Production Manager

H Squared Talent; Bracknell; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days’ holiday + bank holidays

Pension with up to 5% matched

Healthcare cash plan

Shares scheme

Job summary

H Squared Talent is assisting a Bracknell-based specialist manufacturer of test equipment to recruit a Production Manager. You will lead the largest production team, shape how production runs and drive lean improvements across mature and highly configurable product ranges.

Office-based role with flexible hours and a relaxed, down-to-earth culture. You’ll work closely with Engineering, report to the Managing Director and help the business scale without bureaucracy.

Qualifications

• Proven people management experience in production/manufacturing.
• Lean training (green belt or equivalent) and applying it in practice.
• Background in electronics assembly and test.
• Decisive, with a process-improvement mindset.
• Comfort with small, busy, prototype-led production environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead a small production and service team alongside an experienced supervisor.
• Re-lay out the production area, improve flow and apply lean principles.
• Make production decisions without waiting for sign-off at every step.
• Collaborate with Engineering on ECNs, NCRs and redesigns.
• Manage obsolescence, component availability and lead times.
• Be a member of the senior management team reporting to the MD.

Skills

People management

Lean manufacturing

Electronics assembly

Decision making

Prototype mindset

Job description

• Take ownership of production and a seat on the management team
• Flexible hours and a relaxed, down-to-earth culture
• 25 days’ holiday plus bank holidays, pension with up to 5% matched, healthcare cash plan and a shares scheme
• Office-based, a 15-minute walk from the station

This isn’t a role where you keep an established production line ticking over - it’s one where you get to shape how production runs.

Our client is a specialist manufacturer of test equipment with a globally recognised name. The business is very busy, the order book is full, and the team has grown significantly over the past year. You’ll lead the largest team in the business, make the decisions and change how things are done. You’ll have the autonomy to do it, in a small business where everyone knows everyone and there’s no bureaucracy to wade through.

It’s a varied challenge. One product range is mature and stable, but obsolescence and lead times keep you on your toes. The other is a highly configurable product where every unit is different and things change daily. You’ll work closely with Engineering to improve both, one sub-assembly at a time, while production carries on.

What you’ll be doing:

• Leading a small production and service team, working alongside an experienced production supervisor who looks after day-to-day planning and scheduling
• Re-laying out the production area, improving flow and applying lean principles to deliver a more predictable output
• Making decisions and acting on production issues without waiting for sign-off at every step
• Working with Engineering on ECNs, NCRs and the continuous redesign of the product range
• Managing the impact of component obsolescence, availability and lead times
• Contributing as a member of the senior management team, reporting to the Managing Director

The Candidate: Production Manager

The ideal candidate will have most of the following:

• Proven people management experience in a production or manufacturing environment
• Lean training to at least green belt level or equivalent, plus experience of applying it
• A background in electronics assembly and test.
• A confident decisionmaker with a process improvement mindset
• Comfort working in a small, busy business with changing, prototype-led products