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Validation Engineer
Location: Crewe, Cheshire

Contract: Outside IR35

Overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Validation Engineer to support whole vehicle design and static validation activities on cutting-edge automotive programmes. This role involves managing the development, delivery, and maintenance of physical and digital models, rigs, and reference properties used to support product validation and manufacturing release.

You will be responsible for coordinating internal teams and external suppliers to ensure validation assets are delivered on time, to the required quality, and within budget.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design, build, and delivery of design check and static validation (DCSV) properties and rigs to support engineering sign-off.
• Manage suppliers through the full lifecycle of property development, from sourcing and RFQ to technical alignment and delivery.
• Control budgets and timelines, providing regular status updates using key performance indicators.
• Maintain property BOMs and support part sourcing in collaboration with engineers and feature owners.
• Drive improvements in property design, functionality, and validation processes across the department.
• Act as a technical point of contact for stakeholders across engineering, design, manufacturing, purchasing, and quality teams.
• Contribute to cross-functional meetings, escalate issues where necessary, and support decision-making with clear data and insight.

About You

Skills & Experience:

• Proven experience in the automotive or related sectors, ideally in validation, prototyping, or whole vehicle development.
• Strong understanding of the design and construction of validation properties, reference models, or rigs.
• Proficiency in CATIA V5 and familiarity with PLM systems such as LCA or TeamCenter.
• Effective project management skills – including risk identification, planning, prioritisation, and critical path control.
• Strong interpersonal and influencing skills, with the ability to engage technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Capable of coaching others and sharing specialist knowledge to support departmental development.

Technical Knowledge:

• Solid understanding of property build techniques and related engineering principles.
• Awareness of validation strategies, processes, and whole vehicle requirements.
• Experience with luxury or bespoke automotive development is an advantage.

Qualifications:

• Degree in Engineering or a relevant technical discipline (or equivalent experience).

Additional Information

• Some international travel may be required.
• Supplier management is an integral part of the role.
• This is a non-leadership position but requires technical coordination across teams.

If you're looking to apply your engineering expertise in a fast-paced, highly collaborative environment focused on innovation and quality, we’d love to hear from you.