{"id":154452,"url":"https://alion.io/job/ricardo-contract-principal-chassis-system-engineer","title":"Contract - Principal Chassis System Engineer","company":{"id":13855,"name":"Ricardo","domain":"ricardo.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/ricardo","size_band":"501-1000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"iCIMS","truth_index":null},"role":"Industrial Engineering","role_family":"Industrial Engineering","seniority":"lead","employment_type":"contractor","work_mode":"hybrid","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Royal Leamington Spa, United Kingdom"],"countries":["GB"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":null,"salary_estimate":{"min_usd":65000,"max_usd":107000,"period":"year","method":"role_seniority_country_remote_cell","sample_n":102},"experience_years_min":8,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"Agile","optional":false},{"name":"AutoCAD","optional":false},{"name":"CATIA","optional":false},{"name":"FMEA","optional":false},{"name":"GD&T","optional":false},{"name":"Microsoft Office","optional":false},{"name":"Design of Experiments","optional":true}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-08-28T13:12:57Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-28","last_verified_at":"2026-10-31T04:55:56Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":63,"trust":{"level":"ghost","repost_count":3,"flags":["repost"],"days_open":63},"description":"Overview\nRole: Contract - Principal Chassis System Engineer\nLocation: Leamington Spa, Warwickshire\nRole ID: 2025-3278\nPushing Boundaries: a World leader in propulsion engineering from concept to production Ricardo is a trusted engineering partner specialising in complex propulsion, driveline, and energy systems. We work with customers globally to deliver end-to-end solutions from initial design through to full production. For over 110 years, we have been at the forefront of world changing engineering innovation, partnering with many of the world’s most ambitious organisations to improve performance, push boundaries, and accelerate progress.Headquartered in Shoreham by Sea (UK), Ricardo brings together more than 1,000 experts and delivers in excess of 200 major programmes globally at any given time. For more information, visit www.ricardo.com\nThe role\nThe successful candidate will lead the technical delivery of chassis system development on Vehicle Engineering projects. The projects include a wide variety of different vehicle and suspension types with a range of power sources from conventional to alternative fuels. These vehicles cover a range of different applications for various defense and commercial applications where vehicles need tailoring to meet customer requirements. The approach to delivery needs to be pragmatic and agile whilst meeting demanding customer requirements for technical specification, timing, robustness and durability. The role includes managing the development and integration of chassis systems, working alongside Design Engineers, CAE/Simulation teams, test and development teams, Programme Managers and Chief Engineers and supporting the development of junior engineers. This position requires an experienced chassis engineer with broad engineering expertise and proven project delivery skills to ensure successful execution from initial vision or concept to production.\nWhat We Expect from You\nTechnical Leadership\nServe as the technical authority in chassis design and development for assigned projects working closely with engineering teams from multiple disiplines and sectors.\nOwn and be technically responsible for engineering content, quality and solutions.\nEnsure design integrity, compliance with standards, and alignment with customer requirements.\nProject Execution\nLead the technical planning and execution of suspension engineering tasks from concept through to production.\nTranslate customer needs into actionable engineering deliverables through robust requirements management and solution development.\nManage technical risks, resolve issues proactively, and ensure the timely delivery of milestones.\nPrepare and coordinate analytical design calculations, simulations, and testing; evaluate and interpret results.\nConduct and supervise experimental investigations, including data analysis and reporting.\nPrepare project reports, including cost and timing estimates, technical specifications, and updates.\nLead and support technical meetings both internal and external to Ricardo.\nIdentify and coordinate with external suppliers.\nCross-Functional Collaboration\nCoordinate with internal teams (design, validation, manufacturing) and external stakeholders (suppliers, clients).\nFacilitate effective communication across disciplines to ensure alignment and progress.\nRepresent the chassis engineering team in customer meetings, technical reviews, and program updates.\nLead or support the development of proposals for potential work through customer and internal meetings.\nInnovation & Problem Solving\nApply engineering theory to address complex problems with practical, scalable solutions.