The Design Engineer is responsible for the technical ownership, performance, lifecycle and continuous improvement of NaughtOne’s live product portfolio. The role acts as a key engineering interface between the wider business and the NPD team, ensuring that existing products meet requirements for quality, manufacturability, cost, sustainability, and compliance, while protecting NPD resources to focus on new product development.
This is a hands-on, problem-solving role focused on production support, quality improvement, value engineering, localisation, and sustainability initiatives across UK and overseas manufacturing partners.
Responsibilities / Key Deliverables
- Provide engineering support for live products, acting as the first line of defence for technical queries from production, supply chain, quality, and commercial teams
- Lead and facilitate quality improvement initiatives, including root cause analysis, corrective and preventive actions, and implementation of product enhancements
- Support custom engineering team with requests for existing products, including design customisation, technical feasibility, and cost estimation
- Support overseas manufacturing partners, ensuring product consistency, quality standards, and manufacturability are maintained
- Identify and deliver value engineering initiatives to improve margins, reduce cost, and simplify manufacture without compromising design intent
- Drive continuous improvement of materials, components, and processes across the live product range
- Support and deliver sustainability initiatives aligned with NaughtOne’s 2030 sustainability goals, including material optimisation and process improvements
- Maintain accurate technical documentation, CAD data, and configuration control for existing products
- Design, develop, and maintain production support solutions, including jigs, fixtures, and tooling
Core Competencies
- Degree, HNC, or completed apprenticeship in a relevant design, engineering or manufacturing discipline
- Minimum 5 years’ industry experience in an engineering or manufacturing environment
- Experience within the furniture industry is advantageous
- Strong attention to detail with a structured, analytical approach to problem-solving
- Proven ability to work independently, use initiative, and deliver against cost, quality, and time targets
- Good demonstrable understanding of materials and manufacturing processes relevant to furniture production
- Proficiency in AutoCAD, Inventor, Vault, Adobe Suite, Microsoft Office (essential). Experience working within ERPs also essential.
- Strong communication skills, with the ability to clearly convey technical information to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
Dimension of role
Reporting to the Director of Design & Engineering and part of a team of 8, the role holder will be based from the NaughtOne head office in Harrogate with occasional travel to UK and overseas manufacturing partners as required.
Key interfaces will include Custom Engineering, Production, New Product Development (NPD), Supply Chain, Quality and Commercial teams as well as external manufacturing partners.
