Director of Engineering

Position: Director Of Engineering
Job ID: 1316/25
Location: London
Rate/Salary: Depending on experience
Benefits: Pension, Bonus
Type: Permanent

Specialist recruiter within the Power & Propulsion, Shipbuilding, Maritime Shipping, Energy and Subsea sectors – visit: our website for a list of our vacancies. We have a number of permanent and contract vacancies for multiple businesses across the UK and overseas.

The below job description will outline this position of: Director Of Engineering

Typically, this person will take full accountability for the engineering function across the fleet and associated infrastructure, including maintenance, development, projects and standards. They will lead a large, multi-site team through transformation and modernisation programmes, ensuring the highest standards of safety, compliance, reliability, comfort and cleanliness across all ferries. This role plays a key part within the Operations Leadership Team, working closely with internal departments and external regulatory bodies while managing supplier and OEM relationships.

HSB Technical’s client is an established and well-regarded business entity.

Duties and responsibilities of the Director Of Engineering:

• Promote and ensure a strong safety culture across all engineering activities.
  
  
• Oversee fleet performance, ensuring ferries are safe, compliant and operationally ready.
  
  
• Manage multi-site engineering operations, including dry docking facilities.
  
  
• Drive continuous improvement and embed LEAN principles.
  
  
• Define and deliver engineering training and development plans.
  
  
• Lead technical development of ferries, infrastructure and supply chain.
  
  
• Ensure compliance with safety, environmental and regulatory standards.
  
  
• Manage departmental budgets, forecasting and business cases.
  
  
• Lead, develop and motivate a high-performing engineering team.
  
  
• Oversee investigation and resolution of technical incidents.
  
  
• Deliver accurate reporting to support business and compliance needs.
  
  
• Approve engineering procedures, manuals and policies.
  
  
• Manage maintenance systems, ensuring compliance and audit readiness.
  
  
• Monitor engineering risks, including supply chain and critical components.
  
  
• Manage contractor and supplier performance.
  
  
• Support procurement in developing effective supplier partnerships.
  
  
• Develop workforce planning, succession and apprenticeship programmes.
  
  
• Provide regular performance reporting to senior leadership.
  
  
• Promote collaboration and a customer-focused approach.
  
  
• Continuously enhance processes, safety and customer experience.
  
  Qualifications and requirements for the Director Of Engineering:
  
  
• Extensive technical knowledge, ideally within a transport or maritime environment.
  
  
• Strong experience working within regulated industries.
  
  
• Proven leadership experience managing large teams (up to 100+) across multiple locations.
  
  
• Demonstrable budget management experience (circa £10m).
  
  
• Strong supplier management and stakeholder engagement skills.
  
  
• Proven track record in delivering projects on time and within budget.
  
  
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving and decision-making capabilities.
  
  
• Highly organised with strong attention to detail.
  
  
• Ability to perform effectively under pressure.
  
  
• Flexible approach with willingness to support out-of-hours operations where required.
  
  This vacancy is being advertised by HSB Technical Ltd who have been appointed to act as a recruitment partner for this role