Mechanical Engineering Senior Manager

Crescent Recruitment; Christchurch; On-site; NZD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Crescent Recruitment in Christchurch is seeking an experienced Mechanical Engineering Lead to drive complex electromechanical product development from concept through to manufacture and validation. You will lead a small team of engineers while staying hands-on with design decisions.

You will work across thermal, electrical, manufacturability and reliability constraints, run design reviews, engage with suppliers, and deliver against quarterly milestones.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or closely related discipline.
• Solid experience in mechanical product or part design.
• Experience across the full product development lifecycle.
• Previous experience leading or managing engineers.
• Strong mechanical design fundamentals and sound engineering judgement.

Responsibilities

• Lead a small team of mechanical engineers and develop their skills.
• Manage project priorities, scheduling and engineering resources.
• Deliver against quarterly programme milestones.
• Lead design reviews and evaluate technical options.
• Drive complex electromechanical assemblies from concept to manufacture.
• Ensure thermal, EMI/EMC, electrical integration considerations are included in design.
• Develop test plans and documentation for verification and reliability testing.
• Collaborate with hardware, firmware, manufacturing, procurement and other teams.

Skills

Team leadership

Mechanical design

CAD (SolidWorks)

Design reviews

Supplier engagement

Verification testing

Test planning

Cross-discipline collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

SolidWorks

PDM environment

Job description

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Crescent Recruitment – Christchurch, South Island

Christchurch | Product Development | Electromechanical Systems

An opportunity has opened for an experienced Mechanical Engineering Lead to join a high-performing Christchurch R&D team developing next-generation energy technology.

This is a hands-on technical leadership role for someone who combines strong mechanical product design capability with experience leading engineers and delivering complex products through the full development lifecycle.

You will lead a small team of mechanical engineers while remaining closely involved in technical decisions, design reviews, supplier engagement, verification testing and programme delivery.

The role

You will lead a small team of mechanical engineersand take responsibility for both technical delivery and team development.

You will work across complex electromechanical products where mechanical design, thermal performance, electrical requirements, manufacturability, reliability and long-term product performance all need to come together.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Leading and developing a small team of mechanical engineers
• Managing project priorities, scheduling and engineering resource
• Delivering against key quarterly programme milestones
• Making and supporting key mechanical design decisions
• Leading design reviews and evaluating technical options
• Driving the design and optimisation of complex electromechanical assemblies
• Considering thermal, EMI/EMC and electrical integration requirements within mechanical design
• Applying DFM, DFA, DFT and DFC principles throughout the product lifecycle
• Working with global suppliers on parts, assemblies, tooling and manufacturing processes
• Supporting supplier selection and manufacturing process qualification
• Planning and executing engineering verification and reliability testing
• Writing test plans, technical reports and engineering documentation
• Working closely with hardware, firmware, manufacturing, procurement and other engineering teams
• Resolving conflicting design requirements and technical constraints
• Supporting the professional development, performance and progression of your team

What we are looking for

You will be an experienced mechanical engineer with a strong background in product design and development, ideally within technically complex electrical, electronic or electromechanical products.

You will bring:

• A Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a closely related discipline
• Solid experience in mechanical product or part design
• Experience across the full product development lifecycle
• Previous experience leading or managing engineers
• Strong mechanical design fundamentals and sound engineering judgement
• Practical experience designing for:
  • injection moulding
  • sheet metal fabrication
  • CNC machining
• Strong CAD capability, ideally SolidWorks
• Experience working within a PDM-managed engineering environment
• Experience with investigative and verification testing
• Ability to develop test plans and produce clear technical reports
• Experience working with suppliers and manufacturing partners
• Strong communication skills and the ability to work effectively across engineering disciplines

What would make you stand out?

We would be particularly interested in candidates with experience in one or more of the following:

• Leading/mentoring a team
• Products designed for long
• Outdoor or weather-exposed products
• Power electronics or electrical equipment
• Electromechanical assemblies
• Electrical connectors and associated mechanical systems
• Enclosures for power electronics
• Thermal management
• Top-down or master-modelling approaches within SolidWorks
• Product compliance and certification, including standards such as UL, IEC or CE
• Working across globally distributed engineering and manufacturing teams

Why consider this opportunity?

This is not a purely managerial role.

You will remain technically close to the product while having meaningful responsibility for the performance and development of your engineering team.

The work involves complex, long-life products where engineering decisions have genuine consequences across reliability, manufacturability, safety and product performance.

You will also be working within a well-equipped Christchurch R&D environment alongside engineers across multiple disciplines and international locations.

If you are an experienced mechanical engineer who enjoys solving complex product design problems, leading capable engineers and taking products from concept through to manufacture and validation, we would be interested in speaking with you.