Mechanical Development Engineer

ABOUT THE ROLE At HIGHCAT, you’ll develop the mechanical systems behind our drones and their wider product ecosystem -from first concepts and prototypes through testing, industrialisation, and series production. Working closely with electronics, software, product, manufacturing, and external suppliers, you’ll turn requirements into robust, manufacturable hardware. You’ll work across injection-moulded plastics, sheet metal, machined parts, and mechanical assemblies, with responsibility for making sure products not only perform, but can also be assembled efficiently and manufactured reliably at the right cost. This is a hands-on role with real ownership. You’ll spend time in CAD, build and test prototypes, work directly with suppliers, solve production problems, and continuously improve our products based on manufacturing and field experience. If you want to build hardware from the ground up and see it progress from your screen and workbench into series production and real-world deployment, we’d love to hear from you.

CORE TASKS & RESPONSIBILITIES Develop mechanical components and assemblies for HIGHCAT’s drones and supporting product ecosystem, from concept through series production.

Develop injection-moulded plastic, bent sheet metal, and machined components with a strong focus on manufacturability.

Integrate electronics, sensors, antennas, connectors, batteries, motors, cables, and other components into robust mechanical assemblies.

Apply DFM and DFA principles to optimise part count, assembly, reliability, manufacturing cost, and production efficiency.

Create production-ready 3D CAD, technical drawings, tolerances, and manufacturing documentation.

Build, test, and iterate prototypes using 3D printing, CNC machining, sheet metal fabrication, and other rapid manufacturing methods.

Work directly with manufacturers and suppliers on tooling, DFM, first articles, quality, cost, and production ramp-up.

Support the transition from prototypes and low-volume builds into stable, repeatable series production.

Identify and resolve mechanical, assembly, tolerance, and manufacturing issues.

Support mechanical testing, validation, failure analysis, and continuous product improvement.