Team Leader Design & Development in Havant

Kenwood’s R&D Department based in our Havant Headquarters on England’s South Coast is the centre of excellence within our parent De’Longhi Group for the design and development of food preparation appliances which are sold in many international markets for use in both domestic and semi-commercial environments.

Our engineers work closely with colleagues from other functions such as Marketing, Industrial Design, Approvals, Quality Assurance, Production and Aftersales Support as well as with our in-house Development Chefs and performance team to create, refine and develop technical specifications for new and often innovative products. These design concepts are then progressed through the manufacture and evaluation of prototypes in collaboration with colleagues from our overseas manufacturing facilities to ensure a smooth transition into production and ultimately a successful and timely product launch.

We are now seeking a skilled and enthusiastic Design and Development Team Leader to join our small, friendly team. Your main activity will be to lead a team of engineers to design and develop domestic food preparation appliances such as stand mixers and food processors in line with Kenwood’s New Product Development programme. We’re looking for a talented individual who can elevate those around them, strengthening a very collaborative and sharing team by bringing on-board additional specialist skills and leading their team to successfully deliver projects and other technical activities.

The Role

This end-to-end role is wide-ranging and variable so you will be key to driving activities such as concept definition, competitor evaluation, design development, costing, technical risk management and detail design while working cross-functionally with other departments as part of your primary role of leading the team.

You’ll need to put yourself in the mind of a user so that you can understand what they are looking for and what competitive advantage opportunities this might generate. You’ll need to be able to get down into the detail of design and step back to review progress and priorities to ensure the team are on-plan. You’ll identify problems and issues and be proactive and confident when proposing solutions.

This is a great opportunity for you to take a leading role in the design of often iconic products that are widely respected and admired by consumers (and our competitors) throughout the world. Success in this role means providing efficient and effective team leadership, stakeholder management with clear communication and ensuring the timely delivery of the right product at the right price and to the required quality.

Key responsibilities

• Leading a small team of engineers to ensure successful project completion.
• Communication of progress with identification of technical issues and risks: proactive mitigation, resolution or avoidance during product development.
• Managing workloads to meet key project objectives to ensure activities are delivered in line with project plans, highlighting any issues to relevant stakeholders.
• Interpreting and validating the project requirements into the Product Design Specification, generating product design proposals and ultimately a finished design, at or below target cost.
• Operating CAD and other software as applicable.
• As required, be a Subject Matter Expert (SME) in an agreed expertise, sharing knowledge across the organisation and supporting colleagues.
• Have a good understanding of relevant Approvals and Regulatory requirements and design for these accordingly, ensuring robust and complete pre-compliance and verification work.

About you

Success in this role will depend not only upon your technical skills but also on how effectively you communicate, not only with your local Havant-based colleagues but also with other De’Longhi Group employees across the world, our commercial teams and suppliers. You will therefore need to be a skilled and committed communicator and collaborator who will thrive in our “one team, one goal” approach, enjoy sharing best practice and be able to communicate clearly and concisely with colleagues from many different backgrounds and cultures. You must be comfortable stepping up to help support the department as necessary.

We’re particularly looking for someone who can strengthen our technical capabilities and elevate those around them. Ideally you will have strong mechanical engineering skills with a good understanding and appreciation of electro-mechanical system level integration. Desirable relevant additional skills could include NVH, CFD, FEA, Thermal or Electric Motor design.

You’ll need a relevant Degree/HNC/HND in Engineering, with experience in an engineering product development role (preferably Electromechanical/small domestic appliances). You’ll have demonstrable ability to take NPD projects from concept through to mass production and must be competent using proprietary 2D & 3D CAD software.

You’ll combine knowledge of materials and manufacturing processes with knowledge of applicable design technology such as rapid prototyping techniques, specialised test equipment and so on. You’ll need a pragmatic approach to design and development that goes beyond just mechanical design modelling. Electro-mechanical system integration is key, thinking clearly about how a product will be manufactured to the required cost and quality before ultimately being used by the final consumer.

We are seeking a highly motivated and ambitious professional who is keen to drive progress.

What’s in it for you?

You’ll be joining a great team working with first-class laboratories and technical facilities and a lot of cutting-edge technology, particularly as Kenwood products become more software-based. Our culture and office environment is outstanding, with the kind of investment into learning and development that will allow you to excel in your role. Our benefits include:

• Excellent contributory pension
• 25 days holiday + bank holidays
• Superb subsidised restaurant
• Free on-site parking
• Flexible benefits package
• Access to a range of wellbeing activities and events

About Kenwood

Kenwood is a world leader in food preparation technology and a renowned kitchen appliance brand. Our products allow anyone, from novices to professional chefs, to enjoy the thrill of creating their own delicious food and drinks. While our appliances are engineered to stand the test of time, we’re pioneers who continually push the boundaries of technology, always looking for new and easier ways for people to get creative in the kitchen.

The location

You’ll work from Kenwood’s global HQ on the beautiful South Coast between Portsmouth and Chichester, where our products are conceived and tested, and where our UK De’Longhi division is based. An important part of your role will be the provision of support to our manufacturing facilities in China and to other De’Longhi Group colleagues based in Germany and Italy so you must be comfortable with the idea of occasional international travel, restrictions permitting.