Technical Manager Recruitment

What the role involves

• Providing technical leadership across engineering, quality, and process functions on site or across a business unit, acting as the technical authority who makes final decisions on specification conflicts, process deviations, and regulatory interpretations
• Managing customer relationships on technical matters including product specifications, approval processes, and complaint resolution, representing the business in technical meetings and giving customers confidence that the site has the expertise to manage their requirements
• Overseeing NPD and NPI technical activities from specification through to production release, setting the stage-gate process that governs how new products are developed, tested, validated, and handed over to production
• Ensuring regulatory and standards compliance for products and processes across all applicable frameworks
• Leading technical teams and developing engineering and quality capability within the function
• Supporting business development with technical proposals, due diligence activities, and capability assessments

Who employers are looking for

A degree in a relevant engineering or science discipline is expected at this level. The specific discipline varies by sector, food technology or food science for food manufacturing roles, chemistry or pharmaceutical science for pharma and chemicals, mechanical or chemical engineering for industrial manufacturing. What unifies all technical manager appointments is breadth: candidates need to have operated credibly across quality, engineering, and operations rather than deeply within one function only.

Sector-specific regulatory knowledge is essential. For food roles this means BRC, HACCP, and major retailer technical standards. For pharma it is GMP and GDP. For chemical manufacturers it is REACH and relevant COMAH obligations. Candidates who have managed a regulatory audit from a major customer or certification body, and can speak directly to how they prepared, what happened, and what they improved afterwards, make a strong impression at interview.

Leadership and people management experience is a hard requirement. The technical manager is not a specialist contributor but a function head. Candidates with experience developing technical teams, managing across multiple disciplines, and translating technical requirements into commercial language for the business will be most competitive for senior appointments in this role.

In food and drink, the technical manager must be credible with major retailer technical teams, including the ability to manage a scheduled or unannounced customer audit with confidence. Retailers including major UK supermarkets conduct detailed technical visits that cover everything from allergen controls to supplier approval systems, and the technical manager is the primary contact. Candidates with BRC Higher Level auditing experience and a track record of maintaining Grade A or AA status are at a clear advantage.

The technical manager role in chemicals and industrial manufacturing