Research & Development Manager

Company: Lucy Zodion

Location: Newcastle upon Tyne

Posted: April 11th, 2026

Job Title: Research and Development Manager

Business: Lawson Fuses Ltd

Location: Ponteland, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK რაოდენპ

Job Reference No: 4418

Lawson Fuses Limited (LFL) is seeking an Engineering Manager for the R&D department for its headquarters located in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. This is a key role for the business,’aquest role holder will be part of the LFL global leadership team and will manage all aspects of stage gate process for new products from project initiation, concept design through to final design, testing and launch. The additional aspects of the role will include technical support, research and development.

Main purpose of the role is to strategically align Lawson Fuses in the Low Voltage fuse gear electrical marketplace by creating product roadmaps and accelerating new product development through innovation and adopting cutting edge materials.

This is a fantastic opportunity for the right candidate, as you will influence and help shape the profile, reputation, and growth of Lawson Fuses. This role also gives an opportunity to develop and train a robust product development team.

Job Context

Incorporated in 1938, LFL is an established British and global brand that operates in the fuse gear market with a focus on design, development and manufacture of low voltage High Rupture Capacity (HRC) fuse-links and associated fuse holders. LFL’s products are ASTA certified and comply with IEC/BS/ENA standards and accepted throughout the world. With manufacturing facilities based in UK and India,.didit LFL’s global clientele is spread across several countries including (not limited to) UK, Middle East, Africa, India, Malaysia, Australia, South Korea and Hong Kong. With ISO 17025 ASTA certified R&D lab and ASTA certified manufacturing plants, LFL is keen on safety, quality and speed of product delivery. From 2018, LFL is part of Lucy Group which is a diversified international group head quartered in Oxford, UK and operates in multiple sectors including Power Distribution, Smart Lighting, Fuse Gear and Real Estate.

Lawson Fuses under the banner of Lucy Group is focusing on accelerated growth of its product line and subsequently the share of the market. The role of PDM will be directly influencing the vision of the business.

This job vacancy has arisen due to potential retirement of the incumbent manager.

Job Dimensions

This is a full-time role based in our Newcastle upon Tyne plant. This role reports to General Manager of the business and will work closely with sales and operations teams to implement product roadmap strategies. There are four dimensions to this role: (1) develop and implement product roadmaps; (2) designing product for manufacture and optimized cost; (3) product / lab qualification and certification and (4) technical support

This role requires an outstanding technical leader, communicator and exceptional team player with good project management skills who can lead and inspire the wider team. We are looking for some from electrical / mechanical / material science background with a unidos track record of product development and launch.

Key activities of this role will include the following:

Key Accountabilities

These will include:

  • Design:
    • Designing the concept to meet technical, legal and commercial requirements
    • Adopting design for manufacture, value engineering and design‑to‑cost concepts
    • Creating intellectualος of products as part of fuse gear design and enabling product differentiation
    • Product bills of material development, drawings office control and design change control
  • Development & Testing:
    • Product development via proven product life cycle methodologies (agile will be beneficial) and stage gate processes.
    • Working to technical standards and preparation for product qualification (BS88, BS1361, EN&IEC 60269, ENA, UL etc.)
    • Type testing including internal tests (temperature rise, power dissipation etc.) and external type tests in qualified labs for verification / validation of the product.
  • Project Management:
    • Robust management of projects including budgets, timelines, stakeholders, risk management and associated support activities
    • Activities to manage include product development, lab upgrade and procurement of new equipment /infrastructure, new product supply chain support etc.
  • Technical and Administrative Support:
    • Running an accredited test laboratory to ISO/IEC 17025
    • Assisting sales team with tenders and product justification
    • Capital expenditure – planning and justifying the expense
    • Dealing with sub-contractors / service providers
    • Actively participate in trade Association and technical Activities (e.g., BEAMA & BSI)
    • Actively participate in BSI, EN and International (IEC) standardisation activities
    • Hosting of Audits for department / lab and factory
    • Technical Support to operations and quality team
    • \ managed> colaboración>
    • Collaboration with universities on material analysis
  • Communication
    • Preparation of management documents, departmental targets, and board reports
    • Work closely with sales on product launch activities including technical marketing, whitepapers, masterclasses etc.
  • People:
    • Recruit, mentor, train and grow a robust product development team
    • Current teammaß comprises of 1 x Assistant Manager R&D, 1 x mechanical engineer, 1 x electrical engineer ,1 x materials engineer and 2 lab technicians spread across two sites. The medium-term plan anticipates growth in the team for accelerated product development. Both UK and India team are further supported by test technicians.
  • Qualifications, Experience & Skills

    Behavioural Competencies

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