Oakmont Consulting
R&D Manager
Get notified of more jobs like this · No spam, ever
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
R&D Manager | Smart Lighting & IoT
Location: Hertford
Position Type: Full-time, on-site
Salary: £65,000 to £80,000
About the Role
Ever wanted to own the whole engineering story? Not just a slice of a product. Not one subsystem buried in a 500-person org chart. The whole thing: the strategy, the team, the roadmap, and the products that come out the other end.
My client designs and manufactures IoT-enabled smart lighting systems here in the UK, combining wireless connectivity, sensing and embedded tech to power the next generation of intelligent buildings. They’re looking for an R&D Manager to take the technical lead across the business. You’ll report straight into the Managing Director, which means your ideas don’t disappear into committees. If you can make the case, you can make it happen.
Responsibilities
- Set the R&D direction and deliver it.
- Build the technology roadmap, lead a multidisciplinary team across electronics, firmware, hardware, and mechanical, and decide what gets built next and how.
- Take products all the way from first sketch to the production line: feasibility, proof of concept, component selection, prototyping, testing, certification, and NPI handover.
- Be the technical authority in the room, running design reviews, solving the gnarly problems, and making sure DfM and DfT are baked in from day one rather than bolted on at the end.
- Stay close to the market: wireless, sensing, energy efficiency, human-centric lighting, and smart building controls are all moving fast, and you’ll be the person who spots what’s coming and turns it into product.
- Work hand in hand with Sales, Operations, Manufacturing, and Quality, own compliance (EMC, safety, RoHS, and lighting standards), and work with external test houses and certification bodies.
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
Why This Role is Worth a Look
- Genuine ownership: you shape the strategy, not just execute someone else’s.
- Direct line to the MD and real influence over where the business goes.
- A role that mixes leadership with hands-on engineering, so you won’t lose your technical edge.
- Smart, connected products you can actually point at in buildings and say “my team built that”.
- The pace and variety of an SME, without the bureaucracy.
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
Requirements
- Proven R&D leadership in electronics product development, ideally lighting, controls, IoT, or similar.
- Strong analogue and digital electronics, embedded systems, and microcontroller know-how.
- Hands-on knowledge of comms protocols such as DALI, Bluetooth, Zigbee, DMX, or Ethernet.
- A track record of taking products from concept through to volume production.
- Solid understanding of compliance and regulatory requirements for electronic products.
- Confident with Altium and embedded development environments.
- A degree in Electronics, Electrical Engineering, Embedded Systems, or similar.
Bonus Points For
- Lighting control systems, sensors, power electronics, or human-centric lighting.
- Agile ways of working across hardware and firmware.
- SME experience where you’ve happily rolled your sleeves up.
If you’re an engineering leader who wants to build the products, build the team, and build the roadmap, I’d love to hear from you. Apply here or drop me a message for a confidential chat.
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London