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UAV Mechanical Engineer Jobs

Mechanical engineers who design airframes, payload mounts and mechanisms for uncrewed aircraft. Every gram counts.

Open roles
7
Salary range
£35k – £63k
Hiring companies
3
View 7 live roles → Get an alert

UAV Mechanical Engineers design the structures and mechanisms of uncrewed aircraft and their payloads: airframes, landing gear, gimbals, launch and recovery systems, and enclosures for electronics. Weight, stiffness and durability drive the design.

Employers include drone manufacturers, defence companies and start-ups. Adverts ask for CAD, composite and lightweight design, structural analysis, and experience of building and testing prototypes.

What the role does

Inside the role of a UAV Mechanical Engineer

A week usually mixes CAD and analysis with prototyping and flight test support.

  1. 01
    Design airframe and payload parts in CAD.
  2. 02
    Analyse structures for flight and landing loads.
  3. 03
    Build and modify prototypes.
  4. 04
    Support ground and flight tests.
  5. 05
    Work with suppliers on composite and machined parts.
Salary on the board

£35k – £63k

Based on advertised midpoints across the 6 UK listings priced in pounds in the last 12 months. Base salary only.

Salary visibility
13% of listings advertise a salary.
Skills & tools

What hiring managers ask for

% of 17 listings posted in the last 12 months that mention each skill, extracted from job descriptions.

SolidWorks
76%
CAD
71%
Mechanical Design
59%
CAE
47%
FEA
47%
DFMEA
41%
DFMA
41%
Aerospace Engineering
41%
DFM
35%
Pneumatics
35%
CFD
29%
Hydraulics
24%
Career ladder

From Junior to Principal

A typical UK progression for uav mechanical engineers. Years are guidance — strong people move faster, and many senior folks sidestep into research, product or management.

  1. Level 1

    Graduate Mechanical Engineer

    0–2 yrs

    Designs parts and supports builds under senior review.

  2. Level 2

    Mechanical Engineer

    2–5 yrs

    Owns sub-systems such as airframe sections or payload mounts.

  3. Level 3

    Senior Mechanical Engineer

    5–10 yrs

    Leads mechanical design for an aircraft or major system.

  4. Level 4

    Lead Mechanical Engineer

    10+ yrs

    Sets mechanical architecture across platforms and leads the team.

Pathway

How to become a UAV Mechanical Engineer

There's no single route, but most people follow some version of these steps.

  1. 1

    Study mechanical or aerospace engineering

    An accredited degree is the usual starting point.

  2. 2

    Build practical experience

    Student UAV competitions and placements are highly valued.

  3. 3

    Join a UAV or defence team

    Early roles build design and testing skills.

  4. 4

    Own sub-systems

    Take airframe or payload designs through test.

  5. 5

    Lead platform design

    Become responsible for the mechanical design of whole aircraft.

Live jobs

7 live roles

Saab

Senior Mechanical Engineer

  • Oakley
  • Senior · manages people

Provides technical leadership across mechanical and aerospace development for unmanned systems, owning complex design tasks and mentoring engineers from concept through flight test and production. Involves CAD architecture in SolidWorks, FEA analysis, propulsion and payload integration, and supporting manufacturing, assembly and certification. Based in Bedford within BlueBear, a Saab company.

SolidWorks · CATIA · ANSYS +3

SC clearance 2 months ago

Saab

Senior Mechanical Engineer

  • Bedfordshire
  • Senior · manages people

Provides technical leadership across mechanical and aerospace development for unmanned systems, owning complex design tasks and mentoring engineers. Leads CAD architecture, drawing release and configuration control in SolidWorks, integrates propulsion, payloads and structures, and runs FEA and design trade studies. Supports manufacturing, flight test and certification, with hands-on build and fault-finding on prototype and test hardware.

SolidWorks · CATIA · ANSYS +3

SC clearance Last week

Jonathan Lee Recruitment

Senior Mechanical Design Engineer

  • Herefordshire
  • Senior

Own mechanical systems for UAV interceptor products from concept through testing and production, applying first-principles engineering rather than routine CAD work. Perform calculations, modelling and analysis in SolidWorks (plus desirable ANSYS/Mathcad), supporting prototypes and validation within a small multidisciplinary aerospace and defence team.

SolidWorks · ANSYS · Mathcad +1

2 days ago

Jonathan Lee Recruitment

Senior Mechanical Design Engineer

  • Hereford
  • Senior

Own mechanical systems for UAV interceptor products from concept through testing and production, solving complex design challenges from first principles. Perform calculations, modelling and analysis, design in SolidWorks, and support prototype development and validation within a small multidisciplinary team.

SolidWorks · ANSYS · Mathcad +1

2 days ago

Tech Connect Group

Senior Mechanical Design Engineer

  • Hereford
  • £45,000 – £65,000 pa
  • Senior

Design and develop UAV components and drone launch systems, creating mechanical schemes, detailed part and assembly designs, and associated drawings in SolidWorks. Use hand calculations, simulation and CAE tools to size and optimise systems, develop test plans and support in-house prototype builds within a small engineering team.

SolidWorks

Last week

Saab

Mechanical Design Engineer

  • Bedford
  • Mid-level

Day-to-day CAD design and multidisciplinary engineering across aerospace development projects, from requirements and concept through manufacture, integration and test. Involves SolidWorks modelling, DFMEA and risk documentation, material selection for composite and metallic components, and payload/propulsion integration including all-electric and eVTOL applications, with some UK travel.

SolidWorks

BPSS clearance Last week

Saab

Mechanical Design Engineer

  • Oakley
  • Hybrid
  • Mid-level
  • Permanent

Support the Head of Engineering on multidisciplinary design challenges for unmanned systems, performing day-to-day CAD work, managing design requirements, and contributing to integration, verification and testing across aerospace development projects. Involves material selection for composite and metallic components, payload and propulsion integration including eVTOL applications, and preparing documentation such as DFMEAs and risk assessments.

SolidWorks

BPSS clearance Visa sponsorship 5 months ago
FAQs

Common questions

  • Many do, as composite structures are common. Lightweight design experience from other sectors also transfers.

  • Defence roles often require it. Adverts state when it applies.

  • Very, at most companies. Engineers usually build and test their own prototypes.

  • The salary section on this page is drawn from live adverts on the board.

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