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Senior Engineering Manager – Safety-Critical HVAC | Hargreaves (Exentec)
About the Role
The Senior Engineering Manager is a strategic and hands-on technical leader, entrusted with advancing Hargreaves’s position as UK’s leading authority on safety-critical HVAC. With a mechanical engineering bias, you will lead technical excellence, project delivery, and innovation across nuclear energy, defence, transport, and bio-life sciences, ensuring Hargreaves’ legacy and future growth.
This role involves:
- Collaborating with internal teams and external stakeholders.
- Representing Hargreaves at industry events and forums.
- Driving best practice in standardised engineering, lean methodologies, and digital innovation.
Key Tasks and Responsibilities
Technical Leadership & Governance
- Define and implement technical strategy in alignment with business objectives and sector trends.
- Champion standardisation and harmonisation of engineering processes, specifications, and designs across projects.
- Lead lean methodology adoption to enhance efficiency, reduce waste, and maximise value delivery.
- Ensure compliance with UK/European safety-critical standards (nuclear, defence, transport, bio-life sciences).
- Advocate for MBD, BIM, DfMA, and digital design assurance, and optimise offsite QA workflows to accelerate assurance and improvements.
Project & Engineering Delivery
- Oversee full-scale engineering delivery, from concept to commissioning, ensuring safety, timeliness, budget adherence, and quality.
- Lead technical governance, risk management, and lessons-learned processes for continuous progress.
Stakeholder Engagement & Collaboration
- Act as Hargreaves’ technical ambassador at industry events, forums, and client engagements.
- Foster cross-functional collaboration among manufacturing, design, and project teams.
- Build and maintain key relationships with clients, suppliers, and industry partners.
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People Leadership & Development
- Lead and grow high-performance engineering teams with a safety-first culture.
- Mentor and coach technical staff, aligning skills development with evolving business needs.
- Drive resource planning, succession, and talent management, including apprenticeships and professional training.
Commercial & Strategic Contribution
- Support bid/tender activities with technical expertise.
- Identify and capitalise on new market opportunities, notably in nuclear energy, defence, and emerging sectors.
- Contribute towards achieving business KPIs in financial growth, customer satisfaction, project execution, and resource efficiency.
Key Requirements
Essential Criteria
- Degree-qualified in Mechanical Engineering or Building Services (or equivalent).
- Proven leadership experience in multidisciplinary engineering teams, preferably in safety-critical sectors (nuclear, defence).
- Strong track record of delivering complex projects from concept to commissioning.
- In-depth knowledge of UK/EU HVAC standards, codes, and safety-critical legislation.
- Experience in standardisation, lean process improvement, and engineering process efficiency.
- Demonstrated expertise in digital tools (BIM, DfMA, digital QA/QC, offsite QA approaches, design automation).
- Ability to collaborate across design, manufacturing, and project delivery functions.
- Willingness to travel and represent Hargreaves at industry-facing events.
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Desirable Qualifications
- Chartered Engineer (CEng) status (or active pursuit).
- Industry experience in highly regulated sectors (Nuclear, Defence, Pharmaceuticals).
- Knowledge of advanced manufacturing, modular/offsite methods, and digital transformation.
- Experience in innovation and/or R&D (product/process development).
Key Stakeholders & Interactions
Works closely with:
- Project Managers
- Design Teams
- Manufacturing Managers
- Business Development
Manages:
- Engineering Teams (Design, Manufacturing Engineering, Project Engineering)
External Stakeholders:
- Clients
- Supply Chain Partners
- Industry Bodies
- Regulatory Authorities
Internal Teams:
- Manufacturing
- Design
- Project Delivery
- Business Development
- SHEQ (Safety, Health, Environment & Quality)
- Human Resources
About Hargreaves
Hargreaves (Exentec) is a historic (150+ years) leader in construction engineering, specialising in HVAC and ventilation systems for safety-critical facilities. Our portfolio includes UK’s most prestigious infrastructure projects across:
- Energy & Decommissioning
- Defence
- Transport
- Bio-Life Sciences
- Advanced Technology
Committed to technical excellence and innovation, Hargreaves champions modular, digitally driven, and high-assurance engineering solutions.
Diversity and Inclusion
Hargreaves is an Equal Opportunities Employer. We embrace merit-based recruitment regardless of:
- Age
- Sexual Orientation
- Gender
- Religion/Ethnicity
- Disability/Parental Status
- Marital Status
- Any other protected characteristic.
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