Production Manager (Ref: 197660)

Forsyth Barnes Consultancy; Lancashire; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Forsyth Barnes Consultancy seeks an experienced Engineering Lead for a multi-line manufacturing facility in Lancashire. You will set maintenance priorities, lead a small team, balance reactive fault-finding with proactive improvements, and drive capital projects to improve uptime and output.

You will collaborate with production planning, quality and suppliers, shape the engineering roadmap, and report to senior operations leadership on budgets and asset investments.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in engineering/maintenance lead within a manufacturing environment.
• Experience coaching and developing a small technical team.
• Experience planning and delivering small capital projects and improvements.
• Knowledge of maintenance management systems and fault reporting techniques.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day engineering activities across multiple production lines to maintain output and quality.
• Oversee reactive and preventive maintenance programmes with timely completion and documentation.
• Diagnose and resolve complex mechanical and electrical faults with hands-on support.
• Mentor and develop a small engineering/technical team, promoting safety and skills growth.
• Plan and deliver small to medium capital and improvement projects with scoping and cost estimation.

Skills

Leadership

Mechanical faults

Electrical faults

Capital projects

Job description

About Us

We are supporting a well-established manufacturer in the textiles and apparel sector that combines traditional production methods with modern engineering to supply technical textile components to industrial customers. The organisation serves clients across sectors including automotive, medical and industrial filtration, where product performance and manufacturing reliability directly affect customer outcomes. The engineering function operates across workshop machinery, process engineering and product support, working to maintain uptime, improve yield and manage complexity across multiple production lines.

Job Description

This engineering lead role offers the chance to own engineering standards and day-to-day technical delivery across a multi-line manufacturing facility. You will set priorities for maintenance, continuous improvement and capital projects, balancing reactive fault-finding with planned preventative work to protect output and product quality. Managing a small team of engineers and technicians, you will make hands-on interventions when needed, coach team members to raise capability, and coordinate with production planning, quality and external service providers to resolve complex issues quickly. A key part of the role is to shape the engineering roadmap: identify equipment and process risks, propose costed improvements, and deliver projects that reduce downtime, improve yield and lower operating cost. Visibility to senior operations leadership gives the opportunity to influence budgeting and investment for critical assets.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate day-to-day engineering activities across multiple production lines, prioritising work to maintain output and quality.
• Oversee reactive maintenance and planned preventative maintenance programmes, ensuring timely completion and documentation.
• Diagnose and resolve complex mechanical and electrical faults, providing hands-on technical support where necessary.
• Manage, mentor and develop a small engineering and technical team, promoting skills development and safe working practices.
• Plan and deliver small to medium capital and improvement projects, including scoping, cost estimation and supplier coordination.
• Implement and improve maintenance records, failure analysis and root cause investigations to reduce repeat issues.
• Collaborate closely with production planning, quality and supply chain to align engineering activities with operational needs.
• Coordinate with external contractors and equipment vendors for specialised repairs and upgrades.

Requirements

• Proven experience in an engineering or maintenance lead role within a manufacturing environment, ideally in textiles, processing or a related sector.
• Strong mechanical and electrical fault-finding skills with hands-on experience of workshop tools and equipment.
• Experience managing a small team of technicians or engineers, including coaching and performance feedback.
• Practical experience of planning and delivering small capital projects and improvement initiatives.
• Knowledge of maintenance management systems and basic fault reporting and root cause analysis techniques.
• Good communication skills and the ability to work cross-functionally with production and quality teams.
• Relevant engineering qualification or equivalent practical experience.

Benefits

• A competitive compensation package appropriate to the role.
• Opportunities for professional development and career growth.
• The opportunity to work on meaningful projects with visible organisational impact.
• Access to the tools, systems, and resources needed to perform the role effectively.

Other

If you are an experienced hands-on engineering lead who enjoys balancing reactive problem solving with structured improvement work, this role offers scope to shape engineering standards and reduce downtime across a complex production environment. Transferable experience from adjacent manufacturing sectors is welcome; please apply to be considered.