Manufacturing Manager Systems in Abingdon

Reward and Benefits: £59,000 to £79,000 (depending on experience). 25 days annual leave, death in service and private health care benefits, personal pension contributions of 4% with salary sacrifice and a generous EMI Share scheme.

About the role: This role combines hands‑on system engineering leadership with operational manufacturing management, ensuring that our platform is assembled, integrated and qualified to the highest standards of performance and reliability.

A typical day for a Manufacturing Manager (Systems):

• Systems Integration & Final Assembly: Leading system‑level integration and final assembly of our AFM metrology platforms, ensuring each build meets performance, stability and reliability standards. Bringing complex subsystems together — nano‑positioning stages, optics, electronics, vibration isolation and wafer handling modules — to ensure they work as one. Sharpening and owning detailed integration procedures and documentation, keeping everything clear, controlled and easy for the team to follow.
• Manufacturing Leadership: Motivating and guiding the systems assembly and integration team to deliver high‑quality final builds and qualifications. Setting up strong, repeatable production processes to keep quality high and stress low. Scaling manufacturing capacity to enable the team and workflow to grow smoothly. Preparing for new product introductions, ensuring manufacturing is engaged and set up for success.
• International Manufacturing Oversight: Providing assured, supportive leadership at our overseas manufacturing site, keeping the team aligned and fostering a collegiate mindset. Overseeing assembly, integration and validation activities, giving local teams the clarity and backing they need. Maintaining consistent processes and shared quality standards across all locations, without compromise. Building effective partnerships with local manufacturers and suppliers to engender trust and collaboration.
• Process Development & Continuous Improvement: Designing scalable, intuitive integration workflows for complex precision systems and an optimal build journey. Identifying opportunities to boost efficiency, yield and throughput. Supporting Manufacturing Engineering to shape fixtures, optimise assembly steps and develop intuitive tooling.
• Collaboration: Partnering with Quality to instil robust and reliable system verification and acceptance. Sharing manufacturing insights with Engineering to ensure future system designs become build‑friendly and resilient.
• Cross‑Functional Collaboration: Working closely with Engineering, NPI, Quality, Supply Chain and Customer Support, strengthening the links that keep our operations running smoothly. Supporting supplier development for precision components and optical assemblies, helping partners grow alongside us. Digging into root‑cause investigations when issues arise, approaching challenges with curiosity, clarity and calm. Providing robust technical support to production technicians and manufacturing teams, to overcome obstacles.

Who we are looking for: Along with willingness to travel regularly and/or be deployed for extended periods (up to 1 year in the first 18 months) internationally, we do need you to have skills and experience of:

• Leading manufacturing/integration teams in low‑volume, highly complex opto‑mechanical equipment manufacturing scale‑up environments.
• In‑depth insight of high‑precision electromechanical systems, opto‑mechanical assemblies and motion control platforms.
• Working in a fast‑paced environment where sound judgement is a given.
• Confidence with subsystems requiring micron or sub‑micron alignment and stability.
• Proficient with NPI, manufacturing ramp and production scaling principles.
• Developing assembly procedures, integration documentation and test protocols.
• Proficient with structured problem‑solving methodologies (RCA, 8D).
• Leading, motivating and remotely coordinating cross‑functional technical teams.
• Finding solutions in highly technical environments.

Nice to have:

• Manufacturing or integration of complex semiconductor capital equipment.
• Familiarity with wafer handling systems, EFEM modules, robotics, and automated semiconductor tool architectures.

Education / Qualifications: Either a Physics or Engineering degree, or similar, or a clear equivalent path through relevant apprenticeship or accumulated experience.

We look for these attributes for our team:

• Self‑management: Able to work independently, setting priorities for own work based upon the company goals and targets.
• Teamwork: Engages with other members of the company to bring the best solutions to the problem, recognising the value that fellow company members bring to enhance own abilities, and supports colleagues with their tasks when critical to the company goals.
• Impact and Influence: Establishes themselves as the knowledge centre in their own field.
• Ownership & Initiative: Reacts and addresses both short‑ and medium‑term issues and proactively takes action to solve them.
• Results Orientation: Focus on the company goal, avoid distraction, making timely decisions to achieve the target.