Head of Technical

This is a hands-on leadership role for an engineering professional who enjoys combining technical design expertise with people leadership. As Engineering Manager, you will lead a small Engineering / PTA team, stay close to the technical details, and help improve the way engineering supports Sales, Production, Installation, and customers.

You will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Engineering department, ensuring that engineering activities run efficiently, support production flow, and deliver high-quality technical solutions. This is a visible and practical leadership role where your work will directly influence customer commitments, engineering quality, team performance, and continuous improvement across the department.

The Engineering Manager reports to the Technical Director and acts as the operational leader of the engineering team.

Why this role matters: In this position, you will have the opportunity to shape how engineering supports the wider business. You will influence technical quality, improve engineering processes, develop people, and help create a more structured, efficient, and collaborative engineering function.

What you do

Engineering Operations

Lead as well as contribute to the daily execution of engineering activities including:

• Production drawings
• Customer-specific designs
• Technical calculations
• iLogic configuration
• Design changes
• Order engineering
• Technical documentation
• Experience with implementing AI tools in technical design and drawing an advantage

Ensure engineering work supports production flow and customer commitments.

People Leadership

• Lead, coach and develop the Engineering team.
• Conduct performance and development dialogues.
• Build technical competencies within the department.
• Ensure effective onboarding of new employees.
• Create an engaged, collaborative and accountable team culture.
• Allocate resources and balance workloads across the team.

Planning & Prioritisation

• Plan engineering resources according to business priorities.
• Coordinate workload across Sales, Production and Procurement.
• Ensure timely completion of engineering tasks.
• Resolve bottlenecks and resource conflicts.
• Monitor engineering KPIs.

Cross-functional Collaboration

Act as the operational interface between Engineering and:

• Sales
• Production
• Procurement
• Installation
• Service
• Technical Director

Facilitate effective communication and problem solving across functions.

Process Improvement

Drive continuous improvement of engineering processes by:

• Standardising drawings
• Improving design automation
• Optimising iLogic models
• Reducing engineering lead times
• Improving engineering quality
• Supporting Lean initiatives
• Eliminating waste and rework

Technical Governance

Ensure that engineering deliverables comply with:

• Company standards
• Technical specifications
• Product configurations
• Documentation requirements
• Manufacturing capabilities

Support implementation of new technical standards and best practices.

Operational Support

Support the Technical Director by:

• Escalating technical issues when required.
• Implementing new engineering processes.
• Supporting product introduction.
• Contributing to cross-functional improvement projects.
• Ensuring engineering readiness for production.

Success Measures

Success in this role will be measured by:

• On-time engineering deliveries.
• Engineering capacity utilisation.
• Drawing quality and first-time-right performance.
• Engineering lead time.
• Reduction in production-related engineering errors.
• Employee engagement.
• Cross-functional collaboration.
• Continuous improvement initiatives implemented.

Your Profile

Experience with CAD, product configuration, production engineering and Lean methodologies.

You have several years of experience within engineering or technical design in a manufacturing environment and have demonstrated leadership potential.

You enjoy developing people and creating structure while maintaining a pragmatic approach to solving operational challenges.

You combine technical understanding with strong planning, communication and coaching skills.

Key Competencies

Professional

• Engineering management
• CAD / Product Configuration
• Manufacturing processes
• Technical documentation
• Continuous improvement
• Project coordination

Personal

• Structured and organised
• Calm under pressure
• Collaborative
• Solution-oriented
• Strong communicator
• Able to prioritise effectively
• Hands-on and approachable

Leadership

• Coaching leadership style
• Performance management
• Resource planning
• Decision making
• Change management

We are the ASSA ABLOY Group
Our people have made us the global leader in access solutions. In return, we open doors for them wherever they go. With nearly 63,000 colleagues in more than 70 different countries, we help billions of people experience a more open world. Our innovations make all sorts of spaces – physical and virtual – safer, more secure, and easier to access. 

As an employer, we value results – not titles, or backgrounds. We empower our people to build their career around their aspirations and our ambitions – supporting them with regular feedback, training, and development opportunities. Our colleagues think broadly about where they can make the most impact, and we encourage them to grow their role locally, regionally, or even internationally.

As we welcome new people on board, it’s important to us to have diverse, inclusive teams, and we value different perspectives and experiences.