Mechanical Principal Engineer

Location: Bangalore, India

Thales is a global technology leader trusted by governments, institutions, and enterprises to tackle their most demanding challenges. From quantum applications and artificial intelligence to cybersecurity and 6G innovation, our solutions empower critical decisions rooted in human intelligence. Operating at the forefront of aerospace and space, cybersecurity and digital identity, we’re driven by a mission to build a future we can all trust.

Present in India since 1953, Thales is headquartered in Noida and has other operational offices and sites spread across Delhi, Gurugram, Bengaluru and Mumbai, among others. Over 2200 employees are working with Thales and its joint ventures in India. Since the beginning, Thales has been playing an essential role in India’s growth story by sharing its technologies and expertise in Defence, Aerospace and Cyber & Digital sectors. Thales has two engineering competence centres in India - one in Noida focused on Cyber & Digital business, while the one in Bengaluru focuses on hardware, software and systems engineering capabilities for both the civil and defence sectors, serving global needs. The Group has also established an MRO (Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul) facility in Gurugram to provide comprehensive avionics maintenance and repair services to Indian airlines and support the growth of the local aviation industry.

Primary Purpose of the Role

As a future reponsible of design office of Thales India in Bangalore, you will have to :

• Demonstrate the ability to recruit, onboard, mentor and coach a team in mechanical design and development.
• Contribute to the mechanical design and development of products for embedded electronic equipment, with a focus on airborne avionics and defense mechanical applications.
• Be responsible for the design, development and release of mechanical definitions and manufacturing data packages in the configuration management tool.
• Perform design analyses and contribute to simulations to ensure compliance with functional, environmental, manufacturability, testability and maintainability requirements of embedded electronic equipment.

Key Responsibilities and Tasks

Team Leadership Responsibilities

• Initially perform the operational mechanical design work, while progressively building a local mechanical design team.
• Contribute to the recruitment, onboarding, organization and management of the team.
• Provide technical guidance, mentoring and coaching, and support the development of team competencies.
• Act as the main mechanical focal point between the local team in Bangalore and the French stakeholders.
• Estimate workload, define planning and manage progress of mechanical design activities.

Key Responsibilities

• Perform mechanical design and development activities for products related to embedded electronic equipment, particularly in airborne avionics / defense mechatronic and electromechanical applications
• Understand customer needs and contribute to the definition of functional requirements, architecture and mechanical design solutions.
• Carry out Mechanical CAD design for machined parts, sheet metal parts, assemblies
• Perform engineering analyses and support calculations to justify design choices and ensure compliance with requirements.
• Participate in concept reviews and design reviews (PDR, CDR).
• Contribute to BOM definition, compliance with RoHS / REACH, and integration of safety, ergonomics, maintenance, cost and DFM considerations into the design.
• Support integration, verification, industrialization and change management activities.
• Contribute to the generation and release of the product data package and ensure proper configuration management of design data.
• Work closely with Hardware, Systems, IVVQ, Manufacturing and Quality teams in a cross-functional environment.
• Identify technical risks, issues and dependencies, and support mitigation actions.

Skills Required

Essential Skills / Core Competencies

CAD and Mechanical Design Tools

• Strong proven experience in CATIA V5 for mechanical design.
• Extensive experience in creating 3D models, 2D drawings and technical specifications for mechanical parts, sub-assemblies and assemblies.
• Good command of 2D manufacturing drawings for machined and fabricated parts
• Experience in the creation of machined parts and sheet metal CAD models at part and assembly level.
• Good understanding of Product Data Package content, including BOM / Item List, documents, components, COTS, find numbers, materials and processes, and configuration-related data.

Mechanical Engineering Fundamentals

• Strong knowledge of mechanical engineering fundamentals, including strength of materials and machine element design.
• Ability to support engineering calculations, tolerance analysis and design justification.
• Understanding of computational analysis and simulation, as applicable to mechanical design and stability considerations.
• Solid understanding of GD&T and tolerance stack-up analysis in accordance with ISO GPS standards

Manufacturing and Industrialization

• Good knowledge of Design for Manufacturing (DFM), Design for Assembly (DFA), design to cost, design for maintainability and industrial constraints.
• Good understanding of manufacturing processes such as machining, sheet metal, surface treatments, painting/coating processes, and additive manufacturing for plastics and metals.
• Ability to support the industrialization phase and ensure smooth transition from design to manufacturing.

Team Leadership and Management

• Experience in recruitment, onboarding and integration of team members.
• Ability to assess skills, competencies and development needs, and define appropriate development plans.
• Experience in workload planning and workforce adequation management.
• Ability to provide technical leadership, mentoring and coordination within a mechanical design team.

Documentation and Engineering Deliverables

• Ability to produce and review key engineering documentation, including design justification files, manufacturing and definition dossiers, and contribution to test procedures and maintenance documentation when required.
• Good understanding of configuration management and change control for engineering deliverables.

Planning and Estimation

• Ability to estimate cost, workload and schedule for mechanical design activities.
• Ability to plan, monitor and report progress against commitments.

Compliance and Standards

• Knowledge of applicable mechanical design and product compliance requirements, including RoHS, REACH, and ISO GPS / GD&T standards.
• Awareness of engineering quality, configuration and documentation standards applicable to industrial or regulated environments.

Desirable

• Experience in Defense, Aerospace or other regulated industries.
• Knowledge of mechanical racks and cabinets design, electronic enclosure design and packaging, and thermal management.
• Experience in computational analysis / simulation and industrialization / transfer to manufacturing.
• Familiarity with PLM / PDM tools, configuration management and engineering change control.
• Knowledge of surface treatments, painting/coating processes, and additive manufacturing.
• Strong problem-solving, decision-making and prioritization skills.
• Ability to manage multiple activities/projects simultaneously while meeting deadlines.
• Experience in remote team leadership, mentoring, or offshore team setup.

Years of experience

15+ years of Industrial Experience

Educational Qualification

Graduate/ Masters Degree in Engineering in Mechanical

#LI-DB3

At Thales, we’re committed to fostering a workplace where respect, trust, collaboration, and passion drive everything we do. Here, you’ll feel empowered to bring your best self, thrive in a supportive culture, and love the work you do. Join us, and be part of a team reimagining technology to create solutions that truly make a difference – for a safer, greener, and more inclusive world.