Lead Test Engineer

Ontic Engineering & Manufacturing Limited; Cheltenham; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Goal Share bonus program

Paid volunteering time

24/7 wellbeing support

Employee discounts

Learning and development

Employee referral program

Up to 29 days' annual leave

Job summary

Ontic Bishops Cleeve in Gloucestershire is seeking a Lead Test Engineer to join the Manufacturing Engineering team. This hands-on role requires ownership of maintenance across specialist equipment, diagnosing faults, and driving practical solutions to keep production and testing running.

You'll work independently, manage contractors, and contribute to improvements, with a focus on safety, reliability and site-wide collaboration.

Qualifications

• Strong hands-on industrial or manufacturing maintenance experience.
• Experience with PLCs and electrical control systems.
• Ability to read technical drawings and schematics.

Responsibilities

• Own planned and preventative maintenance of manufacturing and test equipment.
• Diagnose electrical, mechanical and cooling faults and implement solutions.
• Support environmental test equipment (ESS/HASS chambers, vibration gear).
• Work independently, prioritise tasks and build cross-department relationships.
• Coordinate contractors and assist installation and improvements.

Skills

Maintenance experience

Electrical fault-finding

Mechanical fault-finding

PLCs

Electrical schematics

Education

HNC / City & Guilds / BTEC in Mechanical or Electrical or Refrigeration Engineering

Tools

Industrial test equipment

Environmental test chambers (ESS/HASS)

Job description

Bishops Cleeve - Gloucestershire, UK | Permanent | 37 hours per week

About Ontic Bishops Cleeve

Our Bishops Cleeve site in Cheltenham is home to teams working predominantly on electronic and electro-mechanical aerospace products, including fuel measurement systems, sensors, emergency oxygen systems, engine and environmental controls and airborne radar technology. It's highly specialised work, supported by capabilities including clean-room, aviation fuel and extreme-temperature testing. Our people combine technical expertise with the precision and quality aerospace demands. Join the team and you'll be part of a welcoming, collaborative site where people take pride in what they do, support one another and play their part in keeping aircraft flying safely and reliably around the world.

The opportunity

We're looking for a Lead Test Engineer to join our Manufacturing Engineering team at Bishops Cleeve. This is a hands‑on technical leadership role for someone with a strong maintenance background who enjoys taking ownership, solving problems and having the freedom to manage their work independently. You'll take a leading role in keeping a varied range of specialist manufacturing and environmental test equipment safe, reliable and available. This includes equipment used for environmental and stress testing, such as ESS and HASS chambers, altitude chambers and vibration equipment, alongside induction heaters and welders, electron beam welding machines, leak testers, vacuum furnaces, curing ovens and ultrasonic cleaning tanks. While environmental test chamber experience would be valuable, your core maintenance capability is the priority. If you're strong in planned and preventative maintenance, electrical and mechanical fault‑finding and control systems, there will be an opportunity to build your knowledge of our specialist chambers and test equipment. You'll have the independence to take ownership of your area while building relationships across multiple departments and becoming a trusted technical presence across the site.

What you'll be doing

• Take technical ownership of planned and preventative maintenance, keeping specialist manufacturing and test equipment safe, reliable and available.
• Diagnose electrical, mechanical and cooling system faults, responding to breakdowns and driving practical solutions that minimise disruption to production and testing.
• Support and maintain environmental test equipment, including ESS/HASS chambers, altitude chambers and vibration equipment, developing deeper specialist knowledge where required.
• Work independently to identify priorities and solve technical problems, while building strong relationships across engineering, production and other teams around the site.
• Coordinate contractors and specialist service engineers, while supporting the installation, commissioning and ongoing improvement of new and existing equipment.

What you'll bring

• Strong hands‑on industrial or manufacturing maintenance experience, including planned and preventative maintenance, breakdown response and electrical/mechanical fault‑finding.
• Practical experience with PLCs and electrical control systems, together with the ability to interpret technical drawings and electrical schematics.
• Experience working with industrial equipment and components such as motors, AC/DC drives, servo systems, sensors, pneumatics and hydraulics.
• Management of contractors especially in the HSE aspects and safe systems of work (Risk assessments, method statements, scope of works, RAMMS etc.); Knowledge of industrial safety standards, including LOTO (Lockout/Tagout) and safety circuits (e.g., Pilz).
• A relevant technical qualification such as an HNC, City & Guilds or BTEC in Mechanical, Electrical or Refrigeration Engineering, together with the confidence to operate independently, take ownership and provide technical leadership.
• Experience with environmental test chambers, ESS/HASS, vibration testing, HVAC or industrial maintenance, calibration or test and measurement systems would be advantageous rather than essential, alongside a willingness to learn and develop your knowledge of specialist equipment.
• Ability to solve problems, take ownership, lead and act like a solution provider with a "can do" attitude, ability to train, coach and mentor

Why Ontic?

At Ontic, we're specialists in keeping critical aircraft flying. Our work supports civil and military aviation around the world, giving established aircraft products the long-term support they need to remain safe, reliable and available. But it's our people who make that possible. We're a growing, global team where you're trusted to take ownership, encouraged to challenge how things have always been done and supported to develop your career as our business grows. We believe in embracing the challenge - working together to solve complex problems and create opportunities for our customers, our business and each other.

Benefits at Ontic

• Goal Share bonus program - everyone at Ontic is automatically enrolled, giving us all the opportunity to share in our success
• Paid volunteering time - giving you time to support a cause or community that matters to you
• 24/7 wellbeing support - confidential support available through our Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Employee discounts - access to discounts and offers across a range of retailers and services
• Learning and development - opportunities to build your skills, develop your career and grow with Ontic
• Employee referral program - rewarding you for introducing great people to Team Ontic
• Up to 29 days' annual leave, plus Bank Holidays

Ready to embrace the challenge? If this sounds like the kind of opportunity where you could make an impact, we'd love to hear from you. We are a fast‑paced business with ambitious growth plans; so if you are dedicated, enthusiastic and always seeking ways to improve, you'll enjoy a career with us! Ontic is a leading manufacturer to the world’s civil and military aircraft. By becoming the OEM to critical parts others originally developed, we provide continuity, availability and longevity to our customers’ fleets, supporting them for a lifetime of flight. Through our in‑house manufacturing and engineering, MRO, spares, and AOG support, we ensure certified, safety‑critical components remain available, compliant, and reliable across the full operational life of the aircraft we support. We use our expertise and experience to reduce supply chain risk, improve production outputs and deliver for our customers, so they can keep their aircraft flying now and in the future.