Lead Design Engineer - Accessories

Tait Communications; Christchurch; Hybrid; NZD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

On-site parking

Gym facilities

Café on site

Long service benefits

Social club

Job summary

Tait Communications in Christchurch, New Zealand, is seeking a Lead Design Engineer for Accessories. You will own the accessories portfolio, translate architecture into engineering plans, and coordinate cross-functional teams to deliver robust products for demanding environments.

You will guide hardware, electrical, and audio engineering decisions, ensuring compliance, manufacturability, and ongoing product support across the lifecycle.

Qualifications

• Proven experience developing and supporting hardware products through the full lifecycle.

Responsibilities

• Own the technical direction and performance of the accessories portfolio.
• Translate product architecture and requirements into practical engineering solutions.
• Lead development, validation and delivery of accessory products.
• Act as the technical authority for accessory design and engineering decisions.

Skills

Hardware development

Electrical design

Mechanical design

Audio engineering

Regulatory/compliance

Technical leadership

Job description

## Lead Design Engineer - AccessoriesApply: New Zealand, Christchurch: Full time: Posted 3 Days Ago: End Date: October 14, 2026 (10 days left to apply): JR100319**We Go Beyond for A Safer World** ## **Te Tūranga - The Role** As Engineering Lead for Accessories (Lead Design Engineer**)** you’ll take ownership of Tait's accessories portfolio, shaping the products that enable customers to get the best performance from their Tait solutions. From audio accessories and chargers to docks, carry solutions, and future innovations, you'll play a key role in delivering products that are trusted in demanding real-world environments.Working closely with the Accessories Architect, you'll be responsible for translating product architecture, technical requirements, and design direction into practical engineering plans and delivered products. You'll coordinate development across local and remote teams, guiding products through design, validation, release, and ongoing support while ensuring they meet Tait's standards for quality, reliability, manufacturability, and compliance.This is a broad and influential leadership role that combines technical depth with product ownership. You'll guide design decisions, solve complex engineering challenges, and provide technical leadership across mechanical, electrical, audio, manufacturing, and compliance considerations.Beyond new product development, you'll also oversee the long-term health of the portfolio, driving continuous improvement, managing technical risk, and ensuring products remain supportable and fit for purpose throughout their lifecycle.If you enjoy taking ownership, leading cross-functional teams, and bringing high-quality products to market, this is an opportunity to make a significant impact on both our products and our customers. ## **Key responsibilities include:** * Own the technical direction and performance of Tait's accessories portfolio.* Translate product architecture and requirements into practical engineering solutions. Lead the development, validation, and delivery of accessory products.* Act as the technical authority for accessory design and engineering decisions.* Manage product lifecycle, compliance, and continuous improvement activities.* Identify and mitigate risks while building engineering capability and knowledge. To view the position description click here. ## **Ō pūkenga - About You** You are an outstanding senior engineer and technical leader with broad engineering judgement and the ability to operate across hardware, electrical, mechanical, audio, compliance, and delivery environments. You are comfortable taking technical direction from architecture, turning it into practical engineering delivery, and guiding teams through the trade-offs required to get robust accessory products to market. You are a “jack of all trades” engineering leader with enough depth to make sound technical decisions, ask the right questions, and bring the right specialists together. You are comfortable owning difficult delivery and lifecycle decisions, especially where product performance, compliance, manufacturability, cost, and long-term supportability must be balanced.You bring: * Proven experience developing and supporting hardware products through the full product lifecycle, from design and validation through to manufacturing and ongoing product care.* Experience working with products that have demanding audio, mechanical, environmental, or regulatory requirements.* Broad engineering capability across hardware development, with sufficient familiarity with software and embedded systems to work effectively across multidisciplinary teams.* The ability to translate technical requirements into practical engineering solutions and drive delivery through internal teams, suppliers, contractors, and development partners.* Experience supporting products in market, including component obsolescence, supply chain challenges, compliance obligations, and field issues.* Strong technical judgement, communication, and leadership skills, with the ability to influence stakeholders, mentor engineers, and make sound engineering trade-offs. **Ngā painga - What’s in it for you?** We are an employer that is committed to making a difference for families and communities and supporting people to build rewarding careers. We achieve this through employing people who connect with our Values (Commitment to listen. Courage to Act and Integrity to Deliver) that underpin our way of working together. We are committed to investing in our people, developing both individuals and teams to support a high-performance culture. * We prioritise your wellbeing through health insurance, annual flu vaccinations and extra sick leave in your first year.* We provide a comfortable work environment through modern office facilities with free onsite parking, gym, and café.* We recognise your commitment through long service benefits.* We balance work with fun through our active social club! **About Us** For more than 50 years, Tait Communications has been designing, delivering, and supporting critical communications networks for public safety, transportation and utility customers around the world. Founded in Christchurch by Sir Angus Tait, we now have a network of customers and offices that spans the globe. Our employees value being part of a creative team committed to providing technological solutions that make a real difference to the communities we support. By joining Tait, you'll be joining a community of people with a wealth of knowledge and expertise, who care deeply about their work and the genuine impact it has for our customers, and who support each other to grow and develop. **Diversity & Inclusion Statement**Tait Communications is committed to fostering a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued, respected and empowered to succeed. We are encourage applications from all backgrounds to apply. **How to Apply** Sound like your kind of role? If you are looking to take the next step in your career and are ready to work for a high performing organization, alongside talented people, please submit your application with CV and cover letter via our online careers site. Only applications submitted through the official application process will be considered.