Production Engineering Manager

Job Title: Production Engineering ManagerLocation: StevenageSalary: Competitive

A well-established manufacturing organisation is seeking a Production Engineering Manager to lead its Production Engineering and Operations teams, driving operational excellence across all manufacturing activities. This is a key leadership position responsible for ensuring efficient product assembly, successful introduction of new products, and continuous improvement of engineering processes, documentation, and production capability.

The role requires a strong blend of technical expertise, people management, customer focus, and project leadership. You will oversee the production team ranging from senior engineers to junior and assistant-level staff while acting as a central point of coordination between production, customers, and internal stakeholders.

This is a hands-on management role within a fast-paced, highly technical environment, where attitude, adaptability, and communication are just as important as engineering ability.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the Production Engineering and Operations teams, managing performance, workload, and KPI reporting.
• Provide hands-on production engineering support, improving manufacturability, documentation, tooling, and layout efficiency.
• Own the full NPI process and act as the main customer-facing contact for engineering and build-related queries.
• Prepare assembly quotations, review customer documentation, and produce accurate build packs.
• Plan and prioritise engineering activities, supporting production schedules and ongoing project delivery.
• Drive continuous improvement across processes, quality, cost, and efficiency.
• Ensure compliance with all quality, safety, and environmental standards.

Essential

• Demonstrable experience managing a Production/Testing or Manufacturing Engineering team.
• Strong background in electronics manufacturing with a solid understanding of best practices, NPI, and production engineering methods.
• Proven leadership capability with experience developing junior team members.
• Excellent communication and customer-facing skills; able to handle customer queries with professionalism and clarity.
• Ability to plan, prioritise, and adapt to changing priorities in a high-mix, fast-moving environment.
• Experience working as part of, or contributing to, a senior leadership team.
• Evidence of successful continuous improvement initiatives with measurable outcomes.
• Strong ERP and computer literacy, with confidence using data to drive decisions.
• Positive attitude, adaptability, and resilience under pressure.
• Strong problem-solving abilities with commercial awareness.

Desirable

• HND or higher in Electronic Engineering or a related discipline.
• Experience in tooling design, ergonomic assessment, or layout optimisation.
• Training or certification in Lean, CI, Six Sigma, or related improvement methodologies.