Technical Manager in Ashington, Northumberland

Technical Manager role: lead a 20 strong team in a brand new role

A newly created leadership role at a busy, fast growing manufacturer, paying up to circa £75,000. You'll take ownership of the whole technical department, shape how it works, and still get stuck into the most interesting engineering on the books.

- Location: Northumberland, office based, with a visit to the Yorkshire office around every couple of weeks
- Salary: Up to £75,000
- Contract: Permanent, full time
- Hours: 8am to 5pm Monday to Thursday, early finish on Fridays
- Reporting to: Technical Director
- Start date: ASAP
- Requirements: Right to work in the UK and a driving licence

About the company

Our client is an established designer and manufacturer of high quality products for the construction industry, and they're busier than they've ever been. Turnover grew from around £34m to £40m last year, and that was before their new data centre contracts had fully kicked in.

They employ around 155 people across two sites, with design, manufacture and installation all handled in house from a large manufacturing site in Northumberland. Growth is being driven by major work in data centres, power infrastructure and AI facilities, with single projects worth tens of millions of pounds. They're investing heavily in their people, products, systems and technical capability to keep up.

It's a friendly place with a hardworking team, where people know each other and good work gets noticed.

Why this role is different

This isn't a replacement hire. The role has been created because the business has outgrown its current setup, so you won't be stepping into anyone else's shoes or inheriting someone else's way of doing things.

- It's yours to build. You'll take ownership of a 20 strong department covering designers, civil and structural engineers.
- You keep the engineering, still a hands on role.
- A supported step up. The Technical Director will hand over gradually and stay closely involved, so you're not thrown in at the deep end.
- Real influence across people and processes across two offices, and sit right at the centre of design, manufacture and installation.

The client is open to experienced technical managers, and to strong structural or civil engineers who've been mentoring others and are ready for their first proper leadership role.

What you'll be doing

Leading the team
- Run the technical department day to day.
- Plan workloads, resources, priorities and deadlines as several large projects run at once.
- Manage performance.
- Keep the Technical Director up to date on performance, technical risks and resourcing.

Doing the engineering
- Check and approve calculations, designs, models and drawings so information goes out accurately and on programme.
- Take on technical projects yourself.
- Own technical governance: British Standards, Eurocodes, product standards and legislation, with standardised design methods and details.

Shaping how things work
- Oversee AutoCAD, Tekla Structures, STAAD.Pro and other design software, and bring in better systems and processes.
- Be the technical link between design, manufacture, delivery and installation, working with Production, Quality, Commercial, Contracts, Logistics, site teams and customers.

What you'll bring

- A UK degree in Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering or a related discipline.
- A strong structural, civil or construction design background, with solid UK industry experience.
- Real depth in design and calculations, and experience on complex structural projects.
- Experience leading an engineering team, or a track record of mentoring engineers and the experience to step up now.
- Detailed knowledge of British Standards, Eurocodes and relevant product standards.
- Experience with AutoCAD, Tekla Structures, STAAD.Pro or similar, plus good Microsoft Office skills.

What's in it for you

- Salary up to circa £75,000.
- Early finish every Friday.
- 25 days' holiday plus bank holidays.
- Company pension scheme.
- Company laptop and a pool car for travel between offices.
- Structured training, with support towards chartership and other relevant qualifications.
- Clear progression in a business that's growing fast and investing in its future.
- Hands on involvement in product development and big, complex projects across data centres, power and infrastructure.

Interview process and how to apply
A simple, quick process: a CV review, then a face to face interview at the Northumberland office with the Technical Director, where you'll get a proper look around the site.

Interested, or know someone who'd be perfect for it? Get in touch with Eve Dunn at White Label Recruitment for a confidential chat.