The Opportunity

We are working exclusively with a well-established and growing technology business based in Wokingham, Berkshire, to appoint a (Hardware Configuration Manager) Head of Engineering. Our client is part of a global group specialising in the design and delivery of computer-based products for the defence, transportation, infrastructure, healthcare, and manufacturing sectors.

This is a genuinely exciting time to join. The business is experiencing rapid growth in response to market demand and has a strong track record of staff retention — built on a culture that values people, fosters collaboration, and offers real career progression. If you are technically sharp, hands-on, and want to play a meaningful role in shaping how high-quality products are built and delivered, this is worth a serious look.

The Role

The Head of Engineering is a technically focused, hands-on leadership role at the heart of the production environment. You will be responsible for ensuring that products are built and configured to the highest standards of quality, reliability and repeatability — acting as the technical backbone of the production floor while working closely with Configuration, Pre-Sales, Engineering, and Quality teams.

This is not a purely managerial position. You will be expected to get involved, solve problems, drive process improvements, and take ownership of production engineering from specification through to delivery. You will also be the primary technical escalation point for production issues and will play a key role in cross-functional collaboration across the wider business.

Key Responsibilities

• Technical Readiness & Production Schedule Alignment: Lead the synchronisation of technical build-ready status with manufacturing schedules. Proactively manage configuration adjustments, mitigate technical constraints, and collaborate with the Operations team to maintain optimal production flow and On-Time Delivery performance.
• Assembly & Integration: Maintain a high level of technical versatility across a wide range of technologies — from embedded board-level and rackmount systems through to networking hardware and full-scale rack solutions.
• Production Engineering & Process Ownership: Lead and support day-to-day production engineering activities, ensuring all products are built, configured and tested to the highest standards of quality and repeatability. Review technical specifications and translate them into practical, controlled build steps.
• Build Process Development & Refinement: Develop, optimise and maintain build procedures, work instructions and production documentation. Ensure all processes are clearly defined and repeatable, supporting the introduction of new products through First Article builds and validation.
• Technical Issue Resolution: Act as the primary technical point of contact for production-line issues. Diagnose faults, identify root causes and drive corrective and preventative actions in collaboration with Engineering, Configuration and suppliers.
• First Article / Prototype Build Support: Support the build, evaluation and refinement of First Article units. Review component selections, assist configuration teams with technical challenges, and ensure lessons learned are captured and embedded in future build documentation.
• Quality & Continuous Improvement: Work closely with the Quality team to ensure production output meets or exceeds standards. Participate in audits, support quality investigations and contribute to continuous improvement initiatives that drive efficiency and product reliability.
• Documentation & Technical Reporting: Produce and maintain technical documentation, assembly guides, test procedures and engineering change notes. Ensure all documentation is complete, accurate, version-controlled and aligned with production best practices.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work alongside Configuration, Pre-Sales, Engineering and Quality teams to ensure production requirements are understood and integrated early in the design and quotation process. Represent the production function in cross-department reviews and project discussions.
• Continuous Learning & Industry Awareness: Stay up to date with emerging technologies, market trends and industry developments. Share relevant insights with the wider team to maintain a collective understanding of evolving customer needs and product advancements.
• Team Cover & Shared Responsibility: Provide cover for team members during periods of absence, ensuring continuity of service and demonstrating flexibility and reliability across the wider function.

What We're Looking For

• Strong technical background in production engineering, hardware integration or a closely related discipline
• Hands-on experience with system assembly and integration — from board-level through to rackmount and rack-scale solutions
• Proven ability to develop, document and own repeatable build processes and work instructions
• Excellent diagnostic and root cause analysis skills, with a structured approach to problem resolution
• Experience working cross-functionally with engineering, quality and operations teams
• Comfortable managing First Article builds and supporting new product introductions
• Strong attention to detail with a commitment to quality, consistency and continuous improvement
• Self-motivated, proactive and happy to be hands-on as well as leading from the front
• Experience in defence, transportation, healthcare, infrastructure or manufacturing sectors would be advantageous

The Package

Our client offers a competitive salary and benefits package commensurate with experience. Full details will be shared with shortlisted candidates. This is a full-time, onsite role based at their offices in Wokingham, Berkshire.

If this sounds like the right next step for you, please get in touch. We would love to tell you more.