Engineering Manager in Bridgend

Engineering Manager

Location: Bridgend

Contract Type: Permanent

Hours: Full Time, 36 per week

Salary: £60,000 - £70,000 per annum depending on experience

Benefits: Pension Salary Sacrifice Scheme, Life Assurance, Cycle to Work Scheme, Company Sick Pay, Corporate Eyecare vouchers, Health Care Cashplan

About Us:

IrvinGQ is a world-leading supplier of parachutes, aerial delivery systems and naval decoys to customers around the world. We create innovative products that our customers know they can rely on in highly challenging conditions where there are no second chances. Our systems must work right first time, every time. If you want to be part of a collaborative and supportive team that helps customers achieve their goals through great engineering that stands out from the crowd and are looking for your next challenge, then we want to hear from you!

About the Role:

As Engineering Manager, you will lead multidisciplinary, high-performing teams in the design, development, and delivery of proprietary, safety-critical components and systems for the defence and aerospace sectors. This role requires a strategic and hands-on leader with a strong technical foundation, accountable for the delivery of complex engineering portfolios including R&D and customer-contracted work.

You will be responsible for resource planning, budget ownership, and performance monitoring, while driving continuous improvement and innovation across the department. As a key member of the Business Management Team, you will work closely with the Business Unit Manager and other functional leaders to achieve the business unit’s operational, financial, technical and strategic objectives.

Key Responsibilities:

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead, mentor, and coach a multidisciplinary engineering team.
• Conduct regular 1:1s, develop succession plans and support professional growth through targeted training and competency frameworks.
• Promote a culture of ownership, accountability and empowerment.
• Build morale, retain talent, and create a positive team environment.

Project & Delivery Management

• Oversee the full portfolio of engineering projects, including R&D and customer-contracted work.
• Monitor and assess project risks, communicating issues to stakeholders to support informed decision making and risk mitigation.
• Ensure the engineering department applies the company’s NPI process and associated governance requirements, including appropriate design assurance, configuration control, verification and validation throughout the product-development and project lifecycle.
• Instil ownership and accountability into the team to ensure projects are delivered on time, within budget, and to the highest quality standards.
• Proactively identify and remove obstacles to maintain project momentum and meet delivery timelines.
• Ensure engineering activities comply with relevant defence and aerospace standards and regulatory requirements.

Strategic Resource Planning

• Own the engineering forward load, balancing priorities and allocating resources effectively.
• Manage the engineering overhead budget, ensuring accurate cost allocation and adherence to outlook and plan.
• Strategically hire and onboard personnel to meet current and future project demands.

Business Unit Collaboration

• Act as a key member of the Business Management Team, working closely with the Business Unit Manager and other functional leaders to develop and deliver the business unit strategy and achieve sales, EBITDA, delivery and operational objectives.
• Provide engineering leadership within the business unit, ensuring engineering priorities, resources, technical risks and delivery plans are aligned with business commitments and strategic objectives.
• Support all functions of the business by providing engineering leadership, technical expertise and cross functional collaboration to ensure the successful delivery of projects and strategic initiatives.
• Work closely with the Business Unit Manager to develop and maintain product and technology roadmaps, identifying opportunities aligned with customer needs and business objectives.
• Promote proactive customer engagement and support the identification and development of new business opportunities, helping to build strong customer relationships and sustained business growth.

Continuous Improvement & Innovation

• Foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Lead and implement data-led process optimisation initiatives to enhance productivity, engineering efficiency and delivery performance.
• Drive innovation in engineering practices and product development.
• Define, monitor and analyse engineering KPIs and performance data to support evidence-based decision making, identify trends and improvement opportunities, and drive sustained improvements in delivery, quality, cost and team effectiveness.

Bid & Proposal Leadership

• Lead the engineering and technical contribution to bids and proposals, ensuring proposed solutions, estimates, risks, assumptions, resource requirements and delivery commitments are technically robust and achievable.

Skills and Experience:

• Over 10 years’ experience in engineering design and manufacturing.
• Proven engineering leadership experience within the defence or aerospace sectors.
• Experience working directly with customers or end-users to gather requirements or support delivery.
• Demonstrated success in coaching and mentoring others and driving professional development.
• Strong background in New Product Introduction (NPI) and cross-functional collaboration.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Effective decision-maker with a track record of leading technical teams to deliver high-quality results.
• Analytical problem-solver with a passion for delivering innovative, differentiated products.
• Skilled in coordinating cross-functional project teams, including engineering, production, manufacturing,
• and supply chain, to meet project milestones.
• Proficient in reviewing and approving technical documentation with a focus on accuracy and compliance.
• Proactive in identifying and capturing new business opportunities.
• Comfortable working under pressure and managing conflicting priorities.
• Adaptable, action-oriented, and focused on solutions and team performance.
• Experience with certification and qualification testing.
• Strong understanding and experience of mechanical design and manufacturing, together with knowledge of electrical engineering principles and experience integrating electrical elements into mechanical products and systems.
• Good understanding of defence/aerospace standards.
• Committed to acting with integrity, honesty, and maintaining objectivity.

Qualifications:

• Holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering or equivalent relevant qualification and experience.

Other Considerations:

• Willingness to travel to customer, supplier, manufacturing and test locations.
• Valid UK driving licence preferred.
• Must be able to work in a defence-related environment and satisfy applicable security requirements.