National AI Awards 2025Discover AI's trailblazers! Join us to celebrate innovation and nominate industry leaders.

Nominate & Attend

Head of Product Development

Northampton
4 days ago
Create job alert

Key Responsibilities:

Providing leadership and direction for the Product Development Team to achieve effective and efficient development of seating products in line with the Product Roadmap and customer program commitments
Driving industry-leading best practice, technical standards, and methods within the Product Development Team to optimise the development process and deliver competitive benefits
Collaborating and negotiating with the Principal Engineering Project Lead to achieve program targets such as weight, cost, quality, schedule, budget, feature compliance, and regulatory compliance
Supporting the Principal Engineers in finding solutions to resource conflicts to support multiple programs
Resource planning and tracking to enable efficient and effective use of the functional resource group to deliver all programs
Developing and delivering the Product Roadmap that achieves business goals, in conjunction with the Commercial team
Developing and implementing performance and development goals and objectives for the department aligned to business objectives
Providing input into the business planning budget cycle within the area of accountability for engineering, including third-party spend and team sizing
Supporting the Sales Team and bid process by providing technical steer and an assessment of risk, engineering cost, and timing for the introduction of new products or features
Acting as a change catalyst within the business, driving functional and business excellence for Engineering, and implementing process improvement initiatives

Job Requirements:

Strong Mechanical Engineering related degree
Significant track record of engineering achievement associated with the technical development of safe and reliable technical products
Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to challenge and influence at a senior management level
Strong negotiating and decision-making skills
Strong planning and organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple, complex projects and associated resources
A flexible mindset, with the ability to respond positively and creatively to changing priorities
Ability to operate under pressure and tight deadlines
Focus on results, driving actions to reach challenging goals, and proactively overcoming obstacles
Resilient, with a positive approach to achieving results
Willingness to engage in occasional UK and worldwide travel, or to support extended working hours when necessary

If you are an experienced Head of Product Development looking for a new opportunity to further develop your career in the aerospace sector, we would love to hear from you. Apply now to join our client's dynamic and talented team

Related Jobs

View all jobs

Head of Product Development

Head of Product Development (Aerospace)

Head of Product Engineering

Head of Product Engineering

Head of Technology & Engineering(Satellite/Sensor)

NETWORK INTEGRATION ENGINEER (ARTIFICIAL COGNITIVE SYSTEMS)-AEROSPACE AND DEFENSE

National AI Awards 2025

Subscribe to Future Tech Insights for the latest jobs & insights, direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of service.

Industry Insights

Discover insightful articles, industry insights, expert tips, and curated resources.

How to Present Space Sector Solutions to Non-Technical Audiences: A Public Speaking Guide for Job Seekers

The UK space sector is expanding fast—from satellite communications and Earth observation to propulsion, launch services, and space sustainability. But as the technology becomes more complex, employers increasingly want space professionals who can explain it simply and persuasively to non-technical audiences. Whether you're applying for a role in engineering, mission control, data analysis, policy, or business development, your ability to present clearly is now seen as a critical soft skill. In fact, many interviews now include public speaking tasks that test your communication style, clarity, and stakeholder awareness. This guide offers a practical framework for structuring your space sector presentations, tips for engaging slides, storytelling techniques that work in interviews, and advice on answering common questions from executives, clients, and policymakers.

Space Jobs UK 2025: 50 Companies Hiring Now

Bookmark this guide – we refresh it every quarter so you always know who’s really expanding their space‑sector teams. The UK’s £15 billion Space Sector Plan, three licensed spaceports and a spike in commercial satellite demand have ignited hiring in 2025. Employers need spacecraft systems engineers, propulsion specialists, mission operators, Earth‑observation data scientists, ground‑segment software developers & regulatory experts right now. Below are 50 organisations that have advertised UK‑based space vacancies or formally announced head‑count growth in the past eight weeks. They’re grouped into five quick‑scan categories so you can jump straight to the kind of employer – and mission – that excites you. For every company you’ll see: Main UK hub Example live or recent vacancy Why it’s worth a look – tech focus, culture, mission Search any employer on UKSpaceJobs.co.uk to view real‑time ads, or set a free alert so brand‑new openings land straight in your inbox.

Return-to-Work Pathways: Relaunch Your Space Career with Returnships, Flexible & Hybrid Roles

Re-entering the workforce after a career break—whether for parenting, caring responsibilities or another life chapter—can feel like charting a new orbit, particularly in the dynamic field of space. Luckily, the UK’s thriving space sector now offers a spectrum of return-to-work pathways: structured returnships, part-time contracts and hybrid roles. These programmes recognise the transferable skills and resilience you’ve developed, pairing you with mentorship, targeted upskilling and supportive networks so you can relaunch your career in satellite engineering, mission operations, space data science or policy with confidence. In this guide, you’ll discover how to: Understand today’s UK space landscape and talent demand Leverage your organisation, communication and problem-solving skills in space roles Overcome common re-entry challenges with practical solutions Refresh your technical and regulatory knowledge through targeted learning Access returnship and re-entry programmes tailored to space Find roles that accommodate family commitments—flexible, hybrid or full-time Balance your career relaunch with caring responsibilities Master applications, interviews and networking specific to the space sector Draw inspiration from real returner success stories Get answers to frequent questions in our FAQ section Whether your goal is to return as a spacecraft systems engineer, mission analyst, space-data scientist or regulatory specialist, this article maps the steps and resources you need to reignite your UK space career.