Design Manager

Engineering, end to end – on your terms

If you became an engineer because you love solving real problems - and you want to see your designs leave the screen, get built and run on a client’s site - this role was written for you.

CRGI Solutions delivers multi-disciplinary engineering design – mechanical, process, electrical, automation and controls - from first concept through manufacture, installation and commissioning. With clients in pharmaceutical, food manufacturing and process plant, no two projects are the same - you’ll keep learning across disciplines, sectors and technologies.

As Design Manager you are both our design authority and a hands-on engineer. You’ll lead a remote team, take on the most interesting technical challenges yourself, and shape how our design office works - reporting directly to the CEO, with short decision lines and real influence.

What you’ll do

Design hands-on, from blank page to build

• Lead concept and early-stage engineering, setting the design direction the team develops.
• Carry your own design workload - 3D models, detailed drawings, calculations and specifications – and take on the most complex, novel or high-risk work.
• Prove designs before manufacture with 3D scanning, scan-to-CAD, FEA, CFD and 3D printing.

Own the design authority

• Review, approve and release all design deliverables, running ISO 9001 (8.3) design control - inputs, stage reviews, verification, validation and change control – with full traceability.
• Ensure compliance with machinery safety legislation (Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008, UKCA/CE marking, BS EN ISO 12100), hygienic design for food and pharma, and CDM 2015 designer duties where they apply.
• Lead DFMA and design risk management (DFMEA, design risk assessment), considering safety across manufacture, installation, use and maintenance.
• Keep revision and document control watertight, own design procedures in our HSQEMS and ISMS, and protect client IP.

Lead and grow the team

• Line-manage the design team across the UK and abroad: recruitment, objectives, one-to-ones, reviews and workload planning.
• Coach and mentor junior designers, apprentices and interns, checking and approving their work before release.
• Build the habits that make a distributed team work: clear practices, regular communication and consistent use of our project and time-recording systems.

Shape our tools and ways of working

• Own CAD configuration, templates, part libraries, file structures and PDM, working with the Operations Manager to keep systems secure and backed up.
• Remove repetitive work and errors with CAD automation, macros, design tables and scripts, and champion new design technology.

Deliver for clients and partners

• Be the clients’ main technical contact: clarify scope, agree design inputs, lead design reviews and resolve queries.
• Estimate design hours for bids, plan programmes with contingency, track hours and cost against budget and raise variations early.
• Work with manufacturing partners on buildability and inspection and test plans, and support site surveys, FAT/SAT, installation and commissioning.

How we work

Remote working isn’t a perk at CRGI - it’s how we’re built. Nobody watches the clock or looks over your shoulder. You agree outcomes with the CEO, then set your own goals, plan your own week and deliver. Hours are flexible: we ask for an average of 40 hours a week across 46 working weeks a year, arranged around the work and your life. The team spans several time zones, so some early or late calls come with the role. Regular trips to client and supplier sites mean you’ll see what you designed being built and commissioned, so you’ll need to be based in or near the North West.

What you’ll bring

Essential

• Proven experience leading a design team or drawing office in mechanical, process or machinery design, plus a portfolio of design work you produced personally.
• A track record of delivering complex, multi-disciplinary design packages from concept to manufacture and commissioning.
• Advanced SolidWorks (large assemblies, manufacturing drawings, design data management) - or strong parametric CAD skills elsewhere and proof you learn new software fast.
• Strong DFMA, fabrication and machining, materials selection and drawing standards (BS 8888 / GD&T), with the maths to carry out and check engineering calculations.
• Working knowledge of machinery safety (UKCA/CE, BS EN ISO 12100, DFMEA) and ISO 9001 design control, with a disciplined approach to detail, documentation and traceability.
• People leadership, ideally of remote or multinational teams, and the ability to manage up, down and across.
• Commercial awareness, clear communication with clients, manufacturers and non-specialists, and sound, timely decisions - including knowing when to escalate.
• Confidence with IT and an interest in keeping design systems and data standards in good shape.
• HNC/HND or degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related discipline; able to travel to sites across the UK.

Desirable

• Chartered Engineer (CEng), or working towards it through IMechE or a similar institution.
• Pharmaceutical (clean room, GMP), food (hygienic design) or process plant experience.
• FEA/CFD (e.g. ANSYS), design automation (SolidWorks API, macros, VBA or Python) and SOLIDWORKS PDM.
• Understanding of electrical, automation and controls integration.
• Knowledge of BS EN 1090 / ISO 3834, pressure equipment regulations and ISO 27001; able to obtain BPSS (and SC where required) clearance for nuclear-sector projects.

Is this you?

You’ll thrive here if you…

• are self-driven and set your own goals - and hit them
• get a buzz from variety: new clients, sectors and disciplines
• want to lead and still get your hands on the CAD
• like being trusted to do great work without supervision

It may not be the right fit if you…

• prefer close day-to-day direction and a fixed routine
• want a purely managerial role, away from design
• need an office around you to stay motivated
• would rather specialise narrowly in one discipline

The package

£70,000-£75,000 a year. Our typical engagement due to the distribution of our workforce is on a contract basis but other arrangements can be discussed.

Ready to see engineering from every angle?

Apply with your CV. In your cover letter, include a link to a short portfolio of work you designed

yourself, and a few lines on the project you’re proudest of - and why. We’re recruiting directly for this role this time, so no agencies, please.

Benefits:

• Flexitime
• Health & wellbeing programme
• Private medical insurance
• Work Location: Hybrid remote first in Wrexham LL12