Engineering Planning Manager

At Live Link Aerospace, we develop and deploy high-performance aerospace technologies. Because our development cycles are fast and our tech is highly sophisticated, the bridge between our engineering designs and physical production is critical. We don't just need a planner who lives in spreadsheets; we need an operational champion who can coordinate complex technical timelines and empower our production crew to build with precision.

£55,000 - £60,000 / year

We are seeking an experienced Engineering Planning Manager to join our Havant team full-time. In this role, you will hold the keys to our operational efficiency. You will look after our Production Lead and their team, serving as the strategic link between design engineering and physical output. Your mission is to translate complex engineering roadmaps into smooth, predictable, and highly efficient production schedules.

You will manage resources, optimize our supply chain, unblock manufacturing bottlenecks, and ensure that our production team has exactly what they need to execute flawlessly.

• People Leadership: Managing, mentoring, and removing friction for the Production Lead and their technician/assembly team.
• Timeline Integration: Aligning engineering design release dates with component procurement and production floor capacity.
• Resource & Capacity Planning: Managing materials, workshop space, and technician hours to hit aggressive deployment targets.
• Workflow Optimisation: Transitioning prototypes smoothly into low-volume, high-quality production runs.

• Team Management: Directly oversee the Production Lead and the assembly team, setting clear daily/weekly objectives, managing performance, and fostering a culture of precision and safety.
• Master Scheduling: Own the master production schedule for all hardware, assemblies, and test rigs, balancing engineering changes with strict build deadlines.
• Bill of Materials (BOM) & Inventory Control: Work with engineering to finalize BOMs, manage inventory levels, and coordinate with procurement to ensure long-lead components arrive on time.
• NPI (New Product Introduction) Liaison: Lead operational readiness reviews to ensure the production floor is fully prepared (tools, documentation, training) to build new engineering designs.
• Process Improvement: Implement lean assembly workflows and data-driven tracking tools to monitor build times, yield rates, and quality metrics.

• Experience: 5+ years in engineering planning, production management, or operations within a high-tech manufacturing environment (Aerospace, Automotive, Defense, or Robotics preferred).
• Leadership Track Record: Proven experience managing production teams or team leaders, with a knack for boosting morale and driving accountability.
• Technical Literacy: Ability to read engineering drawings, understand BOM structures, and comfortably converse with design, hardware, and software engineers.
• Planning Expertise: Mastery of ERP/MRP systems, advanced scheduling tools, or agile project management software.
• Proactive Problem Solver: A leader who doesn't wait for a delay to happen—you spot supply chain or capacity bottlenecks weeks in advance and pivot the plan.

• Certifications in Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, or Prince2/APM.
• Direct experience with aerospace quality standards (e.g., AS9100) or high-reliability electronics assembly.