Manufacturing Operations Manager

Osprey Engineering Solutions Ltd; Leeds; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Osprey Engineering Solutions Ltd is seeking a Project & Manufacturing Operations Manager to lead the end-to-end delivery of bespoke engineered equipment from drawings through build, testing, delivery and on-site installation.

You will oversee the design-owned process, manage a multi-disciplinary build team, coordinate suppliers, and ensure costs, quality and timelines meet FAT/SAT criteria. The role requires hands-on leadership across workshops and customer sites.

Qualifications

• Experience delivering bespoke engineered equipment.
• Experience overseeing and organising from drawings through build and testing, ideally including installation/completion.
• Ability to read mechanical engineering drawings and decide practical routes for manufacture.
• Experience leading workshop teams and coordinating subcontractors and suppliers.
• Cost/quality/capacity/lead time judgement with make-or-buy decisions.
• Budget management and forecasting with proactive overruns handling.
• Organised, hands-on in workshop and on customer sites; overnight stays possible.

Responsibilities

• Turn released designs into workable build and installation plans.
• Plan and manage purchasing, subcontract manufacture, machining, assembly, testing, delivery, installation and site acceptance.
• Lead the build team, fitters, installers and machinists; integrate electrical build as needed.
• Decide make-or-buy options within budgets and authority.
• Coordinate suppliers, monitor costs, quality, lead times and delivery risk.
• Book specialist resources and direct their tasks during project periods.
• Resolve day-to-day build issues and route design changes for approval.
• Develop practical manufacturing methods and spare parts supply arrangements.
• Maintain clear view of progress, forecast costs and FAT/SAT actions.

Skills

Project management

Leadership

Reading drawings

Cost management

Budgeting

Hands-on

Site installation

Supplier coordination

Manufacturing leadership

Tools

ERP/MRP

Job description

Project & Manufacturing Operations Manager

Leeds

Permanent, full time

About the company

Osprey Engineering Solutions are working with a well-established UK B2B engineering and manufacturing technology business. They design and supply engineered industrial solutions, including automated/manual assembly systems and material removal applications. They are growing their ability to build, install and manufacture these solutions and associated parts in-house and have created a new leadership role to drive that growth.

The role

You will take a released design and organise/oversee everything needed to make, build, test, deliver and install it. The company’s technical engineering team owns the design, the specifications and the customer relationship. You will own the delivery.

What you will do

• Turn released designs, drawings, bills of materials, budgets and acceptance criteria into workable build and installation plans.
• Plan and manage purchasing, subcontract manufacture, machining, assembly, testing, delivery, installation and site acceptance.
• Lead the build team, fitters, installers and machinist. Electrical build may be added as the team develops.
• Decide how approved parts should be manufactured, and whether to make them internally or buy them in, within agreed budgets and purchasing authority.
• Coordinate suppliers and monitor cost, quality, lead times and delivery risk.
• Book specialist resources, such as controls engineers, and direct their project tasks during agreed periods.
• Resolve day-to-day build issues, and refer any changes to design, specification, performance, safety or customer scope back to the engineering team for approval.
• Develop practical manufacturing methods and supply arrangements for spare parts, components and future products.
• Keep a clear view of project progress, forecast costs and the actions needed to reach FAT and SAT.

What you will bring

• Experience delivering bespoke engineered equipment.
• Experience overseeing and organising from drawings through build and testing, ideally including installation/completion.
• The ability to read mechanical engineering drawings and choose a practical route for manufacture and assembly.
• Experience leading workshop teams across several jobs at once and coordinating subcontractors and component suppliers.
• Sound judgement on cost, quality, capacity and lead time, and the ability to make and explain make-or-buy decisions.
• Confidence managing a project budget and raising forecast overruns early, along with the options for dealing with them.
• An organised, hands-on approach, and comfort working in the workshop and on customer sites. Installations will sometimes need overnight stays.
• For example, you might currently be an Engineering Operations Manager, Manufacturing Manager, Build Manager, Project Delivery Manager, Production Engineering Manager, or a Senior Project Engineer with significant workshop leadership. Your experience matters more than your job title or degree.
• Desirable: industrial automation, special purpose machinery, precision machining, fabrication, electrical or control panel build, formal FAT/SAT processes, ERP/MRP, or experience building a new manufacturing function