Lead Development Engineer
Hinckley
£60,000-£70,000 + benefits
We're partnered with an innovative engineering business to recruit a Lead Development Engineer to head up a multidisciplinary team of 6+ engineers spanning mechanical, electrical and software disciplines. This is a technically broad, people-focused leadership role for an engineer who is naturally curious, comfortable across disciplines and ready to take ownership of a varied and exciting development portfolio.
The Role
You'll lead the development engineering team both technically and from a people management perspective - guiding feasibility studies, product development and improvement projects from concept through to handover. You'll act as the bridge between development and manufacturing.
Projects will be varied, some are new product development and some are improvements to existing systems. What matters is the quality of engineering thinking, the ability to lead a team through ambiguity and a genuine curiosity for how things work.
What You'll Be Doing
- Leading and managing a multidisciplinary development engineering team of 6+ people
- Driving feasibility studies and development projects across mechanical, electrical and embedded software disciplines
- Providing technical direction and hands-on involvement where needed
- Bridging development and manufacturing, applying DFM principles where relevant
- Managing concurrent projects across varying complexity and timescales
- Mentoring and developing engineers across the team
- Collaborating with wider business stakeholders on project scoping and delivery
What We're Looking For
Essential:
- BSc or MSc in Electronics Engineering or a related discipline
- Proven experience leading or managing a multidisciplinary engineering team
- Broad technical understanding spanning electronics, embedded software and mechanical engineering
- Comfortable reading and understanding code - willingness to engage technically across all disciplines
- A curious, hands-on engineering mindset - someone who wants to understand how everything fits together
- Background in defence, automotive electronics or similar complex engineered products
Beneficial:
- Exposure to small vehicle systems, weapon systems or complex electronics platforms
- DFM awareness and experience bridging development and production
- Experience managing projects from feasibility through to development handover
The Details
- Hours: Core hours Monday-Friday, 10:00-16:00
- Location: On-site in Hinckley office