Jobs in East Cowes

Production Manager – Advanced Composites Manufacturing

Location: Hampshire, South Coast, UK
Salary: Competitive + Benefits

The Opportunity

We're partnering with a well-established manufacturer of advanced composite components supplying some of the world's most demanding industries. Due to continued growth and increasing production demands, they're looking for an experienced Production Manager to lead manufacturing operations and drive performance across the shop floor.

This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who understands advanced composites, thrives in a fast-paced manufacturing environment, and enjoys developing people while continuously improving production performance.

The Role

Reporting into the senior leadership team, you'll take ownership of day-to-day production, ensuring safety, quality, delivery and efficiency targets are consistently achieved.

Key responsibilities include:

* Leading and motivating production teams to achieve operational targets.

* Planning and coordinating daily and weekly production schedules.

* Managing labour and resources to maximise productivity and minimise downtime.

* Ensuring products are manufactured to the highest quality standards.

* Monitoring KPIs and implementing corrective actions where required.

* Driving continuous improvement initiatives across production processes.

* Working closely with Engineering, Quality, Planning and Supply Chain to resolve production issues.

* Supporting recruitment, training and development of production staff.

* Maintaining high standards of Health & Safety and promoting a positive safety culture.

* Identifying opportunities to improve efficiency, reduce waste and increase output.

About You

You'll be an experienced manufacturing leader with a strong background in advanced composites and the confidence to lead from the front.

You'll ideally have:

* Previous experience as a Production Manager, Manufacturing Manager or Production Supervisor within composite manufacturing.

* Strong technical understanding of pre-preg composite manufacturing and autoclave processes.

* Experience managing production planning and shop floor scheduling.

* Excellent people management and leadership skills.

* Strong knowledge of quality systems and manufacturing best practice.

* Experience driving process improvements and continuous improvement projects.

* Ability to make decisions under pressure and solve production challenges quickly.

* Excellent communication skills with the ability to build relationships across all departments.

* A highly organised and proactive approach to managing multiple priorities.

Personal Attributes

We're looking for someone who is:

* Highly organised and methodical.

* A visible and approachable leader.

* Technically credible and respected on the shop floor.

* Calm under pressure and solution-focused.

* A strong communicator who can engage teams at every level.

* Passionate about developing people and improving performance.

What's on Offer

* Join a growing, engineering-led manufacturer working on technically challenging composite products.

* Opportunity to influence production strategy and continuous improvement.

* Supportive leadership team with genuine opportunities for progression.

* Competitive salary and benefits package.

* Stable, long-term career within an expanding business