Technical Director

As Technical Director, you will be responsible for defining and leading the organisation’s technical strategy across lighting products and smart control solutions, ensuring that core technologies, systems, and engineering capabilities are best in class. Operating within a manufacturing led environment, you will embed quality, reliability, compliance, and scalability into every product delivered to market. You will work closely with key technology and component suppliers to develop and deliver a clear, commercially aligned technology roadmap covering luminaires, electronics, and intelligent control systems. You will be fully accountable for the development, governance, and deployment of core technologies across all brands and channels, ensuring innovation, manufacturability, and compliance are embedded throughout the product lifecycle.

Key Responsibilities in the role:

• Defining and implementing a multiyear technology roadmap spanning luminaires, LED engines, drivers, electronics, firmware, software, wireless connectivity, and intelligent control platforms.
• Sourcing, evaluating, and introducing new and emerging technologies, building long term strategic relationships with key technology and component suppliers to support early and effective adoption.
• Establishing robust processes, resources, and governance for the evaluation, testing, validation, and industrialisation of new technologies prior to release into volume manufacture.
• Working closely with Innovation, Product Development, Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, and Supply Chain teams to ensure new technologies are translated into manufacturable, reliable, and compliant products.
• Leading, mentoring, and developing a multidisciplinary technical team delivering expertise across LED, optical, thermal, mechanical, electronic, firmware, software, wireless, and smart control technologies.
• Implementing consistent engineering standards, working methods, and design controls across all test, verification, and certification activities.
• Ensuring test, verification, and certification processes (including safety, EMC, environmental, photometric, and functional testing) are efficient and responsive, enabling compliant products to reach market without compromising robustness or quality.
• Managing the interface between technical functions and the wider business to ensure collaboration, clarity, and accountability across all product development and new product introduction activities.
• Managing internal and external prototyping and pilot build resources to support the development, testing, and verification of mechanical, electrical, electronic, and smart control systems.
• Taking ownership of all technical documentation and data, ensuring specifications, drawings, compliance files, and technical content are accurate, current, controlled, and manufacturing ready.
• Actively participating in relevant industry bodies and professional organisations, ensuring the business is informed, compliant, and influential in technical and regulatory developments.
• Supporting key customers and strategic projects, positioning the organisation as a technically credible manufacturing partner and expert in lighting and smart control solutions.
• Assessing supplier technical capability, quality, reliability, and lifecycle data to ensure component and system choices are suitable for long term manufacture and product support.
• Producing clear and thorough technical specifications for core technologies and components, including LED modules, electronics, drivers, firmware, software, and intelligent control systems.
• Leading structured technology refresh and platform update programmes to ensure products remain current, supported, and competitive throughout their lifecycle.
• Monitoring existing and emerging legislation, standards, and certifications relevant to lighting manufacture and connected controls, ensuring requirements are clearly communicated and embedded into internal processes.
• Developing and enhancing test and verification facilities to ensure technical and compliance risks are identified and mitigated as early as possible in the development lifecycle.
• Building and maintaining strong external competence networks with industry partners, research bodies, technology providers, and key suppliers.
• Continuously reviewing industry and academic research to strengthen internal technical capability and communicate relevant insights across the organisation.
• Managing the introduction of new technologies and supply partners alongside sourcing and manufacturing teams, ensuring quality, compliance, scalability, and continuity of supply.

Are you right for us? Our Technical Director will have/be:

• Educated to degree level or above in a relevant engineering or technical discipline.
• Commercially aware technical leader with deep experience in lighting manufacturing and a strong understanding of smart and connected lighting systems.
• Extensive and proven commercial experience in the development and manufacture of lighting products and solutions.
• UK and European market experience to enable knowledge in technical differences between the markets.
• Demonstrable experience building, managing, and leading multidisciplinary technical and engineering teams.
• Deep technical knowledge of LED technologies, luminaires, drivers, electronics, and associated manufacturing and supply chain considerations.
• Strong understanding of intelligent lighting, controls, connectivity, sensors, and software enabled systems.
• Customer focused, with strong commercial and business acumen and the ability to balance innovation with cost, quality, and time to market.
• Highly process driven, with the ability to implement and maintain robust engineering governance and quality controls.
• Passionate about high quality product design, engineering excellence, manufacturability, and long‑term reliability.
• Excellent communicator, confident operating at all levels of the organisation and representing the business internally and externally at customer meetings, seminars, and industry events.

We are all about our customer experience and we are committed to our people. We work hard to ensure you can enjoy your job and are well rewarded. As well as excellent training, development and progression opportunities, other benefits include:

• Competitive salary, benefits, (Salary DOE)
• 28 days holiday - includes Bank Holidays (increasing with length of service plus Christmas shut down)
• Discount on our products
• Recognition and rewards scheme
• Access to our learning platform including great training and development programs.