Job Title: Production Engineering Manager
Location: Stevenage
Salary: Competitive £50,000 - £65,000
A well-established manufacturing organisation is seeking a Production Engineering Manager to lead its Production Engineering and Operations teams, driving operational excellence across all manufacturing activities. This is a key leadership position responsible for ensuring efficient product assembly, successful introduction of new products, and continuous improvement of engineering processes, documentation, and production capability.
The role requires a strong blend of technical expertise, people management, customer focus, and project leadership. You will oversee the production team ranging from senior engineers to junior and assistant-level staff while acting as a central point of coordination between production, customers, and internal stakeholders.
This is a hands-on management role within a fast-paced, highly technical environment, where attitude, adaptability, and communication are just as important as engineering ability.
Key Responsibilities
* Lead and develop the Production Engineering and Operations teams, managing performance, workload, and KPI reporting.
* Provide hands-on production engineering support, improving manufacturability, documentation, tooling, and layout efficiency.
* Own the full NPI process and act as the main customer-facing contact for engineering and build-related queries.
* Prepare assembly quotations, review customer documentation, and produce accurate build packs.
* Plan and prioritise engineering activities, supporting production schedules and ongoing project delivery.
* Drive continuous improvement across processes, quality, cost, and efficiency.
* Ensure compliance with all quality, safety, and environmental standards.
Essential
* Demonstrable experience managing a Production/Testing or Manufacturing Engineering team.
* Strong background in electronics manufacturing with a solid understanding of best practices, NPI, and production engineering methods.
* Proven leadership capability with experience developing junior team members.
* Excellent communication and customer-facing skills; able to handle customer queries with professionalism and clarity.
* Ability to plan, prioritise, and adapt to changing priorities in a high-mix, fast-moving environment.
* Experience working as part of, or contributing to, a senior leadership team.
* Evidence of successful continuous improvement initiatives with measurable outcomes.
* Strong ERP and computer literacy, with confidence using data to drive decisions.
* Positive attitude, adaptability, and resilience under pressure.
* Strong problem-solving abilities with commercial awareness.
Desirable
* HND or higher in Electronic Engineering or a related discipline.
* Experience in tooling design, ergonomic assessment, or layout optimisation.
* Training or certification in Lean, CI, Six Sigma, or related improvement methodologies.