Technical Manager (Fluid Dynamics) - Defence

Technical Manager – Defence - Bristol

We are working on behalf of a successful defence development, engineering and manufacturing company who are seeking a Technical Manager to support their Structural and Fluid Dynamics capability across the company.

Office based in Bristol and with hybrid working, the successful candidate will join the senior management team and will be responsible for the development and management of the Structural and Fluid Dynamics capability, ensuring that the team has the right technical capabilities and tools and processes in place to meet the various project requirements, both now and in the future. The Technical Manager is the focal point for technical excellence, resource planning for the capability and ensuring continuous improvement within the domain.

The Structural and Fluid dynamics group provides detailed analysis for loads and flight physics projects covering:

Flight loads
Ground loads
Aeroelastics
Vibration
Test support
The group also contains the CFD capability, which conducts analysis for:

External aerodynamic flow for support to new aircraft and aircraft modifications
Internal aerodynamic flows
Hydraulic flow for the support in the design of hydraulic equipment
Thermal analysis
Acoustics
The modelling toolsets that are currently used by the group include:

Matlab
Nastran
Ansys Fluent
As Technical Manager you should have industrial experience in some of these above areas and a good appreciation and understanding of the others. You will also be expected to balance hands-on technical work and leadership together with the management activities of capability development, resource planning and line management.

Responsibilities:

The successful candidate will be responsible for the Structural and Fluid Dynamics capability, including day to day management and longer-term strategy. This is a varied role covering the below areas:

Technical

Provide technical leadership or support on projects where required
Ensure appropriate technical support is available for customer interactions, either through team members or personal involvement
Manage external suppliers within the technical area, including tendering and quality audits
Facilitate the team’s ability to deliver by ensuring the right people, tools, and processes are in place
Act as the focal point for tools within the technical area
Evaluate current toolsets and identify needs for new tools or upgrades, developing business cases where new tools are required and leading their implementation
Ensure tools are used effectively to support delivery and innovation
Process

Allocation of the Structural and Fluid Dynamics team members in line with the project requirements
Define and manage annual budget needs for internal development of capabilities and processes in line with company objectives
Support business development activities
Contribute to project proposals and bids, including technical solutions and estimated quantity of work
Hold technical checks and/or approvals for the capability area in line with the delegated authority
Act as the process owner for the technical domain, identifying missing or outdated processes and leading updates
Drive continuous improvement initiatives and push for process change where needed
Own and manage bench tasks to support capability development and delivery readiness
Collaborate with other Technical Managers to ensure cross-functional alignment and consistency
People
Support the capability team members to ensure that they have continued development in line with the individual's and company's needs
Facilitate the recruitment of suitably qualified and skilled engineers to support the growth of the company
Qualifications:

Educated to degree level (or equivalent) in a related discipline

Post-graduate qualification to a Master’s degree or Doctorate in a relevant specialisation (desirable)

Membership of an Engineering Body (desirable)

Chartered Engineer Status (desirable) Due to security restrictions on some of their projects, the successful candidate must currently hold Security Check (SC) clearance or be eligible to obtain SC.

Your CV will be forwarded to Jonathan Lee Recruitment, a leading engineering and manufacturing recruitment consultancy established in 1978. The services advertised by Jonathan Lee Recruitment are those of an Employment Agency.

In order for your CV to be processed effectively, please ensure your name, email address, phone number and location (post code OR town OR county, as a minimum) are included