Senior Production Engineer

Peoplebank; Leominster; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

EV Salary Sacrifice Scheme

Pensions Plan

Life Assurance Scheme

Profit Share Scheme

All Employee Share Plan

Job summary

Steatite Antennas in Leominster, Herefordshire, UK, is seeking an experienced Senior Production Engineer to lead and develop Production and Prototype teams. You will drive manufacturability improvements, oversee NPI to production transitions and collaborate with Design, Quality and Supply Chain to deliver high‑reliability antenna systems for defence and commercial customers.

The role offers ownership of manufacturing methods, tooling, and documentation in a low‑volume, high‑complexity

Qualifications

• Experience in a low-volume, high-complexity manufacturing environment.
• Strong track record taking products from prototype to production.
• Knowledge of DFMA/DFM and ability to influence designs for manufacturability.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop Production and Prototype/Development Engineers.
• Plan and prioritise engineering resources across prototype, development and production.
• Own manufacturing processes for complex, high‑performance antenna products.
• Drive improvements in manufacturability, quality, yield and cost.
• Provide hands-on engineering support and resolve manufacturing issues.

Skills

Production engineering

Team leadership

DFM/DFMA

Root cause analysis

Lean manufacturing

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Tools

BOM management

Engineering change control

Quality systems

Job description

Due to the nature of our work, the successful candidate will be required to complete BPSS screening prior to employment and must be willing and eligible to obtain Security Check (SC) clearance.

About Us

At Steatite, we design, manufacture, and supply advanced technology solutions — from industrial embedded computing and custom lithium battery packs to secure communications, antennas, and imaging systems.

Our innovations operate in some of the world’s most demanding environments. From the ocean floor to the edge of space, Steatite technology ensures critical systems perform reliably, consistently, and safely — 24/7. Whether enabling scientific discovery in extreme conditions, transmitting high-bandwidth data across challenging terrain, processing vast volumes of traffic data, or supporting secure transactions on the move, our solutions are built to perform when it matters most.

From day one, you will be part of an organisation that prioritises your safety and wellbeing, values your contribution, and is committed to making your career both rewarding and impactful.

Turn advanced engineering into exceptional products – and help shape how we manufacture them for the future.

Looking for more than just your next engineering role? This is an opportunity to take genuine technical ownership, lead and develop an engineering team and have a real influence on how complex, high-performance products move from concept and prototype into successful production.

And there’s more to the opportunity than the role itself. Join us in the beautiful rolling countryside of Herefordshire, where you can combine an exciting engineering career with an exceptional quality of life. We welcome applications from across the UK, with relocation support available for eligible candidates, subject to individual circumstances and business requirements.

The opportunity

Steatite Antennas is looking for an experienced Senior Production Engineer to lead and develop our Production and Prototype Engineering functions at our Leominster site. Working within a highly specialised, low-volume, high-complexity engineering and manufacturing environment, you will play a pivotal role in turning advanced engineering designs into robust, repeatable and production-ready products.

Reporting to the Chief Engineer, you will act as the manufacturing authority within Engineering, ensuring the successful transition of advanced antenna systems from design through prototyping and into production.

This is not a role where you'll simply maintain established processes. You will have the opportunity to influence how we manufacture, introduce new products and technologies, solve complex engineering challenges and continuously improve the way we work. You will lead and develop Production and Prototype/Development Engineers while working closely with Design Engineering, Production, Quality and Supply Chain to deliver specialist antenna products and systems for military and commercial customers worldwide.

What you will be doing

• Lead, coach and develop Production and Prototype/Development Engineers, setting clear objectives and building technical capability within the team.
• Plan and prioritise engineering resources across prototype, development and production activities.
• Take ownership of manufacturing processes across a range of complex, high-performance antenna products and systems.
• Drive improvements in manufacturability, repeatability, quality, yield, cost and delivery.
• Provide hands‑on engineering support to Production, resolving complex manufacturing and assembly issues and acting as the escalation point for technical challenges.
• Oversee prototype builds and the transition of new products from design through NPI and into controlled production.
• Work closely with Design Engineers to influence product and process design using DFM/DFMA principles.
• Develop and validate manufacturing methods, tooling, jigs and fixtures to improve production capability and efficiency.
• Ensure BOMs, work instructions, engineering drawings and test documentation are accurate, appropriate and effectively controlled.
• Support qualification, validation, first article inspection and audit activities.
• Maintain robust engineering change and configuration control.
• Investigate manufacturing faults and non-conformances, identify root causes and implement effective corrective actions.
• Drive continuous improvement and lean manufacturing initiatives appropriate to a high‑complexity, low‑volume environment.
• Identify opportunities to reduce manufacturing cost, lead time and technical risk.
• Provide technical input into supplier development and make/buy decisions.
• Act as a key technical link between Engineering, Production, Quality and Supply Chain.
• Bring manufacturing expertise to design reviews, technical discussions and customer engagements.

About you

You will be an experienced Production, Manufacturing or Industrialisation Engineer who combines strong technical capability with the confidence to lead, influence and develop others. You will bring significant experience within a technical manufacturing environment and will be comfortable taking ownership of challenging production engineering problems rather than simply escalating them.

Ideally, you will have:

• Experience within a low-volume, high‑complexity or high‑specification manufacturing environment.
• Strong experience taking products from prototype/NPI through to stable, controlled production.
• A strong understanding of manufacturing processes, assembly techniques and production engineering.
• Good knowledge of design for manufacture and assembly (DFM/DFMA) and the confidence to influence designs to improve manufacturability.
• Experience developing manufacturing methods, tooling, jigs and fixtures.
• Strong practical problem‑solving and root cause analysis capability.
• Experience producing and controlling BOMs, work instructions, drawings and manufacturing/process documentation.
• Experience of engineering change and configuration control.
• Exposure to qualification, validation, first article inspection or similar production‑readiness activities.
• Experience driving continuous improvement, yield, cost, quality or lead‑time improvements.
• The ability to work effectively across Engineering, Production, Quality and Supply Chain.
• Experience leading, coaching or mentoring engineers while remaining technically hands‑on.
• Experience within defence, aerospace, RF, electronics, communications, precision engineering or other regulated/high‑reliability engineering environments would be particularly advantageous.

Why Steatite Antennas?

This is a chance to join a specialist engineering business where you can see the impact of your work. Our products aren't high‑volume, off‑the‑shelf components. They are specialist engineered systems designed to perform in demanding applications where performance, reliability and quality matter.

• You will work alongside experienced engineers across multiple disciplines and have the opportunity to:
• Take genuine technical ownership.
• Influence products from prototype through to manufacture.
• Shape and improve our production engineering capability.
• Lead and develop other engineers.
• Work on technically challenging products and programmes.
• Make improvements that can be seen on the production floor and in the finished product.
• Build your career within a business that is continuing to develop and grow.

And if you're considering a move, Leominster and the surrounding Herefordshire countryside offer the opportunity to build a career without compromising on quality of life. We welcome applications from candidates across the UK and can offer relocation support to eligible candidates, subject to individual circumstances and business requirements.

If you are looking for a role where you can combine hands‑on engineering, technical leadership and the opportunity to shape how complex products are manufactured.

Benefits For You

• EV Salary Sacrifice Scheme
• 26 Days Annual Leave Plus Bank Holidays + More For Length of Service
• Pensions Plan
• Company Sick Pay Scheme
• Life Assurance Scheme
• Profit Share Scheme
• All Employee Share Plan

We are an equal opportunity employer fostering an inclusive recruitment experience for all candidates.