Engineering and Technical Manager
Wescom is investing in its future and is strengthening its senior engineering leadership team as part of a long-term growth and transformation journey. This newly appointed Engineering and Technical Manager role offers genuine influence, senior visibility, and the opportunity to lead critical new product development in a highly regulated, safety-critical environment. With a competitive salary, bonus, early Friday finish and real autonomy, this is a role where technical leadership truly matters.
About Wescom
Wescom Group is a global engineering and manufacturing business specialising in safety-critical signalling, screening and survival products for the defence and marine sectors. With operations across the UK, Europe and Australia, Wescom supports a wide arrange of customers across the sectors, delivering products where quality, compliance and reliability are non-negotiable.
The Draycott (Derbyshire) site is a key UK hub within the group and is primarily defence-focused. The site is well-established, employs around 170 people, and has undergone significant positive transformation in recent years, with a renewed emphasis on safety, culture, leadership and accountability.
The Role
As Engineering and Technical Manager, you will report directly to the Managing Director and take full responsibility for leading the site’s engineering & technical function.
This is a senior, hands-on leadership role where you will:
Lead and develop a highly skilled, technically experienced engineering team
Own the end-to-end delivery of new products, from concept through to production and launch
Work with the design authority and act as subject matter expert across all product ranges
Provide strong technical governance in a high-hazard, highly regulated environment
Balance people leadership, project delivery and technical decision-making
You will play a critical role in shaping how engineering supports the wider business strategy, driving continuous improvement while maintaining the highest standards of safety, quality and compliance.
Key Responsibilities
Lead, mentor and develop a team of engineers, setting clear objectives and building capability
Oversee new product introduction (NPI), ensuring delivery to time, cost and quality expectations
Provide technical leadership across design, engineering and manufacturing processes
Act as the technical escalation point for complex engineering challenges
Manage multiple concurrent projects and competing priorities
Work closely with manufacturing, commercial and quality teams to deliver aligned outcomes
Ensure compliance with relevant engineering standards, legislation and best practice
Champion a proactive safety culture and robust engineering governance
What We’re Looking For
We’re open to candidates from a range of engineering disciplines. What matters most is technical credibility, leadership capability and experience in regulated environments.
Essential experience includes:
Degree-level qualification in an engineering or technical discipline
Proven experience leading engineering teams
A strong track record of bringing new products to market
Experience operating in regulated or high-hazard environments
Strong project management capability
Confidence operating as a technical authority and senior decision-maker
Desirable experience:
IOSH or NEBOSH qualification
Experience within defence, marine, explosives, chemicals or similarly regulated sectors
What’s in It for You
Competitive salary up to £70,000 per annum
Bonus scheme (target circa 10%)
Pension with employer contribution
25 days holiday plus bank holidays
Death in service (4x salary)
Monday–Thursday 8:00–17:00, Friday 8:00–12:00 (early finish every Friday)
Site-based role with strong senior leadership visibility
The opportunity to make a genuine, long-term impact in a growing global business
Location & Working Pattern
Location: Draycott, Derbyshire
Working pattern: Office and site-based
Hours: Monday–Thursday 8:00–17:00, Friday 8:00–12:00
If you are a technically strong engineering leader looking for a role where your expertise, judgement and leadership will truly shape the future of a business, we would love to hear from you.
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