Mechanical Engineer - Equipment & Tooling Magnet Production (Consultancy / Project Lead)
Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Riyadh-based; travel as required)
Reporting to: Lead Process Engineer / Programme Director

Project overview
Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 is driving a large-scale industrial transformation. Our client is developing a first-of-its-kind facility to process critical minerals, produce rare-earth products and manufacture permanent magnets to serve EV, wind power and other energy-transition markets. The programme aims to capture greater value domestically, support export-oriented industrial clusters and establish the Kingdom as a regional hub for rare-earth processing and magnetics.

Role overview
We are seeking an experienced Mechanical Engineer with deep expertise in magnet production equipment, tooling and plant equipment integration. The role is a senior consultancy position supporting Stage 1 (feasibility / concept) and Stage 2 (FEED/RFQ preparation). You will define equipment concepts, specify mechanical systems and tooling, prepare RFQ/FEED technical deliverables, and support vendor evaluation and procurement strategy.

Key responsibilities

• Develop mechanical equipment concepts for magnet production processes (e.g., powder handling, compaction, sintering presses/furnaces, powder metallurgy tooling, cutting/grinding, coating, magnetization, and quality inspection equipment).
• Define equipment specifications, performance criteria, materials of construction (MOC) recommendations, tolerances and tooling requirements.
• Produce mechanical design, mass/energy balances (where relevant), utility loads, and interfacing requirements with other disciplines.
• Prepare FEED-level mechanical technical packages and RFQ documents for equipment and major packages.
• Assess vendor proposals, lead mechanical technical due diligence and recommend preferred vendors and fabrication strategies.
• Evaluate maintenance, reliability, spare parts strategies, and recommended automation/robotics for production and handling.
• Identify mechanical / tooling risks (e.g., tolerancing, wear, contamination control) and propose mitigation and QA/QC measures.
• Coordinate with process, electrical, HSE and procurement teams; support site layout and mechanical integration reviews.
• Mentor junior mechanical and rotating equipment engineers engaged on the project.

Requirements

Essential qualifications & experience

• BSc in Mechanical Engineering (or related engineering discipline) from a recognized university.
• Minimum 15-20 years' industrial mechanical engineering experience, with demonstrable delivery at feasibility, FEED/RFQ and commissioning stages.
• Direct, hands-on experience with equipment and tooling for permanent magnet manufacture or closely related powder-metallurgy/ceramic/metal-processing industries.
• Experience specifying and procuring major rotating and static equipment, presses, furnaces, material handling systems, clean handling systems, and tooling for high-precision manufacturing.
• Proven track record delivering industrial facilities from concept through to FEED or commissioning.
• Strong technical writing skills for RFQ preparation and vendor technical evaluation.
• Excellent problem solving, leadership and stakeholder management skills; comfortable in multinational teams.

• Outcome-driven: prioritizes timely delivery and consistently meets cost, schedule and quality requirements

• Comfortable working with multinational teams; fluent in English.

Desirable

• MSc or PhD in Mechanical Engineering or related discipline.
• Experience with automation, robotics, CNC tooling, and advanced metrology systems for quality control.
• Familiarity with contamination control, clean-room or controlled-atmosphere handling (if relevant to magnet powders).
• Experience in Middle East / GCC projects and knowledge of regional procurement practices.

Benefits

• Opportunity to shape a strategic, high-impact national industrial program.
• Competitive consultancy remuneration (commensurate with experience)
• Riyadh-based role with travel as required.