Senior Mechanical Design Engineer

TAIT partners with artists, brands, IP holders, and place makers to bring culture-defining, never-before-seen experiences to life. With a legacy of innovation spanning over 45 years, TAIT has grown from pioneering in rock ‘n’ roll concert staging to setting the global standard for extraordinary live events and experiences through cutting-edge technology, precision engineering, and creative design. TAIT’s 20 global offices have developed iconic productions and experiences in over 30 countries, all seven continents, and even outer space for renowned performers, theme parks, exhibits, and venues across the globe, including partnerships with Taylor Swift, Cirque Du Soleil, Royal Opera House, Nike, NASA, Bloomberg, Google, Beyoncé, and The Olympics.

Position Purpose

The Senior Mechanical Design Engineer runs a team (or teams) of engineers to execute all design phases of a project or multiple projects simultaneously. They assume overall project responsibility for their remit of technical, schedule, and budgetary constraints. The SMD guides the technical vision and execution of projects or elements, therefore must maintain knowledge of the cutting edge of technology in relevant subject areas.

There are essential duties in delegation of work, planning, supporting, and mentoring staff as required. An effective SMD will use their leadership skills to build high-performance teams and maintain a positive approach to all challenges.

Essential Responsibilities

• Ensure safety and quality processes are maintained – additionally looking for and actioning areas of improvement.
• Independently applies broad knowledge of engineering principles and practices.
• Awareness and assessment of state-of-the-art technologies and industry competition/any new market opportunities for products which may help bolster TAIT’s market position.
• Maintains good working relationships and instils confidence in colleagues throughout the organisation at all levels.
• Ensure principles of high-performance leadership are engrained into the project process and instilled in colleagues at all levels.
• Maintains and promotes an understanding of professional and ethical responsibilities. The Engineering Council defines these as:
  • Honesty and integrity
  • Respect for life, law, the environment, and public good
  • Accuracy and rigour
  • Leadership and communication
• Drives the development of new techniques and/or improved processes, documentation, or products. Familiar with company solutions across the range of disciplines.
• Has ownership of project(s) with complex features and broad scope, ranging from proven schemes and solutions to ground-breaking industry firsts, uses company reporting tools to track progress.
• Responsible for resolving key technical issues and/or unique conditions by using expertise gained through real-world application.
• Support bidding teams by inputting into product data sheets/client information for'standard products'. Conducts assessments of client requirements and standards, hazard analysis/risk assessment, concept development, scheme generation, cost estimating of proprietary items, and schedule generation. This could extend to site surveys and client meetings, theory of operation, concept modelling, drawings, sketches, and client presentation thereof, along with assessment of potential production routes, value engineering, and scope rationalizing. Heavily involved in hours estimation for design process and often in manufacturing cost review also.
• Support the design process by consideration of client contractual/IP requirements & standards, assessment, and buy-in/feedback against schedule and timely alerting of any deviations to aid in department resourcing. Break-down the work into specific elements or work-packages, assign (or keep) responsibility. Take the design from concept through to detailed design, design reviews, and release of production drawings and BOMS, and review this work when done by others.
• Produce appropriate CGI to support client approval and internal communication processes.
• Support project management with client meetings, site surveys where required, technical or commercial queries, and client design team comments & requests – challenging it as appropriate. Consideration of shipping & installation strategy to best guide the design. Processing any received-from-client materials and drawings, then handling updates from site red-lines, inspection – potentially including planning and supporting Site Acceptance Testing – preparation of complete project pack, formal compliance documents + O&M, labelling and signage, and final client sign-off.
• Support production department with respective handover meetings from design, technical or commercial queries, update from red-lines, inspection – potentially including planning and supporting internal and external Factory Acceptance Testing and inspection visits - and sign-off.
• Support legacy equipment (potentially designed by others - internal or external), via the support department or through other routes.
• Prepares work packages for the project team, supervises and supports as necessary, checks and collates work package back in for submittal.
• Supervises all staff necessary to complete assignments.
• Reviews and approves scopes, budgets, and schedules for assignments.
• Plans, schedules, or coordinates the preparation of documents or activities for multiple major projects and has input in the entire program of the department.
• Supports, mentors, and guides co-workers, team members, and others both on a technical and a personal level (Continuous Professional Development).
• Provide specific and timely feedback & recognition to those for whom it is appropriate.
• Active role in selection and interviewing of new Design and Engineering staff, and guides new staff through the onboarding process.
• Pastoral care such as appraisals, holiday approval, timesheets, and expense sign-off.