Engineering Manager in Southampton

We are using and creating technology to transform operations at sea to enable people and the planet to thrive. We are open-minded and fearless in our approach to innovation and don't believe in boundaries. We challenge everything and have massive ambitions to drag aging industries into the tech era. We take safety, equality and education very seriously, and our responsibilities don't stop at our front door. Our business is built on the belief that there's definitely a more environmentally responsible way to operate at sea. We employ people who share our core values. We expect our people to be courageous, trustworthy, and conscientious, driven by a desire to do the right thing. We strive for excellence, work collaboratively, and are genuinely excited by our work. We offer opportunities for our people to develop beyond their role and span a multitude of disciplines. These are open to all, regardless of background and experience level. Working with us means being part of a team that is harnessing technology and creativity to disrupt a traditional industry.

We are seeking an Engineering Manager to build, develop, and sustain a high-performing engineering organisation capable of delivering complex programmes at scale. You'll focus on people, capability, capacity, and organisational effectiveness, ensuring engineering teams have the skills, support, and structure needed to deliver high-quality outcomes at a sustainable pace. Working closely with the Chief Engineer, Technical Project Managers, Product Management, and senior leadership, you'll create an environment where engineers can perform at their best, develop their careers, and contribute effectively to both technical and business goals. This role is less about directing technical solutions and more about enabling great engineering through strong leadership, workforce planning, coaching, and continuous improvement.

This role combines:

• People leadership & development — building high-performing teams through recruitment, coaching, performance management, succession planning, and career development
• Capability & capacity management — ensuring the organisation has the right skills, experience, and resources to meet current and future engineering demand
• Organisational effectiveness — improving engineering ways of working, supporting process adoption, and creating an environment where teams can deliver sustainably

This role suits someone who enjoys developing people, creating clarity in complex environments, and building the structures and culture that allow engineering teams to thrive.

What you will be doing:

• Own engineering team development — lead recruitment, onboarding, performance management, career progression, succession planning, and skills development across your area of responsibility
• Manage capability and workforce planning — ensure the organisation has the appropriate mix of skills, capacity, and experience to meet evolving engineering priorities
• Enable effective delivery planning — provide realistic capacity and capability insights to support sprint planning, programme delivery, and resource forecasting
• Improve engineering effectiveness — drive adoption of processes, tools, and best practices that improve team performance, collaboration, and quality
• Support team health and engagement — foster a culture of psychological safety, professional growth, accountability, and continuous improvement
• Lead organisational design and resource allocation — make decisions on team structures, staffing approaches, and resource deployment to optimise delivery outcomes
• Develop engineering standards and competencies — establish role expectations, development frameworks, and capability pathways that support consistent growth across teams
• Monitor and manage organisational risk — identify capability gaps, capacity constraints, or unsustainable workloads and escalation where appropriate
• Partner across the organisation — work closely with Chief Engineers, Technical Project Managers, Product Managers, HR, and senior leaders to align organisational capability with engineering strategy
• Champion sustainable delivery — ensure commitments are based on realistic capacity, helping teams maintain quality and sustainable pace while meeting business objectives

Who you are:

• An experienced engineering leader with a proven track record of building, developing, and managing high-performing technical teams
• Skilled in workforce planning, organisational design, recruitment, coaching, and performance management
• A strong communicator who can influence stakeholders, manage difficult conversations, and create clarity in changing environments
• Commercially and operationally aware, able to balance immediate delivery priorities with long-term organisational needs
• Comfortable working within Agile environments and providing realistic capacity and capability inputs to planning activities
• Passionate about developing people and creating a culture where engineers can grow, perform, and thrive
• Organised and data-driven, with the ability to make informed decisions around staffing, skills, and team effectiveness
• Technically literate enough to understand engineering challenges, risks, and capability requirements without becoming the technical decision-maker

Desirable:

• Experience leading engineering organisations within complex product, systems, robotics, software, or technology-led environments
• Knowledge of Agile delivery frameworks, workforce planning methodologies, and organisational scaling strategies
• Familiarity with competency frameworks, talent development programmes, and succession planning approaches
• Understanding of ISO 15288 or similar engineering lifecycle and organisational management frameworks
• Experience supporting engineering teams delivering multidisciplinary products or systems throughout their lifecycle

Salary: The salary varies for this position as we are recruiting in multiple regional locations and job grades. The salary process is based on skills, abilities, and experience required.

What you can expect: At Ocean Infinity, we believe in creating equal opportunities for all, celebrating each and everyone’s differences. We are driven by transforming the industry, through our technology, thoughts, behaviours and actions. Being inclusive and respectful to all is fundamental to who we are. It is the right thing to do and enables innovation and creativity to thrive. There is more work to be done, and we know that we aren’t perfect, but our commitment to these values is unwavering. They are central to our mission and the impact we have on the industry, meaning, we cannot live without them. Simply put, our mission is to use innovative technology, to transform operations at sea, to enable people and the planet to thrive.