Production Technician in London

About Us: At RLS we develop products that save lives. As pioneers in the cycling industry, we are on a mission to redefine what is possible in head protection. Our state-of-the-art London facility includes advanced high-speed impact testing, a full prototyping suite, wet lab capabilities, and automated production lines. RLS is an ingredient brand: we supply our patented safety technology to helmet manufacturers around the world, which means our production must run to the highest standards every single day.

The Production Technician sits on the front line of how we make our product every day. You will operate the machines that produce RLS liners and keep them running through hands-on maintenance and setup. If you also bring CAD, 3D printing, or CNC skills, you will work side by side with our Manufacturing Engineer to design, prototype, and improve the tooling, jigs, and fixtures that make production better. This is a hands-on technical role with a strong improvement component for someone who genuinely enjoys both running a machine well and figuring out how to make it run better. This role reports directly to the Production Manager and is based on site at our London facility.

Key Responsibilities

• Machine Operation & Production Output: Operate and set up all RLS production stations to standard: load materials, configure and verify parameters, and confirm readiness before each run. Monitor cycle quality throughout the shift, intervene quickly when something drifts, and hit daily output targets without compromising quality, safety, or traceability.
• Machine Maintenance & First-Line Repair: Carry out scheduled preventive maintenance and resolve common first-line faults (alignment, calibration, sensors, basic mechanical and pneumatic issues). Escalate complex faults with a clear description of symptoms, steps already taken, and current machine state keeping accurate maintenance and calibration logs throughout.
• Quality, Traceability & MES Data: Carry out in-line quality checks at the frequency and standard defined by the Production Manager. Record production, batch, and cycle data in the MES with full accuracy, opening and closing work orders cleanly so nothing leaves the line without complete digital records. Flag non-conformances immediately, contain affected material, and support quality investigations with honest, first-hand information.
• Floor Discipline & Teamwork: Work safely by instinct: correct PPE, machine guarding, lock-out/tag-out, and honest near-miss reporting. Keep materials kitted, staged, and stations clean and organised before and during each shift. Take part in the daily stand-up and weekly production review, and provide clean, complete handovers between shifts.
• Manufacturing Engineer Support (a real plus): Partner with the Manufacturing Engineer to design, prototype, and deploy tooling, jigs, fixtures, and small mechanical improvements on the floor. Use CAD (Fusion 360, SolidWorks, or equivalent) to turn sketches and shop-floor observations into physical parts. Run our in-house 3D printers (FDM/SLA) and 3-axis CNC to produce prototypes, production aids, and replacement parts iterating until they work on the line.

Key Attributes

• Essential: Around 2 years of hands-on experience operating, setting up, and maintaining production machinery, ideally in a regulated or safety-critical industry. Strong graduates and apprenticeship leavers with real workshop experience are also welcome.
• Comfortable with mechanical, electrical, and pneumatic systems at first-line maintenance level, with sound judgement on when to escalate.
• Methodical and detail-oriented: clean machine setup, accurate records, disciplined standard work.
• Safety-conscious by instinct, not by reminder.
• Reliable, punctual, and team oriented.
• Genuine curiosity about how things work and a bias toward action over endless discussion.
• Right to work in the UK.

Strongly preferred (this is where you stand out):

• CAD skills (Fusion 360, SolidWorks, or equivalent) to design functional parts, jigs, and fixtures from real-world requirements.
• Practical 3D printing experience (FDM, ideally SLA).
• 3-axis CNC machining, including setup, tooling selection, and CAM workflow.
• Technical qualification in mechanical engineering, manufacturing, or mechatronics though a demonstrable track record.

Benefits:

• Significant option package in a high-value-potential, growing technology company.
• 25 days of holiday in addition to UK national holidays.
• Private healthcare.
• A hands-on role in a mission-driven business where the product you help make quite literally saves lives.

How to Apply: Send your CV and a short cover letter, telling us what good machine operation and good engineering craft look like to you.