Project Manager R&D

Project Manager – R&D

Location: Horsham, West Sussex Salary: £45,000–£55,000 per annum Employment Type: Full-time, permanent

We are looking for an experienced Project Manager to join a growing R&D and engineering delivery team in Horsham.

This is an opportunity to manage technically challenging customer-funded and internally funded development projects, taking responsibility for engineering delivery, project controls, contractual milestones and stakeholder communication. You will work at the centre of multidisciplinary engineering activity, collaborating with R&D, Operations, Finance, Quality and external customers to deliver projects safely, on time, within budget and to the required technical and quality standards.

The Role

Reporting to the R&D IPT Lead, you will manage the execution of assigned engineering and product-development projects from launch through to delivery and closure.

You will own the project-management framework around your projects, including scheduling, resource planning, budgets, risk management, contractual compliance, financial forecasting, reporting and customer communication. You will also work closely with Operations to support build-to-print and new-product delivery, customer acceptance testing and contractual handover.

Key Responsibilities

Launch new projects with appropriate project controls, including master schedules, resource-demand plans, stage plans and budgets for each project stage. Create, maintain and manage project documentation, including Project Management Plans, Statements of Work, Contract Compliance Matrices, schedules, risk registers and action logs. Ensure delivery against agreed cost, time, quality, technical-performance and contractual requirements. Manage internal and external stakeholder communication, capturing requirements, maintaining engagement and managing expectations throughout the project lifecycle. Maintain accurate records of meeting minutes, key decisions, actions and communications with commercial impact. Work with Engineering Leads, technical specialists and department heads to identify critical success factors, resource requirements, skills gaps, project dependencies and delivery risks. Coordinate design and development activity with engineering teams, ensuring required processes are followed and stage-gate reviews are completed to schedule. Establish and manage centralised residual-action logs, ensuring actions are assigned, monitored and closed effectively. Lead project risk management in line with internal processes and customer requirements, ensuring appropriate mitigation and escalation plans are in place. Work closely with Operations to support new-build and build-to-print project delivery, production readiness, acceptance testing and customer delivery. Keep customers updated on progress, delivery status, key risks and acceptance-test requirements. Partner with Finance to prepare and update monthly project reports, including revenue trading plans, Estimate at Completion (EAC), Estimate to Complete (ETC) and forecast margin. Ensure appropriate project controls are in place for production, data management and retention, invoicing, shipping and export controls. Capture lessons learned and stakeholder feedback throughout the project lifecycle and at closure, using this insight to support continuous improvement and future project delivery. Support colleagues with milestones, deliverables and wider programme priorities as required. Develop and maintain a working understanding of the organisation’s products, engineering-development processes and project-delivery standards.About You

You will be an organised and proactive Project Manager with experience working in an engineering, product-development, manufacturing, aerospace, defence or other technically complex environment.

You will be confident managing competing priorities, working with multidisciplinary teams and balancing technical, commercial and customer requirements. Strong communication, planning, reporting and stakeholder-management skills are essential, alongside the ability to take ownership and escalate risks before they affect delivery.

Essential Skills & Experience

At least three years’ experience in a Project Manager role within an engineering, manufacturing or technical-development environment. Experience managing engineering development, R&D, NPI, production or technically complex customer-delivery projects. Proven ability to create, maintain and manage project plans using Microsoft Project or similar project-planning tools. Experience managing project schedules, budgets, resource plans, risks, dependencies, milestones and delivery actions. Experience preparing project reports and financial updates for senior stakeholders. Exposure to project financial controls, including budgeting, forecasting, cost tracking, revenue planning, EAC, ETC and forecast-margin management. Strong stakeholder-management experience, including working with international customers and cross-functional teams across Engineering, Operations, Quality, Finance, Procurement and Commercial functions. Experience of project governance, stage-gate reviews, project-management plans, contract/Statement of Work compliance and action management. Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present clear progress updates, decisions, risks and recovery plans. A proactive, structured and detail-focused approach to problem-solving and continuous improvement. Ability and willingness to travel within the UK and internationally when required.Desirable Experience

Project-management qualification or working knowledge of recognised methodologies, such as APM, PRINCE2, PMI or Agile. Experience in R&D, electronics, aerospace, defence, sensors, imaging, manufacturing or safety-critical engineering. Knowledge of build-to-print delivery, new-product introduction, production readiness and customer acceptance testing. Familiarity with configuration control, engineering change, export controls, shipping, invoicing and data-management processes. Experience working on projects with complex contractual deliverables and international customers