As Cordon grows, there is a clear pathway for the role to develop into a more senior leadership position.
Key Responsibilities
- Line manage and mentor engineers, contributing to how the team grows through future hires
- Act as technical authority for mechanical design, including design reviews, FMEA and design standards
- Own the product CAD along with all mechanical design and manufacturing documentation
- Lead full lifecycle product development, from specification and design through testing to manufacture
- Own the path to production, including DFM/DFA, manufacturing planning and scaling from small batch to full production
- Work closely with electronics, software and commercial to deliver integrated reliable systems
- Run methodical experiments in the workshop and on farm, using the results to drive design decisions
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We're Looking For Someone Who Has
- 6+ years in mechanical or product engineering, with experience across multiple areas, such as design, testing, manufacturing, project leadership or people management
- A track record of taking products from concept through to manufacture at scale
- Experience leading people or projects, with the ambition to take on wider leadership
- A degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field such as design engineering, mechatronics, aerospace, manufacturing, agricultural engineering or equivalent experience
- Strong CAD skills (Onshape or SolidWorks experience is ideal but not required)
- Clear communication with everyone from engineers to Farmers
- A full UK driving licence
What We Offer
- Ownership of the mechanical design of products already working on farms
- Clear scope to grow into a more senior leadership position as Cordon scales
- Significant share options, so you share in the success you help create
- Work that cuts chemical use in farming, with results you can see in the field
- Flexible working: primarily site-based, with 1-2 days a week remote
Desirable Skills and Experience
- Experience developing agricultural or industrial machinery
- Experience of UK manufacturing and supply chains
- An interest in sustainable agriculture
If you want to be able to point at a field and say you helped build what's working in it, we'd love to hear from you.
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