Engineering Test Lab Manager

Yolk Recruitment Ltd; Cwmbran; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading recruitment agency is seeking an Engineering Test Lab Manager for a global manufacturer in South Wales. This role involves managing a small team to ensure laboratory efficiency, planning testing activities, and improving lab capabilities. Candidates should have a background in Mechanical Engineering and relevant testing experience with excellent safety standards. The position offers a competitive salary range of £50,000 – £60,000 plus benefits.

Benefits

Excellent benefits package including pension and holidays

Development opportunities within a secure manufacturer

Qualifications

• Familiarity with data acquisition systems.
• Safety-conscious, organized, and confident in structured problem-solving.
• Relevant experience within Development / Test.

Responsibilities

• Plan and coordinate testing activities for prototypes and validation.
• Lead and manage a team, allocate work and develop capability.
• Design or adapt test equipment and fixtures.

Education

Mechanical Engineering education

Tools

Data acquisition systems

Job description

Engineering Test Lab Manager South Wales £50,000 - £60,000 + benefits

Yolk Recruitment is exclusively partnered with a global manufacturer to recruit an Engineering Test Lab Manager for their R&D facility in South East Wales. This is a key leadership role, managing a small test and development team and ensuring the laboratory delivers safe, accurate and timely results to support new product development, prototyping, validation and customer projects.

This is what you'll be doing

As Engineering Test Lab Manager you'll be responsible for the planning, operation and development of the laboratory. Your work will include:

• Planning and coordinating testing activities for prototypes, validation and customer programmes.
• Leading and managing a team, allocating work and developing capability.
• Designing or adapting test equipment and fixtures, specifying datalogging systems and ensuring all equipment is maintained, calibrated and compliant.
• Running and overseeing test activities – force, pressure, environmental, etc.
• Producing documentation including test plans, procedures, reports, production test specs and maintenance schedules.
• Supporting production, sales, quality and customer teams with data and expertise.
• Identifying future equipment needs and improvements to lab capability.
• Promoting a safety‑first culture and driving continuous improvement in the lab.
• Collaborating with wider R&D departments, DFMEA, DVP and varied problem‑solving.

The experience you'll bring to the team

• Mechanical Engineering education.
• Relevant experience within Development / Test.
• Familiarity with data acquisition systems.
• Desirable – knowledge of hydraulics, pneumatics, basic PLC programming. Training can be provided.
• Safety‑conscious, organised, and confident in structured problem‑solving.

And this is what you'll get in return

• Salary in the region of £50,000 – £60,000.
• Excellent benefits package including pension, holidays and wider perks.
• A role with scope to shape the future capability of Test activities onsite.
• Development opportunities within a secure, international manufacturer.

Are you up to the challenge? If you feel you have the skills, experience and passion to be successful in this role apply now!

*Please note, whilst we do our best to contact all candidates, due to the high number of applications we receive we cannot guarantee this for every role. If you have not heard anything from us within 7 days of applying – then unfortunately you have been unsuccessful. Please keep an eye on our website for more opportunities.