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

Nominate & Attend

Product Inspection Manager

Gillingham
2 weeks ago
Create job alert

Manager – Product Inspection 📍 Location: Gillingham, Kent, UK 💼 Permanent | Competitive Salary + Benefits | Automotive & Precision Engineering

A global engineering business at the forefront of fuel and powertrain innovation is seeking an experienced Product Inspection Manager to lead a team of highly skilled engineers and technicians at its advanced R&D and manufacturing facility in Kent. This is a senior-level opportunity ideal for a hands-on technical leader with strong metrology and team management experience, ideally from the automotive or high-precision engineering sectors.

The company designs and manufactures advanced fluid and electrical systems used in industrial machinery, internal combustion engines, and transport applications — all with a focus on sustainable, low-emission performance. With a presence across more than 40 global sites, this employer offers exciting long-term career development and opportunities to contribute to cutting-edge technology development.

The Role:
As Product Inspection Manager, you will lead a multidisciplinary team responsible for dimensional, surface, and visual inspection activities supporting new product development and validation processes. This includes oversight of lab operations, measurement methods, calibration planning, technical reporting, and strategic resource planning to meet engineering programme milestones.

Key Responsibilities:

Lead, coach, and develop a team of inspection and metrology engineers and technicians.
Define inspection priorities and resolve resource conflicts to meet business objectives.
Drive continuous improvement in processes, capability, and equipment utilisation.
Manage the lab environment and ensure calibration, traceability, and compliance with EH&S and quality standards (e.g. IATF 16949).
Oversee planning and delivery of inspection activities for engineering samples (pre- and post-validation).
Develop KPIs to monitor performance and support financial and departmental targets.
Support internal stakeholders and liaise with suppliers, customers, and global peers on inspection-related matters.
Conduct internal training on metrology methods and advanced measurement tools.
Maintain high-quality documentation and communicate technical insights clearly.
Represent the business at customer and supplier visits as required. Candidate Profile:

Degree-qualified in an engineering discipline (mechanical, manufacturing, or similar).
Postgraduate qualification in metrology or precision engineering is highly desirable.
7+ years' experience in an automotive, aerospace, or high-precision engineering environment.
Strong working knowledge of dimensional metrology, surface finish analysis, and GD&T.
Hands-on experience with advanced metrology tools: contact/optical 3D systems, visual inspection platforms, and surface finish instruments (e.g. Zygo, Alicona, Taylor Hobson).
Familiarity with automated measurement programmes and data processing using Matlab, Python or VBA.
Proven ability to lead small technical teams and manage multiple parallel projects.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills with experience presenting to internal and external stakeholders.
Experience managing lab environments and delivering cross-functional project support.
Willingness to travel occasionally to suppliers, customers, or other international sites. What’s on Offer
A competitive and comprehensive benefits package is available, including:

Annual Leave – 27 days holiday per year plus UK bank holidays, with additional entitlement for long service
Pension Scheme – Competitive employer-contributed pension plan
Healthcare – Private medical and dental cover, plus life insurance
Flexible Working – 37-hour week with flexible start and finish times
Relocation Support – Generous relocation assistance available (up to £6,000, subject to eligibility)
On-Site Facilities – Free parking, subsidised staff canteen, and access to an on-site gym for just £10/month
Discounts & Perks – Staff discounts across a wide range of retailers and access to wellbeing resources
Training & Development – Strong commitment to ongoing professional development and global career progression opportunities This role offers a chance to join a forward-thinking, technically innovative environment focused on sustainability, engineering excellence, and continuous improvement

Related Jobs

View all jobs

Programme Manager - Aerospace

Programme Manager - Aerospace

Project Manager

Quality Manager Aerospace

Quality Engineer

Quality Inspector

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.