Job Description:

Job Purpose

The Production Engineer plays a critical role in supporting the manufacture of products by translating customer requirements into efficient, cost-effective, and high-quality production processes. The role spans order entry, tooling and fixture design, documentation, quality set-up, and ongoing process improvement, working closely with internal teams and external suppliers.

Customer Order Entry

• Review customer orders to ensure technical and commercial requirements are fully understood and accurately captured.
• Attend New Order Review (NOR) meetings and support cross-functional alignment on scope, specifications, and delivery requirements.
• Create Item numbers and complete item setup on the ERP system
• Create and maintain detailed material and component drawings in line with customer and manufacturing requirements.
• Create, configure, and maintain Bills of Materials (BOMs)
• Create, configure, and maintain Manufacturing Routings
• Design and specify tray inserts, customer-specific shipping packaging, and goods-inwards instructions.
• Establish production costs and maintain accurate costing data within the ERP/MRP system.

Tooling, Fixtures & Manufacturing Support

• Design tooling, jig, fixture, and component drawings to support efficient and repeatable manufacturing processes.
• Raise purchase order requests for tooling, fixtures, components as required.
• Liaise with suppliers to resolve technical issues and ensure tooling and components meet specification

Quality & Documentation

• Set up quality folders for each product, ensuring full traceability and compliance.
• Prepare acceptance test reports, spectral performance graphs, environmental test documentation, and First Article Inspection (FAI) reports.
• Ensure all engineering and quality documentation is accurate, controlled, and available to production teams.

Engineering Change Management

• Actively participate in Engineering Change (EC) meetings.
• Support the implementation of engineering changes by updating drawings, BOMs, routings, documentation, and production instructions as required.
• Communicate engineering changes clearly to all affected stakeholders

Continuous Improvement

• Identify opportunities to improve manufacturing efficiency, quality, cost, and throughput.
• Proactively propose and support continuous improvement initiatives across production and engineering processes

Communication & Collaboration

• Liaise closely with manufacturing, production coordination, supply chain, and customer service teams to support production activities and issue resolution.
• Work collaboratively with external suppliers to address technical queries, non-conformances, and improvement opportunities.

Key relationships

Internal: Manufacturing, Production Coordination, Supply Chain, Quality, Customer Service

External: Approved Suppliers and Subcontractors

Physical Demands

The role is office based.

The responsibilities listed above are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all tasks to be performed. These guidelines are provided to assist you in the performance of your role. The company is a dynamic organization and therefore changes to your duties may be required as business needs dictate

Person Specification

(E) = Essential – you must already have the criterion in order to be considered for the role

(D) = Desirable – no fixed requirement for the criterion but it could be advantageous in performing the role 

General Education and Qualifications

ONC/GCSE level Mathematics (E)

ONC/GCSE level English (E)

Engineering/Physics A level/HND or equivalent (D)

Degree level education (D)

Experience

Previous Knowledge and experience of working within the optical or similar technical industry (D)

Skills and Abilities

The ability to write and implement procedures (E)

Project Management (E)

The ability to produce quality documentation (E)

Good communication skills (E)

Excel skills (E)

CAD skills (D)

Able to perform analysis on data from ERP system (E)

Ability to correctly interpret technical drawings and standards (E)

Ability to prioritise tasks and set goals (E)

Personal Attributes

Enthusiastic and motivated (E)

Working well to own initiative (E)

Team player (E)

Logical and analytical approach (E)