R&D Manager: Heat Pump Hardware & Systems

Worklane GmbH; Portadown; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

Octopus Centre for Heating Technology, the hardware division of the Octopus Energy Group, seeks an experienced R&D Manager in Portadown to lead the heat pump development team. You will own the full development lifecycle from design to productionisation, shaping the technical roadmap and working with product, commercial, and manufacturing colleagues to bring new products to market.

You will manage engineers and technicians, drive cross‑functional collaboration with platform, firmware and design

Qualifications

• Graduate or postgraduate qualification in engineering (mechanical, electrical, or related discipline).
• Proven experience managing an engineering team, including project delivery and workload planning.
• Extensive heat pump/HVAC/refrigeration product development experience with thermodynamics knowledge.
• Track record taking hardware products concept → market.
• Strong systems‑level thinking across mechanical, electrical, controls, and software domains.
• Experience in fast‑paced development with competing priorities and delivery momentum.
• Clear and effective communication to non‑technical audiences.
• Desirable: field deployments and using operational data for improvement.
• Desirable: familiarity with UK/EU regulatory requirements for heat pumps.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of engineers and technicians across full development lifecycle for heat pumps and components.
• Define and maintain the technical R&D roadmap balancing short‑term delivery and long‑term strategy.
• Collaborate with platform, firmware, and design teams to integrate hardware decisions with product/system strategy.
• Oversee design, testing, validation of hardware (refrigeration circuits, controls, exchangers, integration).
• Lead component selection and supplier qualification for cost, performance, reliability.
• Manage lab and field testing, using real‑world data to inform product decisions.
• Lead compliance testing to relevant standards (MCS, CE/UKCA, EN 14511, F‑Gas, ErP).
• Specify, commission, and maintain test rigs and lab facilities.
• Monitor heat pump market trends and emerging tech to inform direction.
• Identify and manage technical risk to keep projects on schedule.
• Support professional development of engineers and technicians within the team.

Skills

Mechanical engineering

Electrical engineering

Team leadership

Heat pump/HVAC know‑how

Thermodynamics

Hardware product development

Systems thinking

Cross-disciplinary collaboration

Strong communication

Regulatory awareness

Education

Engineering degree (BEng/MEng)

Postgraduate qualification (preferred)

Tools

Test rigs

Job description

Octopus Centre for Heating Technology, the hardware division of the Octopus Energy Group, seeks an experienced R&D Manager in Portadown to lead the heat pump development team. You will own the full development lifecycle from design to productionisation, shaping the technical roadmap and working with product, commercial, and manufacturing colleagues to bring new products to market.

You will manage engineers and technicians, drive cross‑functional collaboration with platform, firmware and design