Test Equipment Engineer team lead

Socode are proud to support a key client who are looking to appoint a Test Equipment Engineering Team Lead to take ownership of manufacturing test. This is a genuinely hands-on technical leadership role. You’ll be leading a small, highly capable team, understanding how products behave on the line, validating build quality, and making sure test systems are doing what they should in the real world. This is not a role for someone who wants to step away from engineering. The business operates an end-to-end, largely in-house model. Hardware, software, manufacturing, and test all sit under one roof, which means this role sits right at the centre of the product lifecycle. It’s five days a week on site, working closely multi-disciplinary teams. What will you actually be working on? Leading a team of five test equipment engineers, spanning engineer through to senior and principal level Acting as the technical authority for manufacturing test systems, not just managing workloads Designing, developing, and supporting automated test equipment used in high-volume production Staying hands-on with both hardware and software test, including ATE written in C# Supporting systems that execute hundreds of thousands of test operations reliably and repeatably Working with RF, audio, DMM, and signal-switching test paths in a manufacturing environment Validating that products are built correctly and robustly, not simply that they pass a design-level test Bridging gaps between design, test, and manufacturing, challenging assumptions where needed Supporting new product introductions, pilot builds, and production ramp-ups Maintaining and improving existing test systems Providing day-to-day technical leadership and mentoring to a collaborative, well-gelled team What they’re looking for A hands-on technical lead, not a career manager Strong experience in manufacturing test rather than pure product design A solid background in automated test equipment development and deployment Experience working in high-volume manufacturing environments Either a hardware or software background, with a cross-functional mindset Comfortable working close to the tools, the data, and the team Someone with the technical credibility to validate build quality and challenge test coverage An engineer who enjoys solving real production problems, not just theoretical ones