Design Engineer – Inflatable & Deployable Structures Ended

Key Responsibilities
• Design and engineer free-standing air-beam (inflatable) structures, from concept through to detailed design and prototype.
Candidate must have experience designing inflatable structures.
• Develop structural solutions for clear-span internal volumes with no internal poles, ensuring structures carry their own shape and load under field conditions (wind, snow/rain loading, ground types, repeated deploy/strike cycles).
• Specify and integrate air-beam components: beam layout, pressure/inflation systems, valves, and self-contained electric inflation units, working with suppliers where needed.
• Design rapid deploy and strike sequences (single coordinated action targets), balancing speed against structural integrity and packed transport volume/weight.
• Engineer fixing and attachment systems (internal shackles, anchor points, carbon spreader poles, guys, pegs) for vehicle drapes and larger structures, ensuring compatibility across the module range.
• Size structures against defined operational envelopes (e.g. vehicle dimensions,) and produce structural calculations, FEA/simulation where appropriate, and test plans.
• Build and test prototypes; support first-prototype and pre-trial evaluation alongside the wider evidence-gathering programme.
• Produce technical documentation, drawings, and specifications suitable for manufacture, MOD/DSTL trial submissions, and through-life maintenance.
• Support the Q4 2026 structured trial programme and subsequent transition of concept modules into deployable, production-ready configurations.
• Ensure designs meet relevant defence, safety, and quality standards (ISO 9001 design/manufacture scope) and liaise with certification/quality functions as needed.
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Essential Requirements
• Degree (or equivalent experience) in Mechanical Engineering, Structural Engineering, Product Design Engineering, or a related discipline.
• Demonstrable experience designing inflatable, pneumatic, tensile, or lightweight deployable structures (e.g. air-beam shelters, inflatable tents, temporary structures, or similar).
• Strong understanding of structural load paths, materials behaviour under tension/pressure, and fatigue/repeated-cycle design.
• Proficiency with CAD (e.g. SolidWorks or equivalent) and structural analysis/simulation tools.
• Experience taking designs from concept sketch through to working prototype and test.
• Ability to design for rapid, low-skill-burden field deployment and strike, including transport/pack-down constraints.
• Comfortable working to defence/MOD-adjacent documentation and quality standards.
Desirable
• Prior experience in defence, expeditionary shelter, event/temporary structures, marine, or outdoor/adventure equipment sectors.
• Experience with air-beam/inflation system suppliers and electric inflation units.
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What Success Looks Like
• The current products progress from concept render to trial-ready prototypes ahead of the Q4 2026 structured trials.
• Structural designs integrate cleanly with the system without compromising performance.
• Deploy/strike times meet or beat the "single coordinated action" and clear-span advantage claims made to the customer.
• Designs are documented to a standard suitable for MOD trial submission and eventual manufacture. read less