Job Description:

• Take ownership of production and a seat on the management team
• Flexible hours and a relaxed, down-to-earth culture
• 25 days’ holiday plus bank holidays, pension with up to 5% matched, healthcare cash plan and a shares scheme
• Office-based, a 15-minute walk from the station

This isn’t a role where you keep an established production line ticking over - it’s one where you get to shape how production runs.

Our client is a specialist manufacturer of test equipment, with a globally recognised name, serving customers in aerospace and defence amongst other markets. The business is very busy, the order book is full, and the team has grown significantly over the past year. You’ll lead the largest team in the business, make the decisions and change how things are done. You’ll have the autonomy to do it, in a small business with a flat structure where everyone knows everyone and there’s no bureaucracy to wade through.

It’s a varied challenge. One product range is mature and stable, but obsolescence and lead times keep you on your toes. The other is a highly configurable product where every unit is different and things change daily. You’ll work closely with Engineering to improve both, one sub-assembly at a time, while production carries on.

What you’ll be doing:

• Leading a small production and service team, working alongside an experienced production supervisor who looks after day-to-day planning and scheduling
• Re-laying out the production area, improving flow and applying lean principles to deliver a more predictable output
• Making decisions and acting on production issues without waiting for sign-off at every step
• Working with Engineering on ECNs, NCRs and the continuous redesign of the product range
• Managing the impact of component obsolescence, availability and lead times
• Contributing as a member of the senior management team, reporting to the Managing Director

The Candidate: Production Manager

The ideal candidate will have most of the following:

• Proven people management experience in a production or manufacturing environment
• Lean training to at least green belt level or equivalent, plus experience of applying it
• A background in electronics assembly and test. 
• A confident decisionmaker with a process improvement mindset
• Comfort working in a small, busy business with changing, prototype-led products

If you’d like to learn more about the role, please click apply!