Lead Production Engineer

Halma p.l.c; Alton; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health and wellness benefits

Flexible/Hybrid working

Pension scheme

EV car leasing

Employee discounts

Job summary

Apollo Fire Detectors in the UK is seeking a Lead Production Engineer to own the technical direction of manufacturing engineering. You will lead engineers to design, improve and support manufacturing processes, ensuring safety, efficiency, on-time delivery, cost and quality targets.

Responsibilities include process design, equipment specification, NPI support, data analysis, and mentoring of engineers while aligning with business goals.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in manufacturing engineering and process design.
• Ability to lead and coach engineers and teams.
• Experience with NPI and capacity planning.

Responsibilities

• Own manufacturing processes design, documentation and improvement.
• Specify and maintain production equipment, tooling and test fixtures.
• Support NPI activities to ensure manufacturability and scalability.
• Lead root-cause analysis and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Provide day-to-day technical leadership to Production Engineers.

Skills

Manufacturing Engineering

Lean Manufacturing

NPI

Technical Leadership

ERP & Digital Manufacturing

Tools

Automation

Tooling & Equipment

Job description

Our purpose is simple; to keep people safe from fire every second of every day.

We specialise in the design and manufacture of high-quality fire detection solutions that protect people from fire in over 100 countries around the world.

At Apollo, we are always on the lookout for passionate people who want to make a difference. We seek talented and motivated individuals who want a rewarding and challenging career within an internationally renowned fire detection company.

If you are someone who demonstrates passion, curiosity, a drive for excellence and an ambition to make a difference, then we’d love to hear from you!

As our Lead Production Engineer, you will own the technical direction of manufacturing engineering activities, lead engineers, and ensure that engineering solutions align with business objectives. To design, improve, and support manufacturing processes so that products are produced safely, efficiently, on time, to cost and quality requirements.

Responsibilities

Manufacturing Process & Equipment

• Design, document, and improve manufacturing and assembly processes.
• Specify, commission, and maintain production equipment, tooling, fixtures, and test equipment.
• Support NPI activities, ensuring products are manufacturable, repeatable, and scalable.
• Ensure processes comply with safety, quality, and regulatory standards.
• Acts as technical authority for manufacturing processes and decisions.
• Owns complex or high‑risk manufacturing problems and major change initiatives.
• Leads manufacturing engineering input into NPI, major transfers, or capacity expansions.
• Defines engineering standards, best practices, and consistent approaches across products or lines.

Production Support

• Provide day-to-day engineering support to production.
• Investigate and resolve production, quality, and yield issues.
• Support corrective actions and continuous improvement activities (Lean, waste reduction, cycle time reduction).

Quality & Data

• Develop and maintain work instructions, process flows, SOPs, and control plans.
• Analyse production and quality data to drive improvements.
• Support audits and root-cause analysis activities.
• Work closely with Production, Quality, Supply Chain, and Design Engineering.

People & Training

• Train operators and technicians on new processes and equipment.
• Provides day-to-day technical leadership to Production Engineers.
• Coaches and mentors engineers; supports development plans and skill progression.
• Reviews and challenges engineering solutions produced by others.

Strategic & Business Contribution

• Contributes to medium- and long-term manufacturing strategy.
• Balances cost, quality, delivery, risk, and capacity in decision-making.
• Identifies systemic improvement opportunities rather than isolated fixes.
• Acts as the voice of manufacturing engineering in senior discussions.

Technical Skills & Experience

• Core Manufacturing Engineering Expertise
• ERP & Digital Manufacturing Systems
• Automation, Tooling & Equipment Experience
• Project & Technical Leadership Skills

Soft Skills

• Clear, Structured Communication
• Leadership Without Authority focusing on Coaching, Mentoring & Capability Building
• Professional Credibility & Integrity
• Analytical thinking and problem-solving mindset.
• Ability to work under pressure and manage multiple priorities.

Apollo Fire Detectors offer a comprehensive compensation package and a wide range of health and wellness benefits.
*As we are a global company, packages can differ depending on the area/role

Work-life Balance

Flexi start and finish times, 1pm finish on a Friday available. Optional 9-day fortnight, 50/50 WFH *suitable for most UK indirect roles

Paternal Leave

14 weeks of paid parental leave (new parents) and phased return to work for those parents who take extended leave *available to all staff

Enhanced Pension

Pension scheme with an employer contribution of 10.5% (subject to conditions) *available to all UK staff

EV Scheme

Salary sacrifice car lease plan (Electric/Hybrid) and free electric car charging *available to all UK staff

Health and Wellbeing

Health cash plan, 24/7 support Healthline, in-house Occupational Health, comprehensive menopause package *available to all UK staff

Plus many more...

Why work for Apollo?

With locations in Havant, and Alton on the UKSouth Coast, we operate through regionaloffices in the UK and Germany that support ournetwork of partners and distributors onall five continents.

A Candidate Overview

Find out more about joining our team and what we look for in a candidate

Success Story

At Apollo, we offer personal development plans tailored to everyone. Listen to Emma explain how she found her journey from apprentice to HR Advisor

Warren, Senior Technical Support Engineer, 30+ years at Apollo

I have developed my expertise within Apollo and am able to engage with customers directly and share my knowledge as a technical engineer. Alongside that, the wonderful people that I get to work with everyday is the reason I’ve stuck with Apollo.

I love the 9-day fortnight because it gives me extra time to manage childcare and balance life while my husband is away in the Navy. It's been a game-changer for work-life balance and family time!

Kae, Requirements Engineer

It’s fantastic that Apollo offers the option to buy more leave—it’s a great sign that they value employee satisfaction and work-life balance and for me personally, this means more road trips in Benny the VW Campervan for next year.

Mandy, Business Technology Partner

Having access to a specialist menopause clinic was a real benefit of working for Apollo. Receiving a voucher and arranging the appointment was simple, and within a couple of weeks, I had an appointment with a menopause specialist.