Technical Project Manager

Spherea Test & Services Ltd; England; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

The Technical Project Manager role at Spherea leads multidisciplinary engineering projects from initial handover through design, manufacture, integration, acceptance and warranty closure. You will be the principal day-to-day interface with customers, coordinating technical, commercial and delivery aspects.

You will oversee lifecycle gates, manage scope, schedule and budgets, and work with engineering teams across systems, hardware and software. Occasional UK and international travel is required.

Qualifications

• Experience leading complex engineering or equipment-delivery projects.
• Strong stakeholder management and customer-facing skills.
• Technical understanding to work with engineers on test/equipment projects.
• Knowledge of systems engineering lifecycle and design reviews.

Responsibilities

• Manage customer and stakeholder communications, governance, kick-offs and design reviews.
• Lead multidisciplinary teams across systems, hardware, software, and production.
• Maintain project management plans, schedules, risk registers and cost reporting.
• Control scope, schedule, budget and quality; forecast revenue and cost to complete.
• Manage lifecycle gates from requirements to commissioning and closure.
• Coordinate intercompany and international delivery and interfaces.

Skills

Project leadership

Stakeholder management

Cross-functional coordination

Technical understanding

Contract management

Communication

Travel readiness

Driving licence

Job description

Technical Project Manager

About us:

Averna powered by Spherea designs, manufactures and supports complex test systems for aerospace, defence and other regulated industries.

The Technical Project Manager role

You will lead assigned engineering projects from internal handover and customer kick-off through design, manufacture, integration, acceptance, commissioning and warranty closure. As the principal day-to-day customer interface, you will coordinate multidisciplinary teams and manage technical, commercial and delivery matters. This is a technically engaged project leadership role, requiring you to assess solution maturity, challenge plans and ensure appropriate lifecycle reviews. Regular work alongside delivery teams is required; occasional UK and international travel, including overnight stays, is expected.

Technical Project Manager Key responsibilities

• Manage customer and stakeholder relationships, project communications, governance, kick-off meetings, progress reviews and design reviews. Record decisions and actions, address difficult issues constructively and maintain customer confidence while protecting the company s contractual position.
• Lead multidisciplinary teams across systems, hardware, software, mechanical, production, procurement, quality and support. Coordinate resources in a matrix organisation, resolve competing priorities, identify capacity gaps and manage suppliers or subcontractors where required.
• Lead handover from Sales and the bid team, agree scope, deliverables, responsibilities, assumptions, dependencies and acceptance criteria, and maintain the project management plan, work breakdown structure, integrated schedule, resource plan, risk register, reporting and quality/configuration arrangements.
• Control delivery against the approved technical baseline, schedule and budget. Maintain accurate forecasts for revenue, expenditure, gross margin, cost to complete, cash, work in progress and resource demand. Coordinate purchasing and support contractual and invoicing milestones.
• Manage technical lifecycle gates from requirements and concept reviews through preliminary and critical design, manufacturing readiness, integration and test readiness, verification, factory acceptance, site acceptance, commissioning, warranty and closure. Work with the Technical Lead and Systems Engineer to control requirements, interfaces, changes and acceptance evidence.
• Understand and manage contract scope, exclusions, deliverables, milestones and acceptance provisions. Record changes, assess cost and schedule implications, prevent informal scope growth, support variations and claims, protect forecast margin and document customer-caused delays or unmet dependencies.
• Identify risks and opportunities early, implement recovery actions, escalates issues appropriately and ensure technical decisions, deviations, concessions and design changes are recorded and approved.
• Contribute to opportunity qualification, Go/No-Go and bid reviews. Help develop executable proposals, realistic schedules, resource plans, cost estimates, payment profiles, assumptions, exclusions and contingency recommendations.
• Coordinate intercompany and international delivery, clarifying workshare, interfaces, responsibilities, deliverables, dependencies and consolidated progress, cost, revenue, margin and risk.

Essential skills and experience

• Experience managing complex engineering, technology or equipment-delivery projects and leading multidisciplinary teams in a matrix organisation.
• Strong customer-facing, people-leadership, coordination and stakeholder-management skills, including experience acting as the principal interface with demanding customers.
• Sufficient technical understanding to work credibly with engineers on complex test, control, automation or equipment-development projects.
• Understanding of the bespoke systems engineering lifecycle, including requirements, design reviews, manufacture, integration, verification, validation and acceptance.
• Experience controlling scope, schedule, resources, risk, quality and cost; commercial awareness including forecasting, cost-to-complete, gross-margin protection and change control.
• Confidence to challenge constructively, make decisions and escalates issues. Clear written and verbal communication and the ability to present complex information to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Strong organisation and attention to detail, ability to build trust across teams and cultures, and flexibility to work alongside engineering teams at required locations.
• Willingness to travel in the UK and internationally; full UK-valid driving licence and ability to meet company vehicle-insurance requirements. Right to work in the UK.

Technical Project Manager Desirable experience

• Aerospace, defence, space, rail, energy or another regulated sector; automated or special-to-type test equipment; electronic, electrical, software-controlled or electromechanical systems; low-volume, high-complexity equipment.
• Defence procurement or contracting, requirements management, systems engineering, formal lifecycle reviews, factory/site acceptance testing and customer commissioning.
• International or multi-entity projects, fixed-price delivery, variations or claims management, and recovery of delayed, technically challenged or loss-making projects.
• Recognised project-management qualification or equivalent structured training. Relevant Armed Forces experience in technical leadership, engineering management, logistics, equipment support, training, procurement or operational delivery is welcomed.

Security requirements

Applicants must be UK nationals and eligible to obtain and maintain the level of UK national security clearance required. Appointment is subject to relevant background checks and any programme-specific nationality or residency restrictions.

Reporting and offer

The role reports to the Regional Operations Manager and works closely with Engineering, Sales, Finance, Procurement, Quality and the wider project-management community. Benefits include competitive salary, performance-related bonus, pension, family healthcare and health cash plans, 27 days annual leave plus UK bank holidays, cycle-to-work scheme and professional development.