Engineering Design Manager

Paddock; Witney; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Nitron Racing is seeking an experienced Engineering Design Manager to lead the Engineering function, shape the NPD programme from brief through to production, and drive a culture of high performance and continuous improvement.

You will create structure for engineers, manage risks, and align resources to cost, quality and timescale objectives while collaborating with suppliers and internal teams.

Qualifications

• Seasoned engineering leader with manufacturing, product development or R&D background.
• Strong programme management and resource planning skills.
• Experience delivering NPD from concept to production; channelling governance and risk management.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach and develop the Engineering team to deliver high‑performing results.
• Own the NPD project pipeline from brief to production release with clear scopes and priorities.
• Standardise NPD process from concept through validation, launch and post‑launch review.
• Collaborate with Production, Purchasing, Quality and senior management to meet cost, quality and timescales.
• Drive continuous improvement and implementation of governance, KPIs and ISO quality practices.

Skills

Leadership

NPD management

Product development

Project planning

Risk management

Manufacturing knowledge

Quality systems

Strong communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Engineering degree

Tools

SolidWorks

PDM / document control

Job description

About Nitron Racing

Nitron Racing is a world-renowned manufacturer of high-performance suspension systems for motorsport, automotive, motorcycle and specialist vehicle applications.

Our products are engineered, tested and manufactured to perform at the highest level. As we continue to grow, we’re looking for an experienced Engineering Design Manager to lead our Engineering function and strengthen the way we develop, deliver and support our products.

This is a hands-on leadership opportunity within an owner-led engineering business, where the quality of our products and the capability of our people are fundamental to our success.

The Opportunity

You’ll lead the Engineering team and oversee the New Product Development (NPD) programme from initial brief through to validation, launch and production.

Your role will be to provide the structure, clarity and leadership that enables the team to deliver consistently. You’ll establish clear project briefs and priorities, plan engineering resources, manage risks and ensure projects are delivered against agreed cost, quality and timescale objectives.

You’ll work closely with Purchasing, Production, Quality, Sales and Operations, as well as domestic and international suppliers, to remove barriers and keep projects moving.

This isn’t a role where you’ll be expected to personally own every technical decision. Instead, you’ll create the environment in which engineers can perform at their best—setting clear expectations, understanding why things go wrong, learning from them and continually improving the way we work.

A genuine interest in cars, motorcycles, motorsport or high-performance engineering would be a significant advantage.

Key Responsibilities

• Engineering & NPD Leadership

  • Lead, coach and develop the Engineering team, creating a collaborative, accountable and high-performing culture.
  • Own the Engineering and NPD project pipeline from brief through to production release.
  • Ensure every project starts with a clear scope, requirements, deliverables, ownership and priorities.
  • Plan and balance engineering resources across multiple concurrent programmes.
  • Introduce effective project governance, reviews, stage gates, risk management and reporting.
  • Use appropriate project management tools to maintain visibility of milestones, actions, risks, dependencies and capacity.
  • Provide clear programme updates to senior leadership and challenge priorities where resources or business objectives require it.
  • Ensure Engineering has the capability, capacity and focus required to support future growth.

• Product Development & Engineering

  • Strengthen and standardise the NPD process from concept and justification through development, validation, launch and post-launch review.
  • Ensure products are designed for manufacture, quality, performance and commercial viability.
  • Apply structured risk management techniques such as DFMEA throughout product development.
  • Improve engineering workflows, documentation, design governance and engineering change control.
  • Maintain effective CAD, PDM and document/version control systems, including SolidWorks.
  • Support production readiness and the successful transition of new products into manufacturing.
  • Promote engineering best practice, standardisation and continuous improvement.

• Manufacturing & Supplier Management

  • Work closely with Production and Manufacturing to resolve engineering issues and improve processes.
  • Build effective relationships with UK and international suppliers, including suppliers across Asia.
  • Support supplier selection, technical reviews, tooling and supplier development.
  • Work collaboratively with suppliers to resolve technical and quality issues and improve performance.
  • Work with Purchasing to manage engineering components, lead times and project risks.
  • Support NCRs, root cause analysis and corrective actions where required.

• Quality, Governance & Continuous Improvement

  • Provide leadership and direction to the Quality function.
  • Promote a Right First-Time culture across Engineering and Manufacturing.
  • Establish and monitor meaningful Engineering and Quality KPIs.
  • Use data, structured problem solving and root cause analysis to understand performance and drive sustainable improvement.
  • Maintain robust engineering and quality processes appropriate to the business and its customers.
  • Support the development and maintenance of ISO 9001 and other relevant quality standards.
  • Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, product performance, manufacturing capability and cost.
  • Manage engineering budgets and departmental expenditure.

About You

We’re looking for a seasoned engineering leader who combines technical credibility with strong people leadership, programme management and commercial awareness.

You’ll be comfortable leading experienced technical people without micromanaging them. You’ll create clarity, facilitate solutions and understand the reasons behind missed objectives rather than simply managing the symptoms.

You’ll be:

• An experienced engineering leader with a strong background in manufacturing, product development or R&D.
• A confident and approachable people leader who builds trust and gets the best from technical teams.
• Calm, considered and structured in your communication, with the confidence to make difficult decisions when required.
• Highly organised, with strong programme management and resource planning skills.
• Experienced in defining clear briefs, managing competing priorities and maintaining project momentum.
• Commercially aware, balancing engineering excellence with cost, quality, delivery and customer requirements.
• Comfortable working across Engineering, Production, Purchasing, Quality and senior management.
• A hands‑on and pragmatic leader who understands manufacturing realities.
• Naturally curious and improvement‑focused, looking to understand why processes succeed or fail and what can be learned.
• High in integrity and prepared to challenge decisions where quality, safety or engineering standards are compromised.
• Comfortable bringing structure to an environment that may not yet have all the systems and processes you’d ideally want.

Most importantly, you’ll be someone who fits the culture: approachable and able to work closely with the team, but with the quiet confidence and presence to lead, challenge and make decisions.

Technical Experience

Essential

• Experience with SolidWorks is critical, to support the team when needed
• Experience implementing or managing PDM / document control systems.
• Significant experience in senior engineering, R&D, NPD or product development leadership.
• Proven experience leading and developing engineering teams.
• Strong experience delivering NPD projects from concept through to production.
• Experience using structured project management tools and programme governance.
• Engineering resource planning and capacity management experience.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing and engineering processes.
• Experience of supplier development and resolving supplier‑related technical issues.
• Understanding of quality systems, RCA and corrective action.
• Strong KPI, data analysis and continuous improvement capability.

Qualifications & Experience

• A degree, HND, HNC or equivalent engineering qualification is desirable, alongside substantial experience in engineering leadership, manufacturing and product development.
• We’re particularly interested in candidates who have progressed through hands‑on engineering roles into senior leadership, giving them the technical credibility and practical understanding to lead engineers effectively.