Job Summary
The Manufacturing Team Leader (Electrical & Systems Integration) is a hands-on, working leadership role based on the shop floor. The post holder will continue to work directly on electrical assembly, wiring, and systems integration tasks as a qualified and experienced technician whilst also taking responsibility for leading a small team, overseeing the progress of individual orders through the electrical and integration stages of production, and maintaining a safe, organised, and productive working environment.
This role carries specific responsibility for the build, integration, and test of electrical and electronic systems within defence products and platforms, ensuring all assemblies meet the required engineering specifications, client requirements, and relevant safety standards before sign-off and handover to the next stage or to the client. The Team Leader is expected to lead by example, bring deep technical knowledge to the work, and take personal ownership of every order assigned to their team.
Key Responsibilities
1. Hands-On Electrical Assembly & Wiring
- Work directly on electrical assembly and wiring tasks as a productive and skilled member of the team, maintaining the highest standard of workmanship on every job.
- Carry out the assembly, installation, and termination of electrical and electronic systems to engineering drawings, wiring diagrams, schematics, and work instructions.
- Build cable looms, harnesses, and panel assemblies to the required specifications, applying correct crimping, soldering, and termination techniques throughout.
- Interpret and work confidently from electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, circuit diagrams, and interface control documents.
- Support and guide less experienced team members in electrical assembly techniques, demonstrating correct methods, standards, and safe working practices on the job.
- Maintain tools, test equipment, and soldering stations in good working order, reporting any defects or calibration requirements promptly.
2. Systems Integration
- Lead the electrical and systems integration of complex defence assemblies and sub-systems, ensuring all electrical, electronic, and mechanical interfaces are correctly installed, connected, and verified in accordance with programme requirements.
- Work closely with the Engineering Manager to understand integration requirements, interface specifications, and test plans for each programme, ensuring the team is fully briefed and equipped to execute integration activities correctly.
- Manage the integration sequence for each order, co-ordinating with the fabrication team and Engineering Manager to ensure mechanical build and electrical integration activities are correctly phased and do not conflict.
- Identify and resolve integration issues on the job, escalating technical queries to the Engineering Manager promptly where solutions fall outside defined procedures.
- Maintain accurate integration records, connection schedules, and configuration documentation for each assembly in line with programme and quality management system requirements.
- Contribute to the development of integration procedures and work instructions, capturing practical knowledge and lessons learned to improve efficiency and reduce integration risk on future programmes.
3. Electrical Test & Verification
- Take responsibility for the electrical testing and verification of all assemblies produced by the team, ensuring that test activities are carried out in accordance with approved test procedures and acceptance criteria before any assembly is released.
- Conduct a full range of electrical tests including continuity, insulation resistance, functional testing, and power-on testing as defined by programme test plans and engineering requirements.
- Operate, maintain, and manage calibrated electrical test equipment, ensuring equipment is within calibration and that test results are recorded accurately and traceably.
- Identify, record, and investigate test failures, completing non-conformance reports where required and working with the Engineering Manager and Quality Manager to determine root cause and corrective action.
- Support Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) activities, assisting the Operations Director and Engineering Manager in preparing assemblies for client witness testing and responding to technical queries arising during the FAT process.
- Ensure all electrical test records, calibration certificates, and acceptance documentation are completed accurately and filed in line with ISO 9001 and programme requirements.
4. Team Leadership & Day-to-Day Supervision
- Take day-to-day responsibility for leading a small team of electrical technicians and systems integration staff on the shop floor, allocating tasks, managing workloads, and ensuring the team remains productive and focused throughout the shift.
- Act as the first point of contact for team members, resolving day-to-day technical queries and operational issues quickly and professionally, escalating to the Operations Director or Engineering Manager where necessary.
- Set a positive example in terms of attitude, timekeeping, technical standards, and commitment to quality — the standard you set is the standard your team will follow.
- Provide regular, informal feedback and encouragement to team members, recognising good work and addressing performance or conduct issues early and constructively.
- Support the induction and on-the-job training of new team members, ensuring they understand the company’s processes, electrical safety requirements, and quality expectations from day one.
5. Order Management & Production Progress
- Take ownership of the individual manufacturing and integration orders assigned to your team, understanding what is required, when it is needed, and what resources are required to complete it.
- Monitor the progress of each order through the electrical assembly and integration process, identifying any delays, blockers, or technical issues early and taking action to keep work on track.