\nPromote continuous improvement in design, validation, and integration processes.\nFoster and implement innovative approaches to meet evolving technical challenges.\nMentorship & Team Leadership\nGuide junior engineers and design personnel, fostering a culture of technical excellence.\nProvide technical sign-off and mentorship on chassis design reviews, validation plans, and documentation.\nPromote knowledge sharing and professional development within the team.\nQuality & Compliance\nEnsure all designs comply with regulatory, safety, and customer required standards.\nReview product designs for adherence to legislative and engineering standards as required.\nSupervise engineering documentation, including reports, BOMs, FMEAs, DVP&Rs, and test specifications.\nUphold high standards of quality assurance throughout the product lifecycle.\nCustomer Focus\nDeliver excellent customer service by understanding and anticipating client needs.\nAct as a trusted technical advisor, building long-term relationships through reliability and performance.\nMake sure all deliverables meet or surpass customer expectations in quality, timing, and budget.\nMust-Have Skills & Capabilities\nTechnical Expertise\nBe willing and able to work on UK defense projects that are classified up to and including Secret.\nExpertise in vehicle suspension design, development and integration.\nEngineering Fundamentals: Possesses a strong understanding of suspension and steering design and vehicle engineering.\nDesign: has experience with or leading others using CAD tools (e.g., CATIA, Pro/E, AutoCAD), GD&T, FMEA, DVP&R, and engineering documentation.\nProduct Lifecycle Management: Capable of managing systems from concept through production release and commissioning.\nSoftware Proficiency: Familiar with data acquisition software, systems requirements tools, and the Microsoft Office Suite.\nFamiliar with developing robust Development and Validation plans from Requirements and executing same.\nFamiliar with DFMEA, 8D, fault tree approaches\nProject & Technical Leadership\nTechnical Project Management: Ability to lead cross-functional teams, manage time-lines, budgets, and deliverables.\nDecision-Making & Sign-Off Authority: Confidence and competence to approve technical solutions and guide engineering direction.\nSupplier & Stakeholder Coordination: Experience managing external vendors and internal teams to meet technical and commercial goals.\nFinancial Awareness: Understanding of project financial targets, cost estimation, and budget management.\nCommunication & Collaboration\nClear Communication: Ability to explain technical concepts to diverse audiences, including clients and executives.\nTeam Leadership: Experience mentoring junior engineers and promoting a collaborative team environment.\nCustomer Orientation: Strong focus on understanding and meeting client expectations.\nIndustry-Specific Knowledge\nChassis design, geometry and performance fundamentals (theory), target setting\nKnowledge and experience of different suspension types (Double wishbone, MacPherson strut, multi-link)\nVehicle dynamics fundamentals, theory and application/testing\nHeavy-Duty on and off highway vehicle experience: experience with both defense and commercial vehicles is a strong plus.\nIndustry (OEM) automotive system design and development processes\nKnowledge of braking, wheels and tyres, traction control and active steering and damping systems\nAppreciation of the application of supporting simulation tools such as ADAMS, FEA\nSuspension rig testing (e.g. K&C), vehicle dynamics testing\nAdvanced Engineering Tools & Methods\nSystems engineering tools: experience with requirements management software and systems modeling.\nReliability & testing methods: proficiency with DFMEA, DOE, 8D problem-solving, and validation testing strategies.\nAgile and lean engineering practices: knowledge of iterative development and continuous improvement methodologies.\nSoft Skills\nStrategic thinking: ability to align technical decisions with business goals.\nAdaptability: comfortable working in a fast-paced, matrixed organization.\nInnovation mindset: willingness to challenge norms and explore new technologies or approaches.\nExperience Requirements\nBachelor’s degree in engineering; Master’s degree preferred.\nMinimum 8-10 years of experience in design, validation, manufacturing, and product release of vehicle systems\nExperience with commercial vehicle and off-highway is a plus\nExperience with the general vehicle integration (including powertrain, electrified systems) is beneficial\nProven experience in planning and coordinating design and/or production validation testing.\nExperience in developing engineering test specifications and analyzing test data.\nStrong problem-solving skills utilizing Design of Experiments (DOE), 8D, etc.\nWorking here\nYou will be warmly welcomed into our workplace where every voice matters. We are diverse thinkers and doers, coming together to create a culture of inclusion. We will support you to find your place.