Product Engineer

We're building the UK's next generation engineering powerhouse, providing critical technology that strengthens national security and resilience.

We specialise in turning advances in sensing, AI, and communications into operational capability for the edge, where connectivity may be degraded or denied. Our work focuses on accelerating the deployment of technology, improving decision-making for frontline teams, and protecting people and critical assets in demanding environments.

Headquartered in Bristol, Rowden employs around 200 people and operates over 20,000 square feet of engineering and manufacturing facilities. We have a growing international footprint and are one of Europe's fastest-growing engineering businesses.

The role

We are looking for a Product Engineer to support the design, development, and optimisation of our products. Reporting to the Design Manager, you will play a key role in assisting with product validation, troubleshooting, and continuous improvement efforts, as well as participating in slow builds and production builds.

Working closely with R&D, design, and manufacturing teams, you will ensure that products meet performance, quality, and regulatory requirements. You will also contribute to documentation, testing, and manufacturability enhancements while applying the V-Model methodology to maintain structured design validation and verification.

This role would suit someone early in their product career, whether a recent graduate or changing career path - and offers an exciting opportunity to work in a tightknit team developing important, mission-driven products.

Candidates must be eligible for SC clearance.

More information about security clearance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-security-vetting-clearance-levels

Key areas of responsibility

As a Product Engineer at Rowden, you will be responsible for:

• Assist in the design, development, and testing of new products, ensuring they align with customer and business needs.
• Support the application of the V-Model methodology by contributing to validation and verification processes at each stage of development.
• Work with R&D, design, and manufacturing teams to enhance product functionality and manufacturability.
• Conduct product analysis, troubleshoot issues, and contribute to continuous improvements in quality, reliability, and performance.
• Develop and maintain technical documentation, including engineering requirements, specifications, and reports, ensuring traceability within the V-Model structure.
• Ensure products comply with industry standards, safety regulations, and company guidelines by assisting in compliance assessments.
• Identify cost-reduction opportunities while maintaining product integrity, functionality, and regulatory compliance.
• Create and update production and quality documentation to support efficient manufacturing and assembly processes.
• Assist in verification and validation testing to confirm product performance before full-scale production.
• Participate in and document early prototype builds, feeding lessons learned into full scale production builds.
• Support failure mode analysis and risk assessments to improve product robustness.

Key skills, experience and behaviours

We are looking for someone who is passionate about technology and who actively invests in their technical skills and abilities. You’ll gain loads of experience in this role but before you do, you should have:

• A degree in Mechanical Engineering, Product Design, or a related discipline (or equivalent practical experience).
• A strong interest in product development, with a willingness to get involved in all stages from concept to production.
• Basic understanding of engineering principles and design processes.
• Familiarity with CAD tools (e.g. SolidWorks, Creo, or similar) is a plus, but not required.
• An analytical mindset with a desire to understand how things work and how they can be improved.
• Comfortable working with physical products-eager to get hands-on with prototypes, testing, and builds.
• Good written and verbal communication skills, especially for documenting work and collaborating across teams.
• A proactive attitude and the confidence to ask questions, seek feedback, and take ownership of tasks.

About you

The ideal candidate will have a strong balance of technical skills and experience, and the behavioural competencies that we believe are key to success in the role are as follows:

• A self-starting attitude with a genuine eagerness to learn and grow.
• Curiosity and enthusiasm for solving problems and improving products.
• Strong attention to detail and a methodical approach to tasks.
• Willingness to work hands on and collaboratively across design, R&D, and manufacturing teams.
• Flexibility and resilience in a fast-paced, evolving environment.

Working at Rowden

We are committed to building a flexible, inclusive, and enabling company. Our aim is to create a diverse team of talented people with unique skills, experience, and backgrounds, so please apply and come as you are!

We also recognise the importance of flexible working and support this wherever we can. We typically operate a flexible, hybrid-working model, with an average 3 days in the office each week (dependent on the role). We welcome the opportunity to discuss flexibility, part-time working requirements and/or workplace adjustments with all our applicants.

Rowden is a Disability Confident Committed company, and we actively encourage people with disabilities and health conditions to apply for our roles. Please let us know your requirements early on so that we can make sure you have everything you need up front to help make the recruitment process and experience as easy as possible.

Finally, if you feel that you don’t meet all the criteria included above but have transferable skills and relevant experience, we’d still love to hear from you!