Job Description
Head of Design Engineering (Design Operations and Product Engineering)
Location: Thatcham, Berkshire (UK) with travel to clients and suppliers, and Externiture depots as required
Hybrid working available after a three-month onboarding period
Full-time | Permanent | Competitive Salary and Benefits
About the Role
Externiture is looking for a disciplined, hands-on Head of Design Engineering to lead our design function across the business. This is a senior operational and technical leadership role, overseeing product design, portfolio planning, and the integration between CAD, PDM, and MRP systems.
You will combine design excellence with engineering discipline—driving delivery, maintaining standards, and leading a skilled team of designers to produce accurate, manufacturable drawings on time. Your leadership will enable lean, efficient, and scalable manufacturing for our range of public transport infrastructure products.
Key Responsibilities
1. Lead and manage the Design Engineering team (Senior and Junior Designers).
2. Manage design scheduling, capacity planning, and performance tracking.
3. Administer and enforce SolidWorks PDM discipline and CAD to MRP integration (123 Insight or equivalent).
4. Drive DFMA and VAVE initiatives to simplify designs, standardise componen...