Head of Design

Jonathan Lee Group; St Michael's on Wyre; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Car allowance

Relocation assistance

Benefits package

Job summary

Jonathan Lee Group seeks a Head of Design & Product Engineering to lead a combined design and engineering function in a Lancashire-based manufacturing site. You will steer resource, governance, and compliance while delivering production-ready designs.

The role emphasizes leadership, hands-on engineering oversight, and the ability to translate requirements into reliable, safe products and processes. Relocation assistance is provided where needed.

Qualifications

• A degree, HND/HNC, or equivalent experience in Mechanical, Manufacturing, Product Design or related engineering discipline.
• Extensive experience in sheet metal fabrication, structural steel, or capital equipment manufacture.
• Proven track record leading engineers within a Design or Engineering function.
• Strong ability to review calculations, structural assumptions and FEA outputs.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the design and product engineering function with clear accountability.
• Manage departmental workload and balance delivery with roadmap investments.
• Oversee the technical checking and approval framework for significant decisions.
• Drive production design excellence with timely drawings, BOMs and manufacturing information.
• Lead product development from specification through prototype, verification and production release.
• Translate regulatory and customer requirements into compliant engineering outputs.

Skills

Leadership

Design engineering

3D CAD

Autodesk Inventor

Regulatory compliance

Product development

Education

Degree or HND/HNC (Mechanical/Manufacturing/PD)

Tools

Autodesk Inventor

Autodesk Vault

Job description

Head of Design and Product Engineering

Sheet Steel, Fabrication, Industrial Engineering,

Competitive Salary, Plus Car Allowance and Benefits

Relocation Assistance Provided

Step into a high-impact leadership role that blends technical excellence, team coaching, and real-world delivery. As the Head of Design & Product Engineering, you'll shape the combined Design and Product Engineering function, protect resource for future innovation, and help keep engineering governance, quality, and compliance firmly on track. This role is ideal if you thrive when projects move from ideas to production-ready solutions within the engineering and manufacturing industry.

As Head of Design and Product Engineering you will:

• Lead and develop the Head of Design & Product Engineering function, bringing Production Design and Product Development under clear, accountable leadership.
• Manage departmental workload, prioritising delivery commitments while balancing day-to-day production needs with roadmap investment.
• Oversee the technical checking and approval framework, confidently reviewing and challenging significant or non-standard engineering decisions.
• Drive production design excellence, ensuring timely and accurate drawings, BOMs, and supporting manufacturing information.
• Lead controlled product development from specification through prototype, verification, validation, and production release.
• Own design-side product compliance by translating legal, regulatory, standards, and customer requirements into practical engineering outputs and evidence.

As Head of Design and Product Engineering you will have:

• A degree, HND/HNC, or equivalent experience in Mechanical, Manufacturing, Product Design, Structural Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
• Substantial experience across sheet metal fabrication, structural steel, capital equipment manufacture, or a closely related environment.
• Demonstrable experience leading and developing professional engineers within a Design or Engineering function.
• Strong practical engineering judgement, with credibility to review and challenge calculations, structural assumptions, and FEA outputs.
• Advanced 3D CAD capability, ideally Autodesk Inventor and Vault, plus working knowledge of machinery/product safety and CE/UKCA conformity requirements.
• This Head of Design & Product Engineering role sits at the heart of engineering progress within the manufacturing sector, helping the business deliver a range of new silo models with capacities up to 55 tonnes along with associated feeding and conveying systems. By strengthening design assurance, compliance, and engineering systems, this company can improve product performance, manufacturability, and standardisation while supporting a safer, more efficient engineering delivery culture.

Location:

The Head of Design & Product Engineering role is based in Lancashire, offering a great opportunity to lead engineering delivery and product development from a well-established manufacturing site.