MERITUS Talent are working with one of Europe's leading defence manufacturers for the recruitment of a Mechanical Architect to join their Stevenage office on a contract basis for an initial 6 month assignment, with extensions likely. The role falls INSIDE IR35, and is paying £60 per hour via an umbrella company. We're looking for a senior-level Mechanical Architect to join our team working on next-generation missile systems. This is a hands-on technical role, responsible for leading the mechanical architecture of complex defence products from concept through to certification. You'll be working on projects that are critical to national defence - involving challenging design work, system integration and compliance across high-performance missile platforms. What you'll be doing: Define and manage the mechanical architecture of missile systems across all variants

Develop and own the Airframe Task Requirements Specification (TRS)

Lead mechanical and thermal interface management across the missile

Ensure architecture is modular and supports reuse across platforms

Coordinate analysis and validation activities to support certification

Interface with internal teams, subcontractors, and end customers

Supervise engineers and manage technical delivery across your scope