Technical Director

Cranleigh Scientific Ltd; Waverley; On-site; GBP 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

H-Power seeks a Technical Director to lead the delivery of ammonia-to-hydrogen, fuel-cell and clean-power technologies. You will own the current product-development portfolio and drive programmes from concept to deployment, providing day-to-day technical direction and governance across Chief Engineers, R&D and engineering functions.

You will translate strategy into structured development programmes, oversee feasibility through to deployment, and ensure safety, quality, cost and schedule targets

Qualifications

• Senior technical leadership within a multidisciplinary engineering or product-development environment.
• Experience taking industrial technology from initial concept through testing, certification, deployment and repeatable manufacture.
• Strong technical judgement and credibility to challenge senior engineers and make difficult product-level decisions.
• Experience with complex industrial equipment involving hazardous chemicals, gases, pressure systems, high temperatures or safety-critical processes.
• Understanding of engineering governance, technical risk and design assurance.
• Knowledge of process-safety methods such as HAZID, HAZOP, LOPA or QRA.
• Experience managing several interconnected programmes at different maturity stages.
• Leadership of multidisciplinary teams across process, mechanical, electrical, controls, software, systems, testing and manufacturing engineering.
• Experience working with external engineering partners, suppliers, EPC contractors, regulators or certification bodies.
• Ability to improve engineering processes while remaining delivery-focused.
• Leadership style that balances high standards with people development and influence.
• A degree in Chemical, Process, Mechanical or related engineering discipline.

Responsibilities

• Take end-to-end ownership of technical delivery across the product portfolio.
• Translate strategy and early concepts into structured product-development programmes.
• Lead products through feasibility, design, prototyping, testing, certification, scale-up and deployment.
• Provide visible leadership across the engineering organisation and ensure quality and on-time delivery.
• Define requirements, system architecture, design standards and technical baselines with the Chief Engineers.
• Provide final technical assurance and sign-off on product readiness for deployment.
• Work with manufacturing, procurement, commercial teams, suppliers and regulators.
• Develop the engineering leadership team and foster a culture of ownership and delivery.
• Oversee safety-by-design, HAZID/HAZOP/LOPA and other risk assessments.
• Ensure products are designed for manufacture and repeatable production.
• Support customer, partner, investor and regulatory discussions with credible technical input.
• Incorporate lessons from testing and deployment into future development.

Skills

Senior technical leadership

Multidisciplinary engineering

Technical governance

Safety-critical expertise

Program leadership

External partnerships

Education

Bachelor's in Chemical/Process/Mechanical

Tools

HAZID/HAZOP/LOPA

Job description

H-Power is creating a new Technical Director position to lead the delivery of its ammonia-to-hydrogen, fuel-cell and clean-power technologies.

You will take ownership of H-Power’s current product-development portfolio, leading programmes from defined concept through engineering, testing, certification, manufacturing readiness and customer deployment.

This is a key leadership appointment with responsibility for the Chief Engineers, R&D and engineering functions. You will provide the day-to-day technical direction, governance and accountability needed to move several interconnected technologies towards commercial delivery.

The role

You will:

• Take end-to-end ownership of technical delivery across H-Power’s product portfolio.

• Translate technology strategy and early-stage concepts into structured product-development programmes.

• Lead products through feasibility, detailed design, prototyping, testing, certification, scale-up and deployment.

• Provide visible, decisive leadership across the engineering organisation.

• Hold teams accountable for technical quality, delivery commitments and the timely resolution of engineering challenges.

• Act as the senior escalation point for complex technical decisions and product-delivery risks.

• Work with the Chief Engineers to define requirements, system architecture, design standards and technical baselines.

• Provide final technical assurance and sign-off on product readiness for deployment.

• Ensure products meet safety, performance, quality, cost and schedule requirements.

• Establish and strengthen engineering governance, stage-gate reviews, design assurance and change-control processes.

• Ensure technical decisions and product documentation form a clear, coherent and auditable technical basis.

• Lead the identification and management of technical and process risks.

• Oversee safety-by-design, HAZID, HAZOP, LOPA and other formal risk-assessment activities.

• Work closely with manufacturing, procurement, commercial teams, suppliers, EPC partners, regulators and certification bodies.

• Ensure products are designed for manufacture, assembly, testing and repeatable production.

• Incorporate learning from testing, deployment and operational performance into future product development.

• Support customer, partner, investor and regulatory discussions with credible technical input.

• Develop the engineering leadership team, address capability gaps and create a strong culture of ownership and delivery.

About you

You will be an established technical or engineering leader with experience developing complex industrial technology and taking it through to commercial delivery.

You should be able to demonstrate:

• Senior technical leadership within a multidisciplinary engineering or product-development environment.

• Experience taking industrial technology from initial concept and prototype through testing, certification, customer deployment and repeatable manufacture.

• Strong technical judgement and the credibility to challenge senior engineers and make difficult product-level decisions.

• Experience with complex industrial equipment involving hazardous chemicals, gases, pressure systems, high temperatures or other safety-critical processes.

• A strong understanding of engineering governance, technical risk and design assurance.

• Knowledge of process-safety methods such as HAZID, HAZOP, LOPA or QRA.

• Experience managing several technically interconnected programmes at different stages of maturity.

• Leadership of multidisciplinary teams covering areas such as process, mechanical, electrical, controls, software, systems, testing and manufacturing engineering.

• Experience working with external engineering partners, suppliers, EPC contractors, regulators or certification bodies.

• The ability to improve engineering processes while remaining pragmatic and delivery focused.

• A leadership style that combines high standards and accountability with the ability to engage, develop and influence people.

• A degree in Chemical, Process, Mechanical or a related engineering discipline.

Experience in ammonia, hydrogen, syngas, reforming, industrial gases, petrochemicals or high-temperature catalytic processes would be highly relevant. We are also open to candidates from parallel industrial sectors involving complex process equipment, hazardous materials or safety-critical technology.

Direct ammonia-cracking experience is not essential if you can demonstrate the technical depth, leadership experience and product-commercialisation record required.

Experience gained across both a large, structured engineering organisation and a smaller technology or growth-stage business would be particularly valuable. You should understand what strong engineering practice looks like while being comfortable operating in an environment where processes and products are still developing.

This is not a purely corporate or managerial appointment. You will not be expected to solve every problem personally, but you must remain close enough to the technology to inspect equipment, interrogate technical decisions and guide teams through difficult engineering challenges.

Why join H-Power?

H-Power is developing technology designed to make hydrogen generation and clean off-grid power more practical and commercially viable.

Its portfolio includes proprietary ammonia-cracking systems, hydrogen fuel-cell generators and emerging industrial power-generation technologies. The business is moving from technology development towards certification, customer deployment and repeatable commercial production.

This position offers the opportunity to:

• Shape how H-Power delivers its technology to market.

• Lead a substantial multidisciplinary engineering organisation.

• Influence products from early concept through to deployment.

• Work directly with the CTO and senior leadership team.

• Build the engineering structure and capability required for the company’s next stage of growth.

• Develop towards broader technical leadership responsibilities as the organisation grows.

The role is based at H-Power’s Dunsfold site and requires a strong onsite presence, some flexibility will be available depending on business and programme requirements.