Manufacturing Engineering Lead

Niche Recruitment; Witney; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Niche Recruitment is partnering with an innovative engineering business to appoint a Manufacturing Engineering Lead in Witney. You’ll head a new Manufacturing Liaison function, acting as the technical link between design authority and manufacturers to industrialise, transfer and scale products.

The role requires hands-on manufacturing engineering experience, leadership of technical teams, and a track record with complex external collaborations. A competitive package awaits as volumes rise.

Qualifications

• Degree or equivalent in mechanical/manufacturing/production engineering.
• Experience with NPI, industrialisation, DFx, BoMs and build methods.
• Proven track record managing complex technical projects with external partners.

Responsibilities

• Set up and lead the Manufacturing Liaison function, including handover processes to partners.
• Act as main technical contact for licensees, contract manufacturers and customers.
• Control BoMs, drawings, specs and data packs; manage engineering change for design alignment.
• Lead industrialisation and scale-up discussions; advise on build method and production readiness.
• Run partner engagements as projects: milestones, risks, costs, contractual compliance and reporting.

Skills

Manufacturing leadership

NPI & industrialisation

Technical project management

Education

Mechanical/Manufacturing Eng

HNC/HND or equivalent

Job description

Ready to build a new manufacturing function from the ground up and lead the partners who’ll bring a product to scale?

Niche Recruitment is partnering with an innovative engineering business to appoint a Manufacturing Engineering Lead to set up and head its new Manufacturing Liaison function in Witney. You’ll be the technical link between the design authority and the licensed and third-party manufacturers building its products, taking them through industrialisation, transfer and scale-up. This is a permanent leadership role paying a competitive with a team to build as volumes grow.

In the role of Manufacturing Engineering Lead, you’ll be responsible for:

• Setting up and leading the Manufacturing Liaison function, including the processes for handing designs over to partners
• Acting as the main technical contact for licensees, contract manufacturers and customers
• Controlling and issuing BoMs, drawings, specifications and technical data packs, and managing engineering change so partners always work to the latest approved design
• Leading industrialisation and production scale-up, advising partners on build method, process, supply chain and production readiness
• Running each partner engagement as a project: milestones, risks, costs, contractual compliance and reporting
• Resolving technical queries and routing issues to the right people in engineering and operations
• Recruiting, leading and developing Manufacturing Liaison Engineers and Coordinators as the team grows

We’d love to hear from you if you have:

• A degree, HNC/HND or equivalent experience in mechanical, manufacturing or production engineering
• Hands‑on manufacturing engineering experience covering NPI, industrialisation, DfM, build processes and BoMs
• A track record of managing complex technical projects with external partners, suppliers or customers
• A strong grasp of configuration management, change control and technical documentation
• The credibility to guide another manufacturer’s engineers on how to build a product, and the communication skills to match
• Experience of leading technical teams, or the appetite to build and grow one

Aerospace, defence, UAV, automotive or other high-reliability backgrounds are welcome, and experience of composite manufacturing, licensed manufacture, technology transfer or setting up a new production line would be a real bonus, though not essential.

The company…

Our client designs and develops advanced engineered products and is now taking its designs and IP to market through a growing network of manufacturing partners worldwide. It’s a business in an exciting phase of growth. It’s investing in the people and capability it needs to turn strong engineering into production at scale, and it backs that ambition with a genuinely collaborative, engineering-led culture.