\nWe will encourage you to use your passion and expertise to make a positive impact through the projects you work on. Your knowledge and desire to bring about change will be invaluable in helping deliver innovative solutions that support communities across the globe in becoming safer and more sustainable.\nWork life balance\nWe offer flexible approaches to work, whether that is working from home, being in the office, or as a hybrid worker. We're happy to discuss flexible working arrangements. Wellbeing is at the core to our culture, allowing employees to flourish and to achieve their full potential.\nBenefits\nWe want you to know how much you are valued. Your remuneration and benefits package will reflect that. You will receive a range of benefits which include support for your physical and mental health.\nDiversity, Equality, and Inclusion statement\nWe are an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in each person's potential, and we'll help you reach yours. We have an ambitious diversity, equality, and inclusion approach as explained here. We value diversity; recognising that a more diverse workforce creates a richer and more varied working environment. Diversity also drives innovation, by allowing us to offer our clients the best consultancy service that we can. As part of our commitment to engage positively and pro-actively with all our employees and to ensure an inclusive culture, we are a recognised as a 'disability confident' employer.\nNext steps\nOnce you have submitted your application a member of our Recruitment Team will be in touch. Please be aware that the timing can vary dependent on the volume of applications that we receive for each role and in some cases, we may start to review applications prior to the closing date.\nRicardo is a Disability confident employer please advise the recruitment team via  if you require any adjustments to support you throughout the recruitment process.\n#LI-EP1 - #LI-On-site","description_format":"text","description_chars":10610,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":8,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":true},"security_clearance":true,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Flexible schedule","Professional development"],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United Kingdom","iso":"GB","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Automotive Manufacturing","Engineering Services"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-08-28T13:12:57Z"},{"event":"close","at":"2026-08-31T20:36:57Z"},{"event":"reopen","at":"2026-09-07T01:30:36Z"},{"event":"close","at":"2026-10-04T14:29:59Z"},{"event":"reopen","at":"2026-10-06T16:54:05Z"},{"event":"close","at":"2026-10-22T20:22:18Z"},{"event":"reopen","at":"2026-10-28T18:32:53Z"}],"visa":[{"country":"GB","licensed_sponsor":true,"evidence":"Licensed UK visa sponsor (Skilled Worker, Senior or Specialist Worker, Graduate Trainee)","filings_12m":null,"filings_prev_12m":null,"green_card_filings_12m":null,"median_offered_wage_usd":null,"route":"Skilled Worker; Global Business Mobility: Senior or Specialist Worker; Global Business Mobility: Graduate Trainee","cap_exempt":false,"checked_at":"2026-10-31T06:23:40+00:00","sources":["UK Home Office: register of licensed sponsors (workers)"],"filings_for_role_12m":0}],"liveness":{"score":8,"band":"cold","label":"Long shot","p_open":1,"p_active":0.269,"p_room":0.28,"age_days":63,"expected_fill_days":26,"reasons":["conf:1","repost:3","ghost","win:tail","crowd:"],"computed_at":"2026-10-31T05:58:55Z"},"pay":null,"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/ricardo-contract-principal-chassis-system-engineer","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/ricardo-contract-principal-chassis-system-engineer.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-31T08:21:36Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":12434,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-11-01T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":13855},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=13855"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fricardo-contract-principal-chassis-system-engineer"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fricardo-contract-principal-chassis-system-engineer"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fricardo-contract-principal-chassis-system-engineer"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/ricardo-contract-principal-chassis-system-engineer\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fricardo-contract-principal-chassis-system-engineer"}],"agent":{"mcp":"https://alion.io/mcp/jobs","mcp_open":"https://alion.io/mcp/open","next":[{"tool":"get_job","arguments":{"id":154452}},{"tool":"search_jobs","arguments":{"company":"ricardo.com","detail":"compact"}},{"tool":"match_people","arguments":{"job_id":154452},"note":"people open to offers who fit this vacancy"}],"note":"The same data through MCP tools: https://alion.io/mcp/open needs no sign-in (compact searches, postings, people); https://alion.io/mcp with an Alion account has everything. Docs: https://alion.io/developers"}}