Production Engineering Manager

We’re on the hunt for a Production Engineering Manager to lead a small team of Production Engineers, responsible for transitioning engineering prototypes to production readiness as well as supporting production through problem solving and continuous improvement to increase production efficiencies whilst achieving high levels of quality.

You’ll report directly to the COO and be trusted with the autonomy to drive change, influence design and shape how we transition from prototype to production at pace.

This role is primarily based on-site to enable close, hands on work with our physical products, systems and to allow for regular cross function collaboration with other internal teams.

OpenWorks Engineering develop CUAS, Air Defence and Optical Surveillance, Sensing and Tracking Technology for Defence and Security.

We’ve developed an award winning and innovative drone capture and autonomous optical detection and tracking technology. The systems offer the capability to protect high profile assets, facilities, the public and VIPs from the threats posed by Aerial threats.

We are very proud to have supported a wide range of law enforcement and military operators protecting many of the most high profile sites and individuals around the world.

The amazing things we do are only possible because of a dedicated and passionate team.

Our Benefits:

• Salary between £50K - £65K depending upon experience
• Flexible working options available. We recognise the commitment and care of our team in making OpenWorks the success that it is and understand that life and work don’t always fit neatly into set hours so we're happy to consider flexible working arrangements
• Free breakfast and a free freshly cooked lunch served daily by Chef Mark and his team
• Performance related bonus
• 25 days holiday plus public holidays (+ long-service bonus days)
• Holiday purchase scheme
• Private health care insurance
• Death in service cover to protect those close to you
• EV car scheme
• Pension scheme (up to 4% matched contribution)
• Social fund for team gatherings
• Free eye tests and £75 towards a pair of glasses per prescription change​
• A high-energy and agile work environment, based in the beautiful Northumberland countryside
• A positive company culture - we enable change, encourage challenge and demonstrate commitment

What You’Ll Be Doing:

In your first 6 months, you’ll focus on three key priorities; enhancing the quality inspection process to reduce customer recalls, leading the transition of our Vision Pace and Vision Guard products from pre-production to full production readiness and embedding a culture of continuous improvement within the production team. You’ll be setting the tone for quality, efficiency and a mindset of ongoing optimisation from day one.

• Lead a small Production Engineering team
• Be both a creative force to identify new opportunities to improve production processes as well as the driving force to motivate and manage the wider production engineering team. 
• Be able to see the big picture and plan how to transition pre-production designs to production ready data packs
• Identify opportunities to tweak the design to improve manufacturability without compromising performance
• Work with the purchasing team to develop  strategies that will streamline the delivery of parts into production in a form that reduces risk and increases throughput 
• Work with the Engineering and Quality teams Identify performance metrics and testing to verify sub-system and completed product functionality 
• Report to the Chief Operating Officer to demonstrate concrete progress on the productionisation of both existing and new products
• Ensure BOMs are optimised for production
• Develop build procedures

What We’Re Looking For:

• A 2:1 or above degree in a relevant engineering discipline
• Strong people management experience to lead, support and develop production engineers
• Skilled in setting objectives, providing feedback and fostering a high-performing, collaborative team culture
• Confident in delegating, managing workloads and driving continuous improvement through clear communication and accountability
• Strong creativity and excellent problem-solving skills
• Excellent attention to detail
• Experience working in a production environment
• Motivated by the human-factors challenges in productionising complex, high-tech products
• Passion for engineering and continuous improvement
• Driven to achieve high-quality outcomes
• Excited by solving both big and small problems to advance product quality

As a small, fast growing company (with approx 50 people), we offer the opportunity for a professional to have autonomy and responsibility. You’ll directly see the impact of your efforts. 

More About Us:

Vision

Help protect the territory and airspace of NATO countries and their allies. 

Mission

Be a world-leading provider of autonomous technology for Surveillance applications and Defence 

Values

Be a Good Egg: Earn respect, have mutual trust and be honest 

Do cool stuff: We develop cool tech with an awesome team, and we get stuff done 

• Be empowered: We are autonomous, reliable and take personal responsibility 
• We are one team: Look out for each other and the team 
• Things go wrong: Fail fast, learn and move on 
• Have fun: We’re doing amazing things with passionate people