Engineering Manager

Sectora Group; Bournemouth; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Sectora Group in Poole invites an Engineering Manager to lead a small, highly experienced engineering team, staying close to hands-on design and solving technically complex projects. This is a genuine succession opportunity within an established engineering and manufacturing business serving defence and commercial markets.

You will work on transferring critical knowledge from seasoned engineers, bring fresh ideas, and evolve the engineering function for the future.

Qualifications

• Strong mechanical engineering fundamentals.
• Excellent CAD capability for designing complex mechanical systems.
• Credibility to lead experienced engineers.
• Hands-on approach while remaining technically involved.
• Ability to absorb complex technical knowledge quickly.
• Ambition to develop into broader leadership.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate day-to-day engineering function.
• Remain hands-on across mechanical design and engineering projects.
• Capture and transfer critical technical knowledge.
• Provide technical guidance and mentoring to other engineers.
• Bring greater structure to project delivery, workload and team development.
• Work collaboratively across Production, Quality, Sales and the wider business.
• Support the future recruitment and development of the engineering team.
• Contribute to continuous improvement and the evolution of engineering processes.

Skills

Mechanical design

CAD capability

Leadership

Hands-on

Problem solving

Tools

CAD software

Job description

Hours: 37.5 hours | Early finish Friday

Permanent | Full-time

Hands-on engineering. Future leadership. A genuine succession opportunity.

We have has been exclusively engaged by an established engineering and manufacturing business in Poole to appoint an Engineering Manager during an exciting period of growth.

This is not a traditional Engineering Manager position.

We are looking for someone who still wants to be close to the engineering, solving problems, contributing to design and delivering technically complex projects, while taking responsibility for the leadership and development of a small, highly experienced engineering team.

The business operates across both defence and commercial markets, with a strong forward order book and visibility across major programmes extending well into the next decade.

The opportunity

This appointment forms an important part of the organisation's long-term succession strategy.

Two highly experienced engineers, each with decades of knowledge within the business, are approaching retirement. The successful individual will have a valuable window in which to work alongside them, absorb critical product and engineering knowledge and ensure that expertise is retained within the organisation.

At the same time, you'll be encouraged to bring fresh thinking, new ideas and modern engineering approaches to help develop the function for the future.

You’ll take responsibility for:

• Leading and coordinating the day-to-day engineering function
• Remaining hands-on across mechanical design and engineering projects
• Capturing and transferring critical technical knowledge
• Providing technical guidance and mentoring to other engineers
• Bringing greater structure to project delivery, workload and team development
• Working collaboratively across Production, Quality, Sales and the wider business
• Supporting the future recruitment and development of the engineering team
• Contributing to continuous improvement and the evolution of engineering processes

About you

We’re deliberately keeping the industry background relatively open.

You don't need to arrive knowing this organisation's products. What matters is having the engineering fundamentals and curiosity to learn them.

You’ll ideally bring:

• Strong mechanical engineering and mechanical design experience
• Good CAD capability and experience designing complex engineered products
• The credibility and interpersonal skills to lead experienced engineers
• A hands‑on approach and willingness to remain technically involved
• The confidence to work independently and introduce new ideasThe ability to absorb complex technical knowledge quickly
• An ambition to develop into broader engineering and operational leadership

Experience within hydraulics, fluid power, pumps, motors, valves, motion control, pneumatics or similar mechanical systems would be particularly valuable, but is not essential.

Likewise, previous defence experience is advantageous rather than mandatory. You will, however, need to be eligible to obtain the appropriate UK security clearance.

Why consider it?

This is an opportunity to join a successful engineering business at an important point in its development.

You’ll inherit access to an extraordinary depth of technical knowledge, while being given the opportunity to shape what the engineering function becomes next.

For someone who enjoys being an engineer but is ready to lead, influence and build, it offers a genuine longer‑term career opportunity beyond the initial Engineering Lead remit.

Interested in finding out more?