Mechanical Engineering Team Lead

About us

Motion Applied are the global leaders in electronics for top-tier Motorsport with more than 35 years of Formula 1 heritage and pedigree. We supply the world’s leading racing series with control and interface units, sensors, software and electrification technology designed and built in-house. We deliver high performance and reliability, backed by continuous product development and a relentless focus on innovation.

Building on our Motorsport core we operate across multiple industries. We take technology born from the demands of top-tier Motorsport, where performance, reliability and innovation are pushed to the limit, into new markets to deliver breakthrough outcomes for our customers. From developing next-generation products to supporting critical customer programmes, our teams play an important role pioneering a better future for mobility, electrification, analytics, intelligent systems and beyond.

We recognise sustainability challenges ahead and continuously strive to build a better future through the development and application of our products.

Driven by legacy and powered by innovation, we are committed to creating an environment where talented people can grow, collaborate and make a meaningful impact while helping our customers achieve success.

Principal Accountabilities

Team Leadership and People Management

• Lead, line manage, mentor and develop a team of mechanical Engineers, fostering a high-performance culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement and engineering excellence, while supporting individual growth and career development.
• Establish clear objectives and expectations for team members, ensuring alignment with departmental priorities, project commitments and wider business goals.
• Support engineers through regular coaching, performance discussions, career development planning and mentoring to help build capability across the team.
• Build and maintain team capability through recruitment, onboarding, mentoring, training and skills development initiatives.
• Support individual engineers in achieving relevant professional development and accreditation objectives.

Resource and Delivery Management

• With the support of Product Development Managers, lead the planning and prioritisation of team activities and resources to ensure the successful delivery of multiple mechanical engineering activities and development programmes.
• Maintain oversight of team workload, priorities and capacity to ensure effective delivery of project commitments, while balancing short-term delivery requirements with longer-term capability needs.
• Allocate resources appropriately across programmes and priorities, ensuring technical activities remain aligned with customer requirements, product roadmaps and business objectives.
• Identify capability gaps and support plans to address future project and business requirements.
• Support project planning, forecasting and estimation activities from a functional engineering perspective.
• Escalate risks, constraints and resource challenges in a timely and constructive manner.

Functional Leadership and Governance

• Represent the Mechanical Engineering function and work closely with Product
• Management, Operations, Systems, Hardware, Test, Embedded Software, Application Software Engineering teams to align technical activities with customer requirements, product strategy and business objectives.
• Define, maintain and improve engineering methods, tools, processes, standards and best practices within the Mechanical Engineering discipline.
• Ensure appropriate governance, peer review, configuration management, change control and quality assurance processes are applied to mechanical engineering outputs.
• Promote consistency, efficiency and continual improvement in tools, workflows and engineering practices across the team.
• Contribute to strategic discussions relating to engineering capability and organisational development.

Technical Oversight and Delivery

• Lead and contribute to the design, development and verification of products throughout the product lifecycle, from concept to production.
• Provide guidance, challenge and support to project teams on significant technical design decisions when required.
• Maintain sufficient technical depth and awareness to ensure the quality, suitability and robustness of mechanical engineering outputs without necessarily being the primary technical contributor.
• Support the resolution of complex technical issues and facilitate access to appropriate subject matter expertise where required.
• Review and approve key engineering deliverables in accordance with company governance processes.
• Support component lifecycle and obsolescence activities to help maintain continued product manufacturability.
  

Customer, Product and Cross-functional Collaboration

• Support customers during development, validation and deployment activities, including occasional visits to customer facilities and test locations.
• Provide occasional support to Manufacturing and Production Engineering teams to help investigate and resolve issues arising during production.
• Collaborate with Chief Engineers and Product Managers to assess emerging technologies, new product opportunities and target markets.
• Build strong working relationships across all levels of the organisation, providing constructive challenge while maintaining diplomacy and influence.

Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications and Experience

Essential

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Mechanical Engineering or a related engineering discipline.
• Ability to build high-performing teams and create a positive and productive working environment.
• Strong leadership, coaching and people-development skills. Strong organisational and decision-making skills.
• Experience of resource planning, workload management and prioritisation across multiple concurrent activities and making effective use of task management tools.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder-management skills.
• Ability to influence and collaborate effectively across multiple functions and levels of the organisation.
• Appreciation for having clear, structured and robust engineering processes.
• Understands the importance of requirements capture in a product’s development.
• Strong understanding of applicable standards, regulations, policies and procedures, including information management, change control and configuration management.
• Significant experience using industry-standard 3D CAD tools, and familiarity with structural, thermal, and fluid dynamics simulation tools.
• Experience in applying drawing standards (BS8888 preferred) to create, or approve, detailed part and assembly drawings.
• Familiarity with the use of product data management systems (Teamcenter preferred).
• Understanding of the documentation, data and mechanical engineering outputs required for product manufacture.
• Strong understanding of product testing, verification and validation methodologies.
• Commercial awareness and an understanding of the relationship between engineering activities and business objectives.

Desirable

• Chartered Engineer status or actively working towards professional registration.
• Experience within motorsport, automotive, aerospace, defence or other high performance engineering sectors.
• Familiarity with the application of functional safety systems in the development of automotive products (ISO 26262, and related standards preferred).
• Familiarity with structured processes, requirements management, and verification and validation applicable to aerospace and other regulation-driven sectors.
• Experience managing technical specialists and engineering teams.
• Formal leadership or management qualification.
  

Values and Behaviours

• Communicates clearly and captures information quickly and accurately.
• Self-motivated, well organised and able to work independently when required.
• Champions innovation and engineering excellence by staying informed of new technologies, market trends and industry advancements, ensuring the team remains at the forefront of product development.
• Demonstrates drive and commitment to seeing activities through to completion.
• Matches pace to the urgency of the situation and works effectively to meet deadlines.
• Demonstrates visible leadership, builds trust and confidence, and empowers others through integrity, collaboration, and respect.

What we can offer you

In return for everything you bring to the table, we can ensure an exciting, challenging role in a dynamic business surrounded by some of the best people in their respective fields.

At Motion Applied we firmly believe it’s the relationships and friendships we create while working that make us special. We’re also aware that the world is changing and we are part of that change. We all want and need different things from our work and home lives, so, if you have commitments outside of work, we’re open to talking through flexible working options that work for you and us.

• Annual leave (25 days + bank holidays, pro-rated for part time colleagues).
• Enhanced Company Maternity, Paternity and Adoption leave and pay.
• Life assurance to the value of 4 times base salary
• Opportunity to join the Motion Applied Pension Plan
• Company funded individual private healthcare with the opportunity to extend to partner or spouse and/or dependents at a discounted rate.
• Electric car scheme – opportunity to drive a brand-new car in a more affordable way through this salary sacrifice scheme. Employees are eligible to join the scheme after successful competition of their probationary period.

Who we are

Motion Applid are a medium-sized tech firm spun out of McLaren Group. We’re looking for people who will thrive in a non-hierarchical, growth-orientated company, self-starters who are flexible and somewhat entrepreneurial in their approach.

Motion Applied are committed to Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) and promote DEI in all we do. Motion Applied are also members of the UK Government Disability Confident Scheme.