- Communicate clearly and promptly with the Operations Director and Head of Delivery regarding order progress, raising any risks to delivery schedules as soon as they are identified.
- Ensure all work is completed to the correct drawings, schematics, and work instructions, checking your team’s output at key stages and prior to test sign-off.
- Maintain accurate production records, job cards, test records, and any other documentation required by the quality management system.
- Ensure the correct components, materials, and tooling are available for your team’s orders, liaising with the Buyer and stores as required to avoid production delays.
6. Health, Safety & Housekeeping
- Take active responsibility for maintaining a safe working environment for yourself and your team at all times, with particular attention to the specific hazards associated with electrical assembly and testing including live working, stored energy, ESD (electrostatic discharge), and soldering fume.
- Ensure all team members understand and comply with electrical safety rules, including safe isolation procedures, permit to work requirements where applicable, and ESD protection protocols.
- Ensure all team members use the correct PPE and follow appropriate safe working procedures for each task, challenging unsafe behaviour immediately and constructively.
- Maintain a clean, tidy, and ESD-controlled working environment at all times, applying 5S or equivalent housekeeping standards appropriate to an electrical assembly area.
- Report all accidents, near misses, and unsafe conditions to the Operations Director promptly, completing the required documentation accurately.
- Ensure test equipment, power supplies, and associated plant are used, stored, and maintained in accordance with safe working practices and relevant electrical regulations.
7. Continuous Improvement
- Actively look for better, smarter, and safer methods of electrical assembly, integration, and test, raising improvement ideas with the Operations Director and Engineering Manager.
- Contribute to the development and review of integration procedures, test plans, and electrical assembly work instructions, sharing practical knowledge and experience to improve quality and efficiency.
- Attend team briefings, production meetings, and toolbox talks as required, contributing actively and feeding back relevant information to the team.
Person Specification
Essential Qualifications & Experience
- Demonstrable practical experience as a qualified electrical technician within a manufacturing, systems integration, or defence engineering environment.
- Proven experience in electrical assembly, wiring, and harness build to engineering drawings and schematics.
- Experience in systems integration within a complex engineering or defence product environment.
- Competent in electrical testing and verification including continuity, insulation resistance, and functional testing, with experience operating and maintaining calibrated test equipment.
- Ability to read and interpret electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, and interface control documents confidently.
- Experience working within an ISO 9001 certified quality environment with a good understanding of inspection, test documentation, and non-conformance processes.
- A natural ability to lead and organise a small team whilst remaining a productive and hands-on member of the workforce.
- Strong commitment to electrical safety with a good understanding of relevant hazards and controls.
- Ability and willingness to obtain SC Security Clearance.
Desirable Qualifications
- Relevant electrical or electronic engineering qualification — NVQ Level 3, HNC/HND, or equivalent.
- City & Guilds 2382 (18th Edition Wiring Regulations) or equivalent electrical qualification.
- IPC-A-610 or IPC J-STD-001 certification (workmanship standards for electronic assemblies).
- IOSH Working Safely or equivalent health and safety qualification.
- First Aid at Work certificate or willingness to obtain.
- Experience supporting Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) or Site Acceptance Testing (SAT) in a defence environment.
- Experience within defence, or other highly regulated systems integration environments.
Key Competencies
- Technical Excellence — A skilled and knowledgeable electrical technician whose workmanship and integration capability sets the standard for the team.
- Systems Thinking — Understands how electrical and electronic sub-systems interact within a larger platform and approaches integration with the whole system in mind.
- Test Rigour — Takes personal responsibility for electrical verification and does not release untested or non-conforming assemblies, however small the schedule pressure.
- Hands-On Leadership — Leads from the front, remaining a productive member of the team whilst developing and directing those around them.
- Ownership — Takes full responsibility for their team’s orders, quality, and safe working without needing to be chased or directed.
- Attention to Detail — Checks work thoroughly at every stage, understanding that in electrical and systems integration work, small errors have large consequences.
- Safety Conscious — Understands and actively manages the specific safety risks of electrical assembly and test environments.
- Communication — Keeps management informed, gives the team clear direction, and raises technical issues early and clearly.
Key Working Relationships
Internal: Operations Director, Head of Delivery, Engineering Manager, Fellow Team Leader (Fabrication & Welding), Buyer / Bid Co-ordinator.
External: Client Technical Representatives (during FAT activities), Government Quality Assurance (GQA) Representatives where applicable.
Pay: £38,000.00-£50,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Free parking
- On-site parking
Work Location: In person
