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Principal Research Engineer Digital

About The Role
Location: Bristol based with Hybrid working – 2 days on site, 3 days home

NCC is a world-leading authority on Research and Development to support High Value Manufacturing. We work with global leaders across industries such as aerospace, automotive, renewable energy, and defence to develop cutting-edge composite solutions. As part of the UK’s High Value Manufacturing Catapult, the NCC is at the forefront of innovation, helping businesses turn ideas into reality.

What you’ll be doing

As Principal Research Engineer you will be responsible for:
- Scoping projects to support strategic aims; building and leading multi-disciplinary teams to deliver them
- Providing strategic governance of other projects to ensure relevance and quality delivery
- Supporting the Chief Engineer in revising, formulating and creating the roadmap for novel and innovative approaches and pioneering technical solutions.
- Fostering innovation across the team, working in an inter-disciplinary way.
- Creating and approving technical documents and advocating for publishing technical content.
- Establishing and develop effective partnerships internally and externally with industry partners.
- Representing NCC in relevant technical forums and championing our technical strategy.
What we’re looking for
- Highly competent communicator who can present technical concepts to a wide variety of audiences in an easy-to-understand way either upwards or downwards, internal or external.
- Proven experience of bringing together complex, multi-faceted programmes and multi-disciplinary teams in a cohesive manner which creates impact.
- Proven track record in high value manufacturing and supporting digital technology adoption including familiarity with: IoT, MES, Digital Twins, Shop Floor Digitalisation and culture change.
- You've put your knowledge to the test or have worked in R&D within industry - proven experience in a practical setting, solving real-world problems with real-world solutions.
- Systems thinking - Ideally, you'll have knowledge and experience of working within a relevant sector (e.g. Space, Aerospace, Energy, Automotive or others) where several different engineering disciplines come together to produce effective solutions, forcing engineers to think beyond their own areas of expertise and lean on the strengths of others to succeed.
See full JD attached for the broader insight into role and responsibilities.

What do we offer in return?

Hybrid and flexible working as standard, annual salary reviews, company paid private medical insurance, up to 12.5% employer pension contribution, great people, honorary staff status at the University of Bristol. With a genuine focus on wellbeing, EDI and learning and development this is a chance to build your career in a thriving R&D facility with a bright future.

We see your future in ours. Apply now.

Closing date for applications Sunday 18th January 2026
Notes/Brief for Recruitment Team:
About The Company
NCC is a world-leading innovation organisation that turns cutting-edge research and technology into industrial impact. We bridge the gap between academia and industry, helping companies of all sizes to capitalise on cutting-edge innovation to deliver more. We do this at every stage of their journey from the earliest concept to end-of-life.

The future of composites manufacturing relies on NCC, and we rely on the right individuals to make it happen, whether they’re engineers or not!

Why NCC?

We see our success in yours. Not sure you meet all the requirements? Let us decide! Research shows that women and members of other underrepresented groups tend not to apply for jobs if they think they may not meet every qualification, when in fact they often do. At NCC we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and strongly encourage you to apply.

We ensure that all hiring decisions are made without regard to age, race, national origin, sex, disability, gender, gender identity, religion, or any other protected characteristics, and will treat all applications with the strictest confidence. We’re always open to hearing how we can support flexible working in different ways, including part-time work. Please don’t be afraid to ask about what we can do to support your needs. All requests will be carefully and fairly considered. We wish you every success in your job search.

Diverse challenges – NCC isn’t just about aerospace. We’re working with over 16 sectors and a variety of customers, from private ventures to the global tier 1 companies, providing variety to your experience.

Innovation – a world-leading research and development centre, the work we do brings novel and innovative solutions to industry, with the future firmly in mind. So we need innovating thinking not just in Engineering, but across all support functions.

Development in composites, and you – if the scope of exciting work isn’t enough to sway you, our ethos of continued learning and development and flexible working patterns will.

We look forward to hearing from you. #fulltime