Manufacturing Engineering Manager

Unipart Group; Sefton; On-site; GBP 54,000 - 66,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

33 days holiday

Pension

Life assurance

Employee assistance programme

Wellbeing support

Cycle to work scheme

Job summary

Unipart Group in the United Kingdom seeks a Manufacturing Engineering Manager to lead the Manufacturing Engineering function and Toolroom at the Southport site, driving strategy, industrialising new products, and delivering safe, efficient processes for operational excellence and growth.

You will define the engineering roadmap, coach a team of engineers, lead NPI and short-batch manufacturing, apply lean tools, and collaborate with Design, Quality, Procurement, customers and suppliers.

Qualifications

• A degree in Mechanical or Electronics Engineering (or equivalent practical experience).
• Proven people leadership experience leading a Manufacturing or Production Engineering function, with a clear focus on developing talent, building capability and driving engagement.
• Demonstrated experience in NPI, industrialisation projects, and short-batch manufacturing.
• Strong background in lean manufacturing, SPC, structured root-cause problem-solving and writing technical reports.
• Excellent interpersonal skills to inspire your team, build cross-functional relationships, and influence stakeholders at all levels of the business.
• Six Sigma qualification (Green Belt) and MTM knowledge and optical testing would be highly desirable.

Responsibilities

• Engineering Leadership: Define the site’s manufacturing engineering roadmap, and establish robust process standards, coaching your team to drive Right First Time performance toward a zero-defect culture.

Skills

People leadership

Lean manufacturing

SPC

Root-cause analysis

Interpersonal skills

Six Sigma Green Belt

Education

Degree in Mechanical or Electronics Engineering

Tools

MTM knowledge

Process Engineering tools

Optical testing basics

Job description

Salary and benefits: Up to £60,000 (depending on experience) plus 33 days holiday (including bank holidays), pension, life assurance, employee assistance programme, wellbeing support, and flexible benefits including cycle to work scheme.

This is a fully site based role and you should be prepared to commute to the Southport site 5 days per week.

About the Role

Reporting directly to the General Manager, the Manufacturing Engineering Manager is a key member of the Southport Operational Leadership Team. You will lead and develop the Manufacturing Engineering function and Toolroom, driving strategy, industrialising new products, and implementing safe, capable, and efficient processes to support operational excellence and business growth.

As part of your key responsibilities, you’ll:

• Engineering Leadership: Define the site’s manufacturing engineering roadmap, and establish robust process standards, coaching your team to drive Right First Time performance toward a zero-defect culture.
• People Leadership: Lead, develop, and coach a team of 6 engineers.
• Process & NPI Development: Lead short-batch New Product Introduction, analyse process capability (SPC), and oversee product testing and pre-production trials.
• Operational Excellence : Drive a continuous improvement culture using Unipart Way lean tools, leading structured root cause investigations to eliminate waste and boost productivity.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Provide technical guidance to senior leadership and shop-floor teams, collaborating with Design Engineering, Quality, Procurement, customers, and suppliers.

About You

We are looking for someone with:

• A degree in Mechanical or Electronics Engineering (or equivalent practical experience).
• Proven people leadership experience leading a Manufacturing or Production Engineering function, with a clear focus on developing talent, building capability and driving engagement.
• Demonstrated experience in NPI, industrialisation projects, and short-batch manufacturing.
• Strong background in lean manufacturing, Statistical Process Control (SPC), structured root-cause problem-solving and writing technical reports.
• Excellent interpersonal skills to inspire your team, build strong cross-functional relationships, and influence stakeholders at all levels of the business, including customers and suppliers.
• The following would be highly desirable; Six Sigma qualification (Green Belt level), experience with Process Engineering tools and MTM (Methods-Time Measurement), a basic knowledge of optical testing.

About Unipart

We are a supply chain performance improvement partner. We Design, Make, Move, and Improve components in our customers’ supply chains, keeping their operations and assets moving and working better, for longer. Through our commitment to continuously driving operational efficiencies, we improve performance - saving time, cost, and carbon. Our ambition is to be the driving force behind efficient, resilient, and sustainable supply chains.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

We believe that a great workplace is one where you can bring your whole self to work. Our recruitment process is designed to be accessible, inclusive, and based entirely on merit. We define merit through a combination of technical skills and the core behaviours that help our people thrive at Unipart. We welcome applications from everyone, regardless of background or circumstances. We are committed to a policy of equal opportunity that exceeds our statutory obligations under the Equality Act 2010 and subsequent legislation. Whether it’s your age, disability, neurodiversity, gender identity, family status, or any other characteristic that makes you ‘you’ - it is your talent and potential that we value most.

We want you to perform at your best. If you require any reasonable adjustments or have specific accessibility needs at any stage of the application or interview process, please let us know. We are here to support you.

£33,000 per annum plus 33 days holiday (including bank holidays), pension, life assurance, employee assistance programme, wellbeing support, and flexible benefits including cycle to work scheme