Assembly Lead

Assembly Lead / Senior Assembly Technician
Birmingham - Jewellery Quarter | £35,000-£50,000 + 10% bonus + benefits
Build the product. Set the standard. Help build the team.

This isn't an opportunity to simply join an established production line. It's an opportunity to help build one from the ground up. We are partnering with an exciting, entrepreneurial UK technology start-up that has developed an innovative, AI-enabled consumer product combining advanced mechanical, electrical, and smart technology. Founded by two ambitious entrepreneurs and recently backed by significant investment from the US, the business is now entering a hugely exciting stage of its journey - moving from product development into production, international growth, and scale. They have big ambitions for where this business can go and are looking for people who want to be part of that journey from an early stage. People with hunger, drive, energy, and genuine excitement about building something.

The opportunity
Based at the company's facility in Birmingham, you'll initially work alongside the engineering team to learn the product inside out and take increasing ownership of how it is assembled, checked, tested, packaged, and prepared for shipment to customers. The product brings together components sourced from specialist suppliers across the UK and internationally, incorporating mechanical, electrical, electronic and gas systems into one sophisticated, finished product.

You'll have visibility across the whole journey - from components arriving through goods-in, to assembly and testing, right through to packaging and final despatch. Initially, you'll be building units yourself. As volumes grow, you'll help recruit and train additional technicians, establish best practice and create the standards and processes that allow the business to produce units quickly, consistently and to an exceptional standard. You'll be joining early enough to have a genuine influence on how things are done.

What you'll be doing
You'll take ownership of hands-on assembly while helping create a repeatable, scalable production environment.

That will include:
- Building complex electro-mechanical assemblies and finished units using drawings, BOMs and work instructions
- Working across mechanical, electrical, electronic and gas components
- Using calibrated torque tools and precision measurement equipment to assemble accurately to specification
- Routing, crimping, and fitting wiring harnesses and connectors
- Installing valves, hoses, and fittings, with leak checking treated as safety-critical
- Carrying out electrical, continuity, functional, pressure, and leak testing
- Completing per-unit calibration, setup, and quality checks
- Diagnosing failed units and carrying out controlled rework
- Taking ownership of quality and identifying issues before they move further through production
- Helping establish efficient assembly, testing, packaging, and shipping stations
- Creating and maintaining disciplined, repeatable assembly processes
- Training new technicians as the operation grows
- Setting the standard for quality, pace, and workmanship across the team

You'll work closely with engineering as the product and production process continue to evolve, making this particularly suited to someone who understands the challenges of NPI/NPD and moving a new product into repeatable production.

Who we're looking for
You'll probably have spent time assembling complex electro-mechanical products within environments such as Automotive, Consumer Electronics, Robotics, Appliances, Advanced Manufacturing, Complex Engineered Products. Sector is less important than your capability and mindset. Experience within a start-up, scale-up, NPI or NPD environment would be particularly valuable.

You'll need to be comfortable working across a range of components and technologies rather than performing one narrow operation within a large, established production environment.

You'll ideally bring:
- Strong hands-on electro-mechanical assembly experience
- Experience of NPI/NPD or taking a new product from engineering into production
- Experience with hand and power tools and calibrated torque equipment
- Confidence using measurement equipment such as calipers, gauges, and manometers
- A strong understanding of quality-controlled assembly and testing
- Experience diagnosing faults and reworking products correctly
- The ability to train others and establish high standards on the shop floor

The person behind the experience
We're not looking for somebody who simply wants another assembly job. We're looking for somebody who gets excited by the idea of joining early and helping build something. You'll enjoy the energy of an entrepreneurial environment where things move quickly, everyone gets involved and you won't always have an established process to follow. You'll see problems and want to solve them. You'll be comfortable rolling your sleeves up and doing what's needed to help the business succeed and you'll have the hunger to grow with the company rather than simply fulfil a job description.

Why join?
This is a rare opportunity to join a well-funded technology start-up at a pivotal point in its journey. The technology has been developed. Investment is secured. The next challenge is turning an innovative product into a world-class production operation capable of supporting significant international growth. You'll be joining while that operation is still being built, giving you the opportunity to make a visible impact from day one.

If you're looking for a highly structured environment where everything has already been built for you, this will not be the opportunity you're looking for. But if the idea of getting in early, rolling your sleeves up, building an innovative product and helping an ambitious start-up create its manufacturing operation from the ground up excites you, we'd love to hear from you.