Lead Advanced Development Engineer

If you’re looking for a progressive and rewarding career and you thrive in a fast-paced, fun and team-orientated environment, then look no further!
Overview of Vax:

Our heritage-rich, expert-led business has always had the same goal: to prioritize innovation and to design easy-to-use products that seamlessly integrate into our customers' lives, offering reliable, quick solutions to cleaning homes, whatever the mess.

Vax has forged its reputation as a brand that focuses on the needs of its customers. Our culture of innovation is at the heart of everything we do and we work hard to constantly think of new ways to improve our products, ensuring that we deliver premium quality products for our customers.

Lead Advanced Development Engineer

We work on a hybrid basis; this role will be working 4 days onsite and 1 day working from home

As a Lead Advanced Development Engineer, you’ll lead the creation of future technology and product concepts that shape our innovation pipeline. Working at the front end of development, you’ll transform consumer insights, design research, emerging technologies and engineering challenges into compelling proof of concepts and demonstrators. Accelerating our learning through testing, maturing and trialling concepts to reduce technical uncertainty ahead of NPD.

You’ll remain hands on while leading technical direction, mentoring engineers and setting the standard for concept engineering and advanced development across the team. Driving our concepts from opportunity to validated demonstrators ready for NPD.

Key Duties include:

• Lead the development of innovative product concepts, enabling technologies and system architectures.
• Translate design and market research into practical engineering solutions and compelling proof of concepts.
• Collaborate with Product Management to evaluate commercial strength of concepts and define targets which create maximum market impact.
• Define and execute technical de risking plans, using rapid prototyping, experimentation and engineering analysis to mature concepts.
• Plan and lead technical work packages, proactively identifying risks, dependencies and support required to maintain momentum.
• Lead technical & design reviews, ensuring engineering decisions are supported by robust evidence and sound engineering judgement.
• Present concise technical updates to stakeholders, clearly communicating progress, performance, schedule, cost, quality and technical risks.
• Rapidly build high quality prototypes and demonstrators to validate concepts, support user testing and influence business decisions.
• Apply systems thinking to balance consumer needs, engineering feasibility, manufacturability and commercial opportunities.
• Work seamlessly with Design Research, Industrial Design, Technical Research and Electrical Engineering to develop integrated product concepts.
• Collaborate with suppliers and global engineering teams in TTI to accelerate concept development and engineering delivery.
• Mentor Engineers, raising technical capability while fostering creativity, pace and engineering excellence.

What we’re looking for

You’re a seasoned concept engineer who enjoys solving problems that don’t yet have answers. You combine creativity with sound engineering judgement, thrive in ambiguity and instinctively build to learn. You’re equally comfortable leading design reviews, presenting to stakeholders, building prototypes in the workshop or defining the next steps that move the concepts and technologies forward.

Skills, Experience & Competencies

• Bachelor’s degree (BA, BSc, BEng) in Industrial, Product Design or Mechanical Engineering or related discipline. (Master’s advantageous but not required).
• 8+ Years experience in Advanced Development, Concept Engineering or innovative consumer product development.
• Proven experience leading concept development, technical work packages and technology maturation activities.
• Strong systems thinking capability, with the ability to translate consumer needs into robust engineering solutions.
• Excellent CAD capability and practical prototype development skills, with experience developing high quality prototypes at pace.
• Experience defining and executing structured technical de risking plans through rapid experimentation, testing and engineering analysis.
• Comfortable leading design reviews, technical reviews and cross functional engineering discussions.
• Experience collaborating with Asia engineering teams and suppliers to develop concept designs and engineering solutions.
• Excellent planning, organisation and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to proactively manage technical risk and ambiguity.
• Outstanding communication, presentation and storytelling skills, capable or building confidence through clear, evidence based recommendations.

What Makes You Successful

• Concept Leadership: You create compelling concepts that solve meaningful consumer problems
• Technical Confidence: You reduce uncertainty through structured engineering, experimentation and sound technical judgement.
• System Thinking: You develop balanced solutions by thinking about the bigger picture – not just individual components.
• Ownership: You proactively lead technical work, anticipate risks and create clear plans to keep projects moving forward.
• Influence: You communicate technical progress, risks and recommendations with clarity, confidence and impact.
• Engineering Excellence: You lead by example, remaining practical, hands on and committed to raising the bar with those around you.

At Vax we are committed to being an equal opportunity employer. We believe in creating a supportive environment where everyone can thrive and grow.
If you're looking to join a forward-thinking company that values collaboration, innovation, and impact — we’d love to hear from you.

If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know and we will do what we can to support you.

Please note: Applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK at the time of application. We are unable to provide sponsorship for this role.

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Vax is made up of people who have a shared understanding of our mission and vision. Our values define who we are and what we stand for;

Trust – We’re experts and everything we do is based on brilliant knowledge.

Honesty – Our commitment to doing the right means we are always open and transparent.

Resilience – For decades, we have embraced change and been agile in what we do. We aren’t easily discouraged.

Innovation – We’re curious and explore opportunities, innovating to benefit our customers and business.

Valued – We are better when each of us feels included and respected for who we are and what we contribute.

Energy – We are positive thinkers, excited about what we do.