Lead Project Engineer (Technical Authority) – 9 Month FTC

ghd; Cambridge; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

ghd is seeking a Systems Engineer to lead technical delivery within a high‑uncertainty, innovation‑driven environment in our Cambridge R&D team. The role reports to the TA, PM and PO and balances hands‑on engineering with leadership of a multi‑disciplinary group to deliver consumer‑centric hair care products.

The successful candidate will coordinate prototypes, validate requirements across design, electrical and mechanical domains, and liaise with suppliers and the Hong Kong NPI team to prepare

Qualifications

• Degree or HNC/HND educated with significant experience of working in a design and technology company or high-end electronic consumer products company.
• Strong skills and experience with electronics based products.
• An understanding of transferring complex products into manufacture.
• Exceptional planning and organising skills working within exacting timescales.
• Methodical approach with excellent attention to detail.
• Communicates well to both technical and non-technical personnel across multiple disciplines and to management committee level.
• Prepared to occasionally travel to China and EU.
• Actively seeks to build and develop relationships both internally and externally.
• Strong experience with electronic control systems.
• Experience of developing products used in high temperature applications.
• Understanding of 1st principle physics.
• Experience of consumer trialling of products throughout the development phases.

Responsibilities

• Organising the generation of initial prototypes for evaluation and user testing.
• Align with the PM and PO on project status, schedule and deliverables.
• Working in cross‑functional project teams in iterative new product development, ensuring the product requirements and system is defined, implemented, and validated throughout all phases of development.
• Utilising broad engineering experience to aid the design phases by leading the technical team in the design realisation, mechanical design, electrical integration, verification and validation of performance and end results.
• Ensure that clear owners are assigned to each key aspect of a concept or detailed design area of a product.
• Work with discipline heads to ensure that project time scales are achievable given team loadings.
• In industrialisation phases; supports the product level validation, product launch and continues support throughout the product lifecycle.
• Lead the team in discussions with 3rd party suppliers and the chosen manufacturer (EMS) to ensure parts and tools are qualified and sample production runs are achieved.
• To liaise with the Hong Kong NPI team to prepare the product for mass manufacture.

Skills

Electronics experience

Electronic control systems

Product development leadership

Strong communication

Attention to detail

Education

Degree or HNC/HND

Job description

The systems engineer develops high performance and high-quality hair care products as the technical authority (TA), working alongside the Project Manager (PM) and Product owner (PO) they form a crucial part of the project leadership team.

The TA is accountable to the business for the technical delivery of a new product to market. They are provided with a multi-disciplinary team, budget, a timeline and stakeholder requirements. Within these constraints they work to deliver the best consumer centric product possible.

They are expected to work in a high uncertainty environment to deliver products with a high degree of innovation. They are the most senior full time allocated team member on the product development, as such they are the first point of call for decision making and escalations.

As the day to day leader of the team within R&D it is the TA’s responsibility to coach the various team members on the expectations in terms of ways of working: setting an example on accountability (I do what I commit to do), communication (open, clear and consistent) and agile work practices.

An excellent TA fosters a team that can depend on each other, challenge each other and hold each other accountable to work in the best interest of the project. By working this way, they break down the complexity into a series of builds to answer specific unknowns of the product development. They value learning above all else as they discover the best solution within the requirement space.

Please note that this position is a 9‑month fixed term contract until May 2027

LOCATION

This role will be based in our Cambridge office.

JOB ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Concept Generation:

• Organising the generation of initial prototypes for evaluation and user testing.

Product Development:

• Align with the PM and PO on project status, schedule and deliverables.
• Working in cross‑functional project teams in iterative new product development, ensuring the product requirements and system is defined, implemented, and validated throughout all phases of development.
• Utilising broad engineering experience to aid the design phases by leading the technical team in the design realisation, mechanical design, electrical integration, verification and validation of performance and end results.
• Ensure that clear owners are assigned to each key aspect of a concept or detailed design area of a product.
• Work with discipline heads to ensure that project time scales are achievable given team loadings.
• In industrialisation phases; supports the product level validation, product launch and continues support throughout the product lifecycle.

Transfer to Manufacture:

• Lead the team in discussions with 3rd party suppliers and the chosen manufacturer (EMS) to ensure parts and tools are qualified and sample production runs are achieved.
• To liaise with the Hong Kong NPI team to prepare the product for mass manufacture.

REQUIREMENTS

• Degree or HNC/HND educated with significant experience of working in a design and technology company or high-end electronic consumer products company.
• Strong skills and experience with electronics based products
• An understanding of transferring complex products into manufacture.
• Exceptional planning and organising skills working within exacting timescales.
• Methodical approach with excellent attention to detail.
• Communicates well to both technical and non-technical personnel across multiple disciplines and to management committee level.
• Prepared to occasionally travel to China and EU.
• Actively seeks to build and develop relationships both internally and externally.
• Strong experience with electronic control systems.
• Experience of developing products used in high temperature applications.
• Understanding of 1st principle physics.
• Experience of consumer trialling of products throughout the development phases.

WHO ARE WE?

Iconic British brand ghd is a global leader in high end professional hair styling tools and the UK’s number one recommended styling brand. Loved by stylists and consumers, loved by press, and loved by the people that work for the brand!

Merging science and innovation, with luxury beauty and style; ghd combines cutting edge technologies and beautiful designs to create the most technically advanced hair tools in the world.

Developed by leading scientists and engineers in the dedicated ghd R&D laboratories in Cambridge, ghd tools deliver “safer for hair” heat styling that have become an essential part of the daily lives of professional hair stylists and consumers globally.

Renowned for game changing innovation and superior performance, at ghd we are on a mission to transform lives with the power of a good hair day!