Project manager / Design engineer

Contained Air Solutions; Manchester; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

Contained Air Solutions is seeking a Project Manager / Design Engineer in the United Kingdom to lead customer projects from concept to delivery. You will work across Contracts, Design, Production, Purchasing, Quality, Service and Installation, ensuring technical accuracy, timely planning and commercial control.

The role combines design engineering with project leadership, offering training to develop management capabilities while you build on your technical background and collaborate with

Qualifications

• Degree/HND in mechanical engineering or related discipline.
• Experience reading 2D/3D CAD drawings and applying engineering principles.
• Ability to plan work, keep records, and meet deadlines.
• Strong written and verbal communication across departments and with customers.
• Analytical, methodical with readiness to learn.

Responsibilities

• Support assigned projects from internal handover to final completion, working to agreed scope, programme, quality and cost requirements.
• Review customer orders, specifications, quotations, drawings and contractual requirements, escalating omissions, conflicts or risks promptly.
• Prepare and maintain project plans, action lists, design schedules, risk and issue logs, and progress reports.
• Coordinate information and actions across Design, Production, Purchasing, Quality, Testing and Installation.
• Arrange and contribute to internal and customer project meetings, issue notes and follow up actions.
• Monitor milestones, long-lead items, design approvals, manufacturing progress, testing, delivery and installation dates.
• Identify potential delays, cost increases, technical problems and changes to scope, and raise them with the responsible manager.
• Support the management of variations by recording the reason, technical impact, programme impact and associated cost for approval.
• Maintain accurate project records, correspondence, approvals and close-out documentation.
• Build professional relationships with customers and suppliers, providing updates within delegated authority.
• Produce and maintain weekly project reports with the Design Engineer for customers and Production.

Skills

Project management

2D/3D CAD (SolidWorks)

Microsoft Office proficiency

Cross-department collaboration

Attention to detail

Analytical thinking

Education

Degree/HND in mechanical engineering or related

Tools

SolidWorks

ERP systems

Microsoft Project

Job description

About the opportunity

At Contained Air Solutions, we design and manufacture specialist clean air and containment solutions for customers across a range of demanding industries. As our business continues to grow, we are looking for a Project Manager / Design Engineer to join our team and play an important role in delivering customer projects from initial concept through to completion.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone with a technical and engineering background who is looking to take the next step in their career. The role offers full training and support to build on your existing technical skills while developing the skills and experience needed for a project management role.

You will work closely with colleagues across Contracts, Design, Production, Purchasing, Quality, Service and Installation, helping to ensure projects are technically correct, properly planned, commercially controlled and delivered in line with agreed requirements.

Key responsibilities

Project management and coordination

• Support assigned projects from internal handover to final completion, working to agreed scope, programme, quality and cost requirements
• Review customer orders, specifications, quotations, drawings and contractual requirements, escalating omissions, conflicts or risks promptly
• Prepare and maintain project plans, action lists, design schedules, risk and issue logs, and progress reports
• Coordinate information and actions across Design, Production, Purchasing, Quality, Testing, Service and Installation
• Arrange and contribute to internal and customer project meetings, issue clear notes and follow up agreed actions
• Monitor milestones, long-lead items, design approvals, manufacturing progress, testing, delivery and installation dates
• Identify potential delays, cost increases, technical problems and changes to scope, and raise them with the responsible manager before they affect delivery
• Support the management of variations by recording the reason, technical impact, programme impact and associated cost for approval
• Maintain accurate project records, correspondence, approvals and close-out documentation within the company systems
• Build professional working relationships with customers and suppliers, providing accurate updates within the limits of delegated authority
• Producing and maintaining weekly project reports alongside the Design Engineer, ensuring reports are accurate, completed on time, and ready for issue to customers and Production.

Design engineering

• Produce and revise 2D and 3D designs, general arrangement drawings, component drawings, assemblies and supporting manufacturing information
• Translate customer and project requirements into practical, safe and manufacturable designs, with guidance from experienced engineers where required
• Prepare and maintain bills of materials, drawing registers, technical files and controlled design records
• Check dimensions, interfaces, materials, tolerances and component selections before drawings are released for manufacture
• Apply relevant company standards, design procedures, customer specifications and applicable regulatory or industry requirements
• Participate in design reviews, risk assessments, design verification and problem-solving activities
• Liaise with Production and suppliers to resolve manufacturing queries and improve ease of manufacture, assembly, testing, maintenance and installation
• Support testing and factory acceptance activities, including the investigation and correction of technical issues
• Incorporate approved changes accurately and ensure final as-built information reflects the product supplied
• Contribute to standardisation, continuous improvement, lessons learned and the development of reusable design solutions.

General responsibilities

• Work in accordance with company health and safety, quality, environmental and information-security procedures
• Take ownership of agreed actions and communicate early when support or a decision is required
• Manage workload and priorities effectively while maintaining accuracy and attention to detail
• Undertake relevant training and work towards agreed professional and technical development objectives
• Carry out other reasonable duties consistent with the level and purpose of the role.

Person specification

Essential

• Degree, HND or equivalent qualification in mechanical engineering, product design, manufacturing engineering or a closely related discipline
• Working knowledge of 2D and 3D CAD/Solidworks gained through education, placement, employment or substantial project work
• Ability to interpret technical drawings and apply basic engineering principles to practical design problems
• Able to plan work, maintain accurate records, manage actions and work to deadlines
• Clear written and verbal communication, with confidence working across departments and with customers as experience develops
• Analytical, methodical and willing to ask questions, accept feedback and take responsibility for learning
• Competent with Microsoft Office applications; able to learn ERP, document-control and project-planning systems

Desirable

• Industrial placement, internship or project experience in a manufacturing, engineering or project environment
• Awareness of design for manufacture, bills of materials, change control, risk management or quality systems
• Full UK driving licence and willingness to make occasional customer or site visits
• Experience with Microsoft Project.

Key behaviours

• Accuracy – checks work carefully and understands the consequences of errors
• Ownership – follows actions through and does not allow problems to remain unreported
• Collaboration – works constructively with technical and non-technical colleagues
• Commercial awareness – considers time, cost, scope and customer commitments when making decisions
• Practical thinking – seeks solutions that are safe, compliant, manufacturable and maintainable
• Learning mindset – develops technical and project-management capability through feedback and experience.

Why join us?

This is an opportunity to join Contained Air Solutions at an exciting stage of our continued growth, working within a specialist engineering environment where your work directly contributes to the products and projects we deliver for our customers.

You will have the opportunity to develop your skills across both design engineering and project management, working alongside experienced colleagues across the business and gaining exposure to the complete journey from design through to manufacture, testing and installation.

If you are technically minded, organised, and enjoy seeing projects through to completion, we would love to hear from you.