Research and Development Project Manager

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Team UK After Sales team and dealership network

Languages: Mandarin and English

Company Details

You will be joining one of the fastest growing automotive export businesses in the world at a key moment in the transformation of the sector. This is a very exciting role in which you will work for this passenger car business which has experienced stunning growth in the last 2 years. This role as a Vehicle R&D Project Manager plays a central role in ensuring that vehicles developed for the UK and European markets meet technical, regulatory, and customer requirements. The role leads programme coordination for assigned car-lines, managing prototype builds, engineering change control, and homologation readiness. This role is a bridge between UK R&D and headquarters engineering teams overseas, ensuring effective global collaboration in which you will manage prototype build activities including specification control and configuration management.

DUTIES

  • Coordinate vehicle development programmes from prototype through to production readiness.
  • First point of contact between UK R&D, After Sales, Product Planning and headquarters engineering teams.
  • Manage prototype build activities including specification control and configuration management.
  • Coordinate engineering change requests (ECRs), software updates and validation activities.
  • Support UK and EU vehicle homologation programmes and coordinate with regulatory bodies such as VCA and DVSA.
  • Work closely with the After Sales team to integrate field feedback, service insights and quality improvements.
  • Track programme milestones, risks and deliverables across engineering, validation and product teams.
  • Lead programme review meetings and provide status reporting to UK leadership & headquarters.
  • Support the transition from development vehicles to certified production models.
  • Facilitate clear communication across international engineering teams.

REQUIREMENTS

  • Degree in Engineering, or related.
  • Experience in OEM vehicle development or automotive R&D.
  • Experience working with UK or EU regulatory approval bodies.
  • Knowledge of vehicle homologation processes (GB WVTA, EU WVTA, UNECE regulations).
  • Experience coordinating cross-functional engineering teams.

#J-18808-Ljbffr”, “datePosted”: “2026-05-03”, “hiringOrganization”: { “@type”: “Organization”, “name”: “ABL Recruitment”, “sameAs”: “https://uk.whatjobs.com/pub_api__cpl__422000087__4861?utm_campaign=publisher&utm_medium=api&utm_source=4861&geoID=118” }, “jobLocation”: { “@type”: “Place”, “address”: { “@type”: “PostalAddress”, “addressLocality”: “Bedford” } } }
Company: ABL Recruitment
Apply for the Research and Development Project Manager
Location: Bedford
Job Description:

Team UK After Sales team and dealership network

Languages: Mandarin and English

Company Details

You will be joining one of the fastest growing automotive export businesses in the world at a key moment in the transformation of the sector. This is a very exciting role in which you will work for this passenger car business which has experienced stunning growth in the last 2 years. This role as a Vehicle R&D Project Manager plays a central role in ensuring that vehicles developed for the UK and European markets meet technical, regulatory, and customer requirements. The role leads programme coordination for assigned car-lines, managing prototype builds, engineering change control, and homologation readiness. This role is a bridge between UK R&D and headquarters engineering teams overseas, ensuring effective global collaboration in which you will manage prototype build activities including specification control and configuration management.

DUTIES

  • Coordinate vehicle development programmes from prototype through to production readiness.
  • First point of contact between UK R&D, After Sales, Product Planning and headquarters engineering teams.
  • Manage prototype build activities including specification control and configuration management.
  • Coordinate engineering change requests (ECRs), software updates and validation activities.
  • Support UK and EU vehicle homologation programmes and coordinate with regulatory bodies such as VCA and DVSA.
  • Work closely with the After Sales team to integrate field feedback, service insights and quality improvements.
  • Track programme milestones, risks and deliverables across engineering, validation and product teams.
  • Lead programme review meetings and provide status reporting to UK leadership & headquarters.
  • Support the transition from development vehicles to certified production models.
  • Facilitate clear communication across international engineering teams.

REQUIREMENTS

  • Degree in Engineering, or related.
  • Experience in OEM vehicle development or automotive R&D.
  • Experience working with UK or EU regulatory approval bodies.
  • Knowledge of vehicle homologation processes (GB WVTA, EU WVTA, UNECE regulations).
  • Experience coordinating cross-functional engineering teams.

#J-18808-Ljbffr…

Posted: May 3rd, 2026