Advanced Development Engineer
Working Hours: 37.5 per week
Location: Dundee, UK
About us:
Ace Aquatec is an award-winning aquaculture technology company specialising in welfare-first in-water electric stunners, marine mammal protection devices, biomass estimation and sea lice removal systems. We help customers thrive by making their operations efficient, ethical and sustainable.
About the role:
We’re looking for a creative and hands-on Advanced Development Engineer with a strong background in electro-mechanical systems to lead the design and development of breakthrough technologies for next-generation aquaculture solutions. This is an opportunity to work at the intersection of mechanical design, electronics integration, and real-world systems engineering.
Reporting to the Director of Engineering, you’ll be responsible for owning early-stage development - from interpreting requirements and generating system concepts to delivering near-production-level prototypes ready for field testing. You'll operate independently in a fast-paced, innovation-driven environment where your ability to think holistically and build practically will directly shape the future of sustainable food production.
What you'll be doing:
- Leading the end-to-end development of innovative technologies, with a focus on concept generation, electro-mechanical design, and high quality functional prototyping.
- Operating independently and proactively in a highly autonomous role, while maintaining alignment with strategic goals and engineering leadership.
- Building and testing high quality physical prototypes to evaluate performance, validate ideas, and inform design iterations.
- Applying a strong grasp of design principles and prototype manufacturing techniques across fabrication, plastic fabrication, machining (metal and plastic) and rapid prototyping.
- Where required, ideally you will be able to produce CAD models, technical drawings, and supporting documentation using SolidWorks CAD.
- Conducting design analysis to ensure designs meet performance, cost and safety targets.
- Collaborating with software, mechanical and electrical teams to ensure overall system performance.
- Contributing technical insight to proposals and product planning discussions.
- Sharing knowledge and mentoring junior engineers to foster a culture of continuous improvement and innovation.
What we're looking for:
- A degree (or equivalent experience) in Mechatronics, Electro-Mechanical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a closely related field.
- 3-5 years of experience developing electro-mechanical products, from early concepts to near-production prototypes.
- Proven ability to independently own product development lifecycles, including concept generation, prototyping, and iteration.
- Practical experience with mechanical design for systems incorporating electronics, sensors, actuators, or control modules.
- Strong prototyping and troubleshooting skills - comfortable building and refining integrated systems in the lab or field.
- Working knowledge of manufacturing methods such as sheet metal fabrication, plastic moulding, CNC machining, cabling/harnessing and rapid prototyping technologies.
- Experience with design for assembly, environmental sealing, EMI considerations, and electrical-mechanical interface design.
- Strong communication and documentation skills with the ability to clearly convey ideas across interdisciplinary teams.
What we offer:
- Competitive salary, based on experience
- 33 days annual leave (including bank holidays)
- Death in service at 4 x your annual salary
- Employee Assistance Programme
- Enhanced parental leave policies
- Birthday day off
- Paid bereavement and sick leave
- Company salary sacrifice pension scheme
- Regular social breakfasts, lunches and team events
How to apply:
Click on the button to submit your CV via our website
Please only apply if you already have working rights in the UK
No agencies please