Technical Manager

Technical Manager
£50,000 + Bonus Opportunity | 25 Days Holiday + Bank Holidays | Office-Based | Leadership Role

Are you a hands-on technical professional with a passion for engineering, product development and leading teams? We're recruiting on behalf of a well-established and highly respected supplier of industrial and workshop equipment, seeking an experienced Technical Manager to lead a growing technical function and play a key role in shaping the future of its product portfolio. This is an excellent opportunity for someone with a strong mechanical mindset who enjoys solving problems, developing products, working with suppliers, and leading people. Whether your background is in machinery, automotive, agricultural equipment, compressed air systems, welding equipment, manufacturing or a similar engineering environment, this role offers the chance to make a genuine impact.

Why This Opportunity?
The business has a long-standing reputation within its sector and supplies products to major customers across the UK and Ireland. Following the departure of the current Technical Manager, who is moving into a specialist laboratory leadership role, the company is looking for an individual who can build upon the strong foundations already in place and continue driving technical excellence across the business.
You'll be joining a collaborative and experienced team, working alongside a highly knowledgeable senior technical leader who remains within the business and will provide support during the transition period.

The Role
Reporting to the Head of Commercial, you'll lead a Technical Team of four, including dedicated Quality Assurance and Product Development specialists.
This is a varied role combining technical leadership, new product development, compliance management, supplier engagement, quality improvement and customer support.
The business sources products globally and works closely with manufacturing partners to develop, test and launch products for the UK and Irish markets. You'll take ownership of ensuring products are fit for purpose, compliant with relevant legislation and continuously improved through data-driven quality initiatives.

Key Responsibilities
- Lead, mentor, and develop the Technical Team.
- Manage all technical activities associated with New Product Development (NPD) and Existing Product Development (EPD).
- Oversee product testing, validation and technical approval processes.
- Drive continuous quality improvement through analysis of product performance, warranty claims and customer feedback.
- Investigate technical and quality issues, identifying root causes and implementing corrective actions.
- Work closely with international suppliers and manufacturing partners to improve product quality and performance.
- Attend and contribute to regular NPD project meetings.
- Review and maintain product compliance documentation, ensuring conformity with relevant standards and legislation.
- Monitor changes to industry regulations and standards, ensuring products remain fully compliant.
- Support service engineers, customer service teams and technical support functions with complex technical enquiries.
- Manage technical documentation, instruction manuals, technical specifications and product literature.
- Lead Health & Safety activities, including risk assessments and Safe Systems of Work.
- Ensure ongoing compliance with ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Systems.
- Visit suppliers, customers and industry exhibitions within the UK and overseas when required.

About You
We're looking for a technically capable leader who enjoys being involved in the detail and isn't afraid to get hands-on when needed.

You may currently be working as a:
- Technical Manager
- Engineering Manager
- Product Development Manager
- Senior Product Development Engineer
- Quality & Technical Manager
- Senior Technical Engineer ready to step into leadership

You'll ideally bring:
- A strong mechanical or electro-mechanical background.
- Experience within sectors such as machinery, automotive, agricultural equipment, workshop equipment, welding, compressed air systems, manufacturing or similar.
- Proven experience managing or mentoring technical teams.
- Knowledge of product development and product lifecycle management.
- Experience working with suppliers and manufacturers.
- Understanding of quality assurance and continuous improvement processes.
- Familiarity with CE marking, product compliance, certification or related standards (training can be provided for the right candidate).
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
- A practical, hands-on approach and genuine interest in engineering products.

We're particularly interested in speaking with candidates who have a natural curiosity for how products work. Previous successful Technical Managers have shared a genuine enthusiasm for engineering, whether through their professional background, automotive interests, restoration projects, machinery, fabrication, or practical DIY pursuits.

Working Hours
Monday to Friday, 40 hours per week.
Flexible start times available between 8:00am and 9:00am, with some early-morning supplier communication required due to international manufacturing partnerships. If you're an experienced technical professional looking for a leadership role where you can combine engineering expertise, product development, compliance and team management, we'd love to hear from you.