CMF Designer

Safran is an international high-technology group, operating in the aviation (propulsion, equipment and interiors), defense and space markets. Its core purpose is to contribute to a safer, more sustainable world, where air transport is more environmentally friendly, comfortable and accessible. Safran has a global presence, with 100,000 employees and sales of 27.3 billion euros in 2024, and holds, alone or in partnership, world or regional leadership positions in its core markets.
Safran is in the 2nd place in the aerospace and defense industry in TIME magazine's "World's best companies 2024" ranking.

Safran Seats is one of the world's leading manufacturers of aircraft seats, for both crew and passengers. 1 million Safran Seats-manufactured aircraft seats are currently in service with air fleets around the world.

CMF Designer (Colour, Materials & Finish)
Cwmbran, South Wales
Permanent
Initially on site, Hybrid 3 days on site after c.6months

Skills: Industrial Design, Colour Palettes, Trims, Materials, Finishes, Photoshop, Illustrator, Rhino, Blender, Mood Boards, Prototypes

Looking after the people who make Safran great is our priority. We offer a range of flexible benefits designed to support you-both in and out of work, including:

Early finish on Fridays
Competitive salary and annual bonus and pay review
25 days' holiday + bank holidays (option to buy/sell)
Strong Pension scheme and life assurance
Professional development, ongoing training, mentoring
Onsite amenities: parking, restaurant, bicycle storage, showers
Family-friendly and accessible workplace policies

Safran - Here, we craft excellence together.

At Safran, excellence is a journey - and we'd love you to be a part of it. As a trusted global leader in aerospace, defence, and space, we are proud to be a company where diversity, innovation, and opportunity come together to shape a sustainable future where we can all succeed together through a shared vision

We are looking for passionate individuals to join our Advanced Concepts team as a CMF Design at our Safran Seats site in Cmwbran.

Your Role
As a CMF Designer, you will be central to defining the material harmony of our first class and business class aircraft seats, blending colour, finish and material choices while meeting aviation constraints. You'll collaborate closely with Industrial Designers from concept through production, and play a pivotal role at tradeshows and customer presentations. Reporting to the GB Advanced Concept Team Manager, you'll drive trend research, design mood boards, create upholstery designs, produce engaging renderings, and develop our physical and digital material libraries. You'll also maintain strong supplier relationships and support customer workshops.

Key Responsibilities:
Stay on top of trim and finish trends in aviation and other industries (automobile, furniture, hospitality).
Design and execute trend, mood and inspiration boards.
Work alongside Industrial Designers to apply the right materials to each seat, balancing functionality and aesthetics.
Prepare application documents for show seats and sales bids.
Ensure guidelines are applied to prototypes and production lines.
Collaborate with engineering and manufacturing teams to validate design feasibility.
Create innovative upholstery designs, modelling seat cushions to reflect trim choices.
Generate high-quality renderings to test and validate design options.
Develop, maintain, and deploy digital and sample material libraries.
Lead customer-facing workshops within the CMF library.
Cultivate supplier relationships to feed the material library.

What You'll Bring
Qualifications in CMF Design or Industrial Design (Essential)
Relevant experience in commercial CMF (Essential)
Strong feel for colours and finishes (Essential)
Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop) (Essential)
Experience with MS Office Suite (PowerPoint) (Desired)
3D Rendering (Blender) (Desired)
3D soft modelling (Rhino 7 / Sub D) (Nice to have)
Sketching, prototyping, understanding manufacturing processes and materials (Nice to have)

At Safran, we understand that diversity and inclusion make teams stronger and more effective, and as an organisation, we are committed to fair and equitable employment practices for everyone.
We also know that some candidates may be put off applying for jobs where they don't meet 100% of the criteria outlined in the advert, however, we encourage anybody to apply if you can demonstrate a variety of skills and experience relevant to the requirements of this role. Please let us know if you would like to discuss any reasonable adjustments to the application or hiring process that may better facilitate your participation.