Manufacturing Engineering Manager — Lead NPI & Lean (On-site)

Unipart; Liverpool City Region; On-site; GBP 36,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension

Bonus

Life assurance

Employee assistance programme

Wellbeing support

Cycle to work scheme

Job summary

Unipart is seeking a Manufacturing Engineering Manager for its Southport site. You will lead the Manufacturing Engineering function and Toolroom, driving strategy and industrialising new products while ensuring safe, capable processes to support excellence and growth.

You will define the manufacturing engineering roadmap, coach a team of engineers, and drive continuous improvement using Unipart Way tools. A degree in engineering and strong leadership are essential for success.

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, 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.

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.
• 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.

Skills

People leadership

Lean manufacturing

SPC

Root-cause analysis

Interpersonal skills

Education

Degree in Mechanical or Electronics Engineering

Tools

MTM

Job description

Unipart is seeking a Manufacturing Engineering Manager for its Southport site. You will lead the Manufacturing Engineering function and Toolroom, driving strategy and industrialising new products while ensuring safe, capable processes to support excellence and growth.

You will define the manufacturing engineering roadmap, coach a team of engineers, and drive continuous improvement using Unipart Way tools. A degree in engineering and strong leadership are essential for success.