Lead Development Engineer in Norwich

Lead Development Engineer | Defence R&D (defence experience NOT required)
Norfolk, on-site | £65k–£85k (with some flexibility above and below that for exceptional candidates)
Want to lead in a complex R&D department, leading the delivery of brand new projects that will define the future of defence industry products? We are able to consider candidates who are already running teams from a senior management capacity, or those who are senior members of technical staff, and ready to step up in to such a management role over time.

Defence experience isn't required, so if you've fancied moving into the sector, this is a strong way in. What is required is an understanding of complex development projects, with at least some understanding of regulatory concepts.
You will be leading an R&D team who work three to five years ahead of live programmes, working out what the next customer requirement will be before anyone's asked for it. Small team, hard technical problems. They're growing it now, and this is one of the key leadership roles they're creating to do that.
The role
You'll lead the electro-mechanical side of the department (electronics, mechanical, controls engineers and technicians) and help keep things running day to day. For the right person, this can grow into the director's number two.

How senior the role is, and how it splits between hands-on technical work and running the team, is genuinely flexible and will be shaped around the right person. A design engineer ready for their first leadership step, a senior engineer stepping up, or an engineering manager who still likes to stay close to the technical detail could all fit.

Either way, you'll have oversight of design decisions, integration and prototype builds, taking new capability from early concept to something engineering can put into production with confidence.

What you'll do will be built around your own skillset and what you can offer, but will encompass:

• Day-to-day running of the department, working closely with project management, stepping in when they're away
• Line-manage the electro-mechanical engineers and technicians: priorities, development, standards, and the admin that comes with it
• Oversee the physical design approach, key interfaces and design trade-offs, hands-on as much as suits you and the team
• Lead integration across mechanisms, electronics, sensors, actuators and controls
• Lead prototype builds, bring-up and fault-finding, and support trials and customer demos
• Agree how designs will be verified and validated before testing starts
• Keep oversight of software where it affects integration and programme outcomes
• Hand mature designs over to engineering cleanly, and feed lessons back into R&D
• Bring the right amount of structure to reviews, planning and configuration control, without adding process for its own sake

What you'll bring

• A degree in mechanical, mechatronics, electrical/electronic, systems engineering, or similar
• A broad electro-mechanical background: mechanisms, actuation, sensing, integration
• Experience leading or overseeing electro-mechanical design, ideally from concept through to prototype and validation
• People leadership (formal or informal) plus the organisational side: planning, resourcing, keeping things moving
• Hands-on with real hardware, in the lab or on trial
• A background in complex, regulated products: defence, aerospace, marine, automotive, motorsport, medical or similar
• A full UK driving licence and valid passport
• Eligibility for SC clearance (you don't need to hold it already)

Nice to have: MIL-STD or DEF-STAN, environmental qualification and EMC, IEng/CEng (or working towards it), systems engineering tools.

Why it's worth a look

• Real influence over how the department runs - with room to either start as, or grow into the department's number two
• A role shaped around your strengths, whether that's more technical or more leadership
• Broad scope: mechanical, electrical, controls, sensors and how it all fits with software
• New capability three to five years out, not maintenance work
• A growing department, with roles to build out underneath you

Occasional UK and international travel, with some out-of-hours working when needed.
Interested, or know someone who'd be good? Drop me a message and I'll talk you through it, including who the client is.