Workshop & Safety Manager

About us

We're automating homebuilding.

Construction is one of the least automated industries in the world. We're on a mission to change that and to make high-quality homes easy and affordable to build.

Our robotic MicroFactory deploys directly onto a homebuilder's site and produces the wall, floor, and roof panels they need, on demand, as their build progresses. It arrives in a shipping container, runs off generators, and needs no permanent site works. Every MicroFactory is designed, built, tested and proven in our London workshop before it ships, and that's where this role sits.

Backed by Planet A, PT1, Shadow Ventures, and ABB Robotics, we're a small team about to take our biggest step yet towards changing how the world builds homes.

We're past pure R&D. We've just signed our first customers for our newest MicroFactory in the US, and we're working to get more deployed across North America, Europe, and the UK. That means more hardware moving through our workshop, faster, with more people on the floor.

We're a rapidly growing team of around 40 engineers, roboticists, operators and designers, working from an 11,000 sq ft R&D and demonstration facility in London. We're looking for people who want to work on real-world challenges, move fast, take ownership, and see their work become part of real homes, for real people.

About the role

We're looking for someone to run our London workshop (the Shed) and act as AUAR's named Health & Safety Competent Person. The Shed is where robotic cells, timber processing, electrical builds and full MicroFactory assemblies come together, often in the same week. It needs to run like a well-organised production space while still moving at R&D speed.

You’ll own two things. First, the day-to-day running of the workshop: layout, equipment, suppliers, stock and budget. Second, health & safety for the site: risk assessments, oversight of the work happening on the floor, training, COSHH, PUWER, LOLER and audit readiness. You’re the person who makes it easy for engineers to build fast and safely, and who has the authority to stop work when it isn’t safe.

There’s no existing system to inherit here. You’ll build the structure: processes that stand up to HSE scrutiny without slowing our engineers down. You need to be hands‑on enough to be on the workshop floor every day, and confident enough to hold the line with senior engineers when it matters.

Key responsibilities

• Competent Person for the London site - Act as AUAR’s named H&S Competent Person under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, keeping the site aligned with HSE guidance (and other best practices) and audit‑ready at all times.
• Risk assessments & RAMS - Write and maintain RAMS for constantly changing R&D setups, from new robot cells and test rigs to full MicroFactory builds, lifts and moves.
• Statutory compliance & COSHH - Own inspection and testing schedules across PUWER, LOLER, LEV and PAT (industrial robots, lifting equipment, dust extraction), and manage COSHH controls for wood dust, adhesives, coatings and batteries.
• Training & inductions - Identify training needs across the team, then organise and track the training & certification. Run a fast, practical induction for new engineers, contractors and visitors.
• Oversight of workshop activity - Know what’s happening on the floor day to day, sign off higher‑risk activities before they start, and step in early when ways of working slip. Build on our culture of proactive near‑miss reporting rather than blame, where every near miss leads to a fix.
• Workshop operations - Organise the layout and workflows of a multidisciplinary space (3D printing, electronics, robotics, timber fabrication) so builds and tests run without bottlenecks or downtime.
• Suppliers, stock & budget - Manage goods in and good out of the London facility, MicroFactory production and testing operations.
• Supporting deployments - Work with the teams getting MicroFactories ready to ship so that safe practice built in London travels with the hardware to customer sites.

About you

• Workshop management experience: You’ve run a multidisciplinary engineering workshop, ideally in R&D, robotics, automotive, aerospace or advanced manufacturing.
• H&S credentials & experience: You hold IOSH Managing Safely (or equivalent) and have substantial hands‑on H&S experience in an engineering or manufacturing workshop, including writing risk assessments and managing statutory inspections.
• UK regulatory knowledge: Deep working knowledge of HASAWA 1974, MHSWR 1999, PUWER, LOLER, COSHH and HSE workshop guidance. You’ve applied it on a busy floor, not just studied it.
• Builder of structure: Comfortable with ambiguity. You’ve set up processes from scratch in a fast‑moving environment without stifling the people doing the engineering.
• Firm but collaborative: You can enforce safety rules with anyone, including senior engineers and founders, and bring people with you rather than policing them.
• Location: Based full-time at our London facility. This is a hands‑on, on‑site role.
• Reporting line: You’ll report to Phil Silk, Senior Automation Engineer.

Bonus if you have:

• Experience with industrial robot cell safety (e.g. ISO 10218, guarding, interlocks, safety PLCs).
• Experience in timber processing, offsite construction or construction manufacturing.
• Exposure to UKCA/CE machinery compliance for equipment built in‑house.
• NEBOSH National General Certificate (or higher). If you don’t have it yet, we’ll support you to complete it in your first 6 months.
• A personal motivation around sustainability or reducing construction's environmental footprint.
• Forklift truck license and skilled use. If you don’t have it yet, we’ll support you to complete it within your first few weeks.

What we offer

• Direct exposure to cutting‑edge construction robotics, and the MicroFactories that go out to customer sites in the UK and US
• High autonomy and ownership over the role
• Meaningful equity that reflects the level of this role
• Generous leave with 28 bookable days each year (+ bank holidays + seasonal office closure)
• Well‑being support including health & dental insurance
• A values‑led working culture which informs all aspects of how we work

Our values

• #ownyourmission - we take responsibility and execute with focus and urgency.
• #forpeopleandplanet - we strive to do the best for people and planet.
• #buildtogether - we succeed through deep collaboration with our team, partners, and customers.
• #gooddesign - we centre good design in everything we do, holistically.
• #beboldberadical - we think creatively; we are ambitious, bold, and radical.

We are committed to creating an equitable, inclusive and diverse workplace. We intend to run an equal, fair and inclusive hiring process. If you feel there is any area we could improve, please let us know at info@auar.io.

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