Job Description

Manufacturing Support Engineering Shift Lead (Nights)
Southampton
up to 55k + 26% shift allowance (up to 69k total)
7pm-7am | 4 on, 4 off (nights)
This role sits at the sharp end of a highly automated manufacturing operation, leading a team of Manufacturing Support Engineers on the night shift within a 24/7 production environment where uptime, quality and pace genuinely matter. You'll take full ownership of nights, balancing hands-on engineering support with people leadership, performance management and forward planning.
You'll be accountable for leading an engineering team in a clean-room, high-volume environment, reacting to faults, overseeing planned preventative maintenance and resolving operational issues in real time during the night shift. Alongside this, the role requires strong analytical capability, using data from nights to identify trends, plan improvements and feed into wider engineering performance.
Strong people leadership is essential. This role requires proven experience of managing engineers through appraisals, coaching, development plans, disciplinaries and regular 1-to-1s, while maintaining engagement and standards on a permanent night pattern.
This environment suits candidates from highly automated sectors such as automotive, medical devices, pharmaceuticals or FMCG, and is also well aligned to experienced military engineers transitioning into manufacturing leadership roles.
What you'll need

• Proven leadership experience managing technical teams
• Background in high-volume, highly automated manufacturing
• Confidence working hands-on with engineering faults, PPM and breakdowns
• Ability to balance shop-floor leadership with analysis, planning and reporting
• Experience operating in clean-room or tightly controlled environments

Salary and benefits

• Salary up to 55,000
• 26.09% night shift allowance
• Annual salary reviews
• 5% employer pension contribution
• Health Cash Plan
• Life Assurance and Income Protection
• Gym Flex, Cycle to Work and additional lifestyle benefits

If you're looking for a night shift leadership role with real engineering ownership, clear accountability and a package that properly rewards working nights, this is a chance to run your shift like it's your own operation.

Skills Required