GENERAL MANAGER - Engineering - future MD designate
Salary £130k to £150k
Based outside of Edinburgh
A well-established precision engineering business (sub £50m) is seeking an exceptional operational and commercial leader to drive performance, culture and growth across its UK operations in the role of General Manager.
The organisation delivers engineered metal products for major industrial customers, combining advanced machining capability with manufacturing input at the design stage and downstream assembly.
This environment requires a leader who understands hands-on, factory-based engineering — including manufacturing process design, costing, workflow, quality control, machinery utilisation and day-to-day factory management.
The business is profitable, well invested and trusted by long-standing customers. It is now entering a phase of modernisation, capability enhancement and commercial acceleration.
This role suits a leader who is highly visible on the shop floor, inspires skilled teams, and combines operational discipline with strong commercial judgement.
Role Responsibilities
Leadership
* Hands-on, engaging leadership with a people-first approach
* Creates clarity, accountability and momentum
* Builds a culture centred on quality, ownership, discipline and pride
Engineering & Improvement
* Champions modern engineering methods and continuous improvement
* Drives process optimisation, efficiency and right-first-time quality
* Understands physical production flows, tooling, machinery, and factory constraints
Commercial
* Strong grasp of cost drivers, pricing and margins
* Ensures accurate estimating and commercially sound decision-making
* Supports value engineering and cost-efficient production
Customer
* Maintains excellent relationships with key accounts
* Identifies opportunities for growth and supports new business development
* Ensures reliable service, communication and delivery performance
Operations
* Ensures effective planning, scheduling and resource utilisation
* Leads day-to-day execution to consistently high standards
* Aligns engineering, production and commercial teams to shared objectives
For the right leader, this role offers the freedom to drive meaningful improvement and the satisfaction of seeing change translate directly into performance, culture and customer success. It is an opportunity to influence a business with strong foundations and the appetite to move forward.
This role sits within the succession plan for the Managing Director position.