Boat Build Joinery Designer

Boat Build Joinery Designer vacancy in Wroxham or Southampton

About Us

Oyster has a worldwide reputation as a leading builder of luxury bluewater cruising yachts. Since 1973, we’ve been designing, building and supporting some of the world’s finest sailing yachts, offering exceptional quality and experiences for our owners.

With our UK manufacturing sites in Southampton and Wroxham, alongside international sales and support offices, we combine outstanding design and craftsmanship with a global approach to yacht ownership. Our people are at the heart of our success, guided by our core values of Excellence, Passion, Integrity and Family

The Role

We are looking for an experienced and detail-oriented Boat Build Joinery Designer to join our Design team in Wroxham or Southampton.

In this role, you will be responsible for developing interior joinery designs, producing detailed drawings and manufacturing information, and supporting Production throughout the build of our luxury sailing yachts. Working closely with designers, naval architects and project managers, you’ll help optimise designs, develop customer-specific options and ensure that interior fit-out designs are suitable for efficient, high-quality manufacture.

Using 2D and 3D CAD software, including Siemens NX, you’ll help maintain an accurate digital model of each yacht, supporting our production teams with reliable drawings and information. You’ll also contribute to the development of modular build methods, new technologies and production techniques to continually improve how we work.

This is an excellent opportunity for a designer with strong technical knowledge of interior joinery and manufacturing processes to contribute to the creation of exceptional yachts.

Key Responsibilities

• Produce detailed drawings and manufacturing information to support yacht production.

• Use NX 3D CAD software to develop and maintain an accurate digital twin of each yacht.

• Design interior fit-outs suitable for CNC manufacture.

• Produce interior fit-out and fabrication drawings for internal and outsourced manufacturing.

• Maintain accurate 3D models and drawing libraries, ensuring drawings are issued on time and version-controlled.

• Work to agreed design plans, group schedules and new product development programmes.

• Assess and complete relevant Design Change Requests.

• Provide ongoing technical support to Production throughout the build process.

• Support Sales and Project Management with customer options, from quotations and renders through to preliminary and production-ready designs.

• Investigate and develop new technologies and production techniques.

• Contribute to the development of modular build methodologies to improve efficiency on future projects.

• Collaborate with colleagues across Design, Production, Sales and Project Management to optimise the overall yacht design.

What You’ll Bring

• Extensive knowledge of interior design, fit-out construction and CNC manufacturing processes.

• Strong understanding of yacht production techniques and manufacturing processes.

• Experience in a design-related role, ideally within a manufacturing environment.

• Excellent 2D and 3D CAD skills, including experience with Siemens NX.

• Good IT skills, including Microsoft Office.

• The ability to interpret and explain technical drawings clearly to colleagues who are not designers.

• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to develop practical, production-ready solutions.

• An understanding of design principles and practice.

• An engineering or design-related degree would be advantageous; relevant experience will also be considered.

The following would be beneficial:

• Knowledge of sailing systems and the functions of a yacht.

• Familiarity with marine systems used within yachts.

• Practical manufacturing experience.

• Design or practical experience within the yachting sector.

• Experience using Siemens NX CAD software.

Personal Characteristics

• Highly organised, with excellent attention to detail.

• Self-motivated and enthusiastic, with a proactive approach to work.

• A collaborative team player who builds positive working relationships.

• Personable and confident communicating with colleagues across different teams.

• Customer-focused, with a commitment to quality and delivering excellent results.

• Deadline-focused, able to manage priorities and meet agreed schedules.

• Adaptable and receptive to learning new techniques and ways of working.

What We Offer

• Competitive salary.

• Opportunity to work with one of the world’s leading luxury yacht brands.

• International and collaborative working environment.

• Ongoing training and development opportunities.

• Supportive team culture built around Oyster’s core values.

• 25 Days Holiday + Bank Holiday and close down at Christmas.

• Pension scheme.

• Flexible working opportunities.

• Salary sacrifice scheme.

• Cycle to work scheme.

• TELUS Employee Assistance Programme – confidential advice and support 24/7.

• Discounted shopping on multiple outlets including travel.

• We continuously review our benefits to maximise opportunities for our employees.

Please note:

We recommend that you apply as soon as possible, even if the closing date is in the future. Applications received may be reviewed before the closing date and should we receive a high number of applications for this post, or high-quality applications which demonstrate suitability, we reserve the right to close the vacancy early. We may hold interviews as and when applications are received, and we reserve the right to offer to a candidate prior to the closing date.

As an equal opportunity employer, we celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We want to ensure that you feel supported throughout the application process and provide reasonable adjustments where necessary and requested. If you require any reasonable adjustments as part of your application and interview process, please do not hesitate to let us know.

All vacancies are open only to candidates who already have the legal right to live and work in the territory and country advertised.