Head of R&D

The Client

My client is a leading international technology manufacturer headquartered in County Durham and is looking for a people‑driven Head of R&D to lead best‑in‑class NPD delivery. This is a highly hands‑on role, focused on execution, product lifecycle excellence and compliance - not strategic R&D oversight or architectural ownership

About the Role

Reporting to the Global Head of R&D, the Head of R&D will drive high‑quality, on‑time product development and sustaining engineering across the business unit portfolio, with full accountability for product compliance to all relevant standards and regulations.

Leading UK‑based engineering and product compliance teams, the role works closely with European R&D leadership to align priorities, accelerate execution, and deliver consistently strong performance across sites.

Main Responsibilities

Engineering Delivery & Execution

* Own delivery of UK-based engineering projects (scope, timeline, quality)

* Drive predictable execution through structured planning, tracking, and accountability

* Align engineering capacity with project priorities and business needs

* Establish and manage delivery KPIs (cycle time, on-time delivery, throughput)

Product Lifecycle & Sustaining Engineering

* Own engineering support for the existing product portfolio, including:

* Obsolescence-driven redesigns

* Cost optimisation and component changes

* Regulatory and standards-driven updates

* Ensure continuity of supply and product competitiveness

* Balance new product development and sustaining engineering activities

Product Compliance Leadership

* Lead the Product Compliance team within R&D

* Ensure all products meet relevant regulatory, safety, and certification requirements

* Maintain alignment with applicable standards (e.g. IEC, ISO, regional compliance requirements)

* Work closely with engineering teams to embed compliance early in development

* Support certification, audits, and regulatory approvals

Team Leadership & Capability Building

* Lead and develop UK-based engineering and compliance teams

* Build a culture of accountability, ownership, and continuous improvement

* Strengthen technical and delivery leadership within the team

* Ensure effective resource utilisation and capability development

Cross-Site Collaboration

* Work closely with European-based R&D leadership and engineering teams to ensure aligned priorities and coordinated execution

* Support a unified development model across UK and Europe

* Contribute to a cohesive, high-performing engineering organisation across locations

External Development Integration

* Integrate external development partners to increase engineering capacity and speed

* Define clear scopes, interfaces, and deliverables

* Ensure quality and timely delivery from external partners

Process & Performance Improvement

* Improve engineering efficiency, reducing development cycle time and rework

* Implement pragmatic, scalable development processes (Agile / hybrid)

* Ensure clear visibility of delivery performance, risks, and dependencies

* Proactively remove technical and organisational blockers

About You

To be considered for the role, it is essential that you possess demonstrable experience and strength in the leading of engineering teams and NPD, in the electronics, testing & measurement, safety or instrumentation product sectors. You will also be degree qualified in an appropriate discipline.

Key Selection Criteria

- Familiarity with platform-based product architectures
- Strong track record of delivering complex engineering projects on time and to quality targets
- Experience in multidisciplinary engineering (hardware, embedded software, systems)
- Experience managing product compliance, certification, or regulatory activities
- Experience working across multiple locations or distributed teams
- Experience working with external development partners or outsourced engineering models
- Strong executon focus with ability to deliver results through teams
- Structured, data-driven approach to problem solving
- Ability to manage complexity and competing priorities
- Clear and effective communication across technical and non-technical stakeholders
- Pragmatic, delivery-oriented mindset with high accountability
- Collaborative leadership style with ability to influence across locations