Laboratory Technical Manager

Job Description

Laboratory Technical Manager

A vacancy has arisen for Laboratory Technical Manager to work within the Engineering team as part of the Test & Qualification team.

This role is to manage general running of the Laboratory, to close working with Environmental Test Engineers in the laboratory, to manage UKAS Accreditation requirements of the laboratory and to direct report to Test and Qualification Manager.

Provider of Vibration, Shock, Climatic and Environmental Stress Screening Services, so as to provide the evidence necessary to demonstrate a product’s ability to meet it’s qualification requirements. A provider of the same services for design verification of product and free format development testing and investigations.

This role is located at the main site in Plymouth.

Key Responsibilities:

Assume the responsibility of Laboratory Technical Manager including the day-to-day quality aspects of running the Laboratory.

• Ensure that the ISO 17025 Accreditation is maintained.
• Ensure that the relevant military, commercial and automotive Standards such as BSENs, ISOs and CISPRs are maintained.
• Ensure that the Laboratory’s Schedule is aligned to the latest Test Standards

Provide a qualification service to the Project Managers via Test and Qualification team regarding:

• Environmental applications to equipment.
• Relevant military, commercial and automotive Standards
• Standards compliance.

Provide a design verification and free format development testing and investigations service to the Project Managers regarding:

• Environmental applications to equipment
• Relevant military, commercial and automotive Standards
• Standards compliance

Work closely as a part of the Test & Qualification Team and to work closely with Project Teams regarding:

• Environmental tests and standards
• Interfacing with internal and external customers
• Ensuring that scheduling and availability of equipment aligns with the project and/or qualification team requirements.

Review and implement the content of Test plans and the of Laboratory and/or Test Reports to support Certificates of Design, to include:

• Suitability of appropriate Test Standards.
• Determination of compliance to pass/fail criteria.
• Test design.
• Fixture qualification.

Vibration, Shock, Climatic and Stress Screening Testing for conformance:

• Adherence to standards, understanding the limitations and uncertainties.
• Competency with Environmental equipment and practices.
• Use signal analysis tools for interpretation of test performance.

Performance of in-house calibrations i.a.w. ISO 17025.

Key Skills and Experience

• Applicants must have a minimum of a 2.1 Bachelor’s Degree in an Engineering or a similar discipline.
• Minimum 5 years’ experience working in a technical leader or technical manager role in a environmental laboratory environment.
• Ability to demonstrate technical competence to ISO 17025 in Vibration Testing, Shock Testing, Climatic Testing, Stress Screening Testing and Measurement Uncertainty.
• Close working with military, aerospace and commercial testing standards.
• Proficiency in MS Office tools, with good knowledge of Word, Excel and PowerPoint
• Good organisation and communication skills
• Capacity to manage several tasks or requests simultaneously
• Ability to work collaboratively within a large team
• Ability to work independently and prioritise workload
• Ability to maintain rigorous record keeping.
• Ability to do planning of test activities.
• Ability to program a wide range of test equipment & controllers.
• Driving Licence and ability to work off site.

Desirable Skills:

• International collaboration, multi-cultural team-working
• Ability to analyse and interpret data from various sources
• Competent in technical report writing and presentations
• A team player and effective communicator
• Able to interact at all technical levels with technical teams and/or project leaders
• In depth technical knowledge of inertial measurement units (IMU)
• Experience of the product introduction lifecycle (concept definition to product launch)
• Problem solving (Root Cause Analysis)