Technical Director

Euro-Projects Recruitment Ltd; Bicester; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 135,000; Full time

Job summary

Euro-Projects Recruitment Ltd is partnering with a specialist engineering business near Bicester to appoint a Technical Director. This senior role leads R&D, NPI, Applications Engineering, Quality and Laboratory activities to raise technical standards and turn capability into competitive advantage.

We seek a hands-on, credible leader who can build a department, establish clear accountability and influence the broader leadership team.

Qualifications

• Experience leading a technical, engineering, quality or manufacturing-related function.
• Ability to build a department, establish clear responsibilities and develop a team.
• A strong focus on quality, product compliance, standards and process discipline.
• Experience improving processes, investigating root causes and implementing lasting solutions.
• An understanding of NPI, process development, R&D or applications engineering.
• The ability to turn specialist knowledge into documented processes, standards and training.
• Strong project management skills, ideally including capital equipment or technical improvement projects.
• Commercial awareness and an understanding of how technical capability supports customer relationships and profitability.
• The confidence to challenge existing ways of working, influence the senior team and gain buy-in across Operations and the wider business.
• This is not simply about being the most technically knowledgeable person in the room; it's about building a function that allows the whole business to perform better.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a new Technical function spanning R&D, NPI, Applications Engineering, Quality Engineering and Laboratory activities.
• Shape technical strategy and overall integrity of the business.
• Build standards, processes and training to translate capability into customer value.
• Drive NPI, process development, R&D and innovation initiatives.
• Ensure product compliance, quality and robust root-cause investigation.
• Collaborate with Commercial to align technology with profitability and customer needs.
• Manage Capex and technical improvement projects with clear accountability.

Skills

Technical leadership

Team development

Quality focus

Root-cause analysis

NPI & R&D

Knowledge documentation

Project management

Commercial awareness

Leadership influence

People leadership

Job description

Technical Director

• Are you looking for Technical Director jobs or Engineering Director jobs in Bicester, Oxford, Banbury, Aylesbury, Buckingham or across Oxfordshire? Engineering, manufacturing, mechanical engineering and technical leadership jobs.
• Technical Director jobs role with an established, specialist mechanical engineering business supplying OEM and Tier 1 customers across automotive, EV, medical, aerospace and wider regulated manufacturing sectors
• Genuine opportunity to build and lead a dedicated Technical function, bringing together R&D, NPI, Applications Engineering, Quality Engineering and Laboratory capabilities.
• The business invests heavily in new plant and R&D projects
• Technical Director jobs role – we would also consider experienced Technical Managers, Engineering Managers or senior technical leaders looking to step up into a Director-level position.

A senior leadership role reporting to the MD, with real influence over technical strategy, product quality, process standards and future innovation.

We are working with an established and growing specialist engineering and mechanical manufacturing business based near Bicester, Oxfordshire, which is now looking to appoint a Technical Director as part of its next stage of development.

The business has built its reputation on technical excellence, precision and innovation, supplying customers across demanding engineering sectors including automotive, EV, medical, aerospace and wider mechanical manufacturing sectors. This is not a traditional Technical Director role where you simply inherit an established department and keep things ticking over.

The technical expertise (and subject matter expertise) is already there, but some of the systems, standards and processes behind it have not kept pace with the business's ambitions. The Technical Director jobs role opportunity is to come in and build that structure, raise standards and turn technical capability into a consistent competitive advantage.

The Technical Director jobs role overview

• Reporting directly to the Managing Director, you will become a key member of the senior leadership team, sharing responsibility for technical strategy and the overall technical integrity of the business. The immediate priority is to build and lead a dedicated Technical function, bringing greater structure, accountability and consistency to the way technical work is managed and delivered.
• The role will cover areas including R&D, New Product Introduction (NPI), Applications Engineering, Quality Engineering and Laboratory activities.
• There is a genuine opportunity to influence:
  • Building and developing the Technical Department
  • Technical strategy, standards and process improvement
  • Product compliance, quality and root-cause investigation
  • NPI, applications engineering and new customer projects
  • R&D, innovation and process development
  • Documenting and embedding technical knowledge across the business
  • Project management of Capex and technical improvement projects
  • Technical reporting, accountability and business-wide standards
  • Supporting Commercial by ensuring technical capability translates into genuine customer value

What are we looking for in this Technical Director jobs role?

We are looking for a technically credible, hands-on leader who can build a function, raise standards and bring people with them.

You may have come from a specialist manufacturing, engineering, surface treatment, coatings, aerospace, automotive or another technically demanding environment.

• Experience leading a technical, engineering, quality or manufacturing-related function
• The ability to build a department, establish clear responsibilities and develop a team
• A strong focus on quality, product compliance, standards and process discipline
• Experience improving processes, investigating root causes and implementing lasting solutions
• An understanding of NPI, process development, R&D or applications engineering
• The ability to turn specialist knowledge into documented processes, standards and training
• Strong project management skills, ideally including capital equipment or technical improvement projects
• Commercial awareness and an understanding of how technical capability supports customer relationships and profitability
• The confidence to challenge existing ways of working, influence the senior team and gain buy-in across Operations and the wider business
• You will need the technical credibility to earn respect, but also the leadership skills and personality to manage the people side of change. This is not simply about being the most technically knowledgeable person in the room; it's about building a function that allows the whole business to perform better.

Interested in Technical Director jobs in Bicester or Oxfordshire?

If you are considering Technical Director jobs, Engineering Director jobs or senior technical leadership roles in Bicester, Oxford, Banbury, Buckingham or the wider Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire area, we'd be interested in speaking with you.

Equally, if you're currently a Technical Manager, Engineering Manager, Head of Engineering, Head of Quality or senior technical professional and are looking for a Director-level opportunity where you can genuinely shape a department and influence the wider business, this could be worth a conversation.

Please note that if you are not contacted within the next ten days, your application, on this occasion, has not been successful. We thank you for taking the time to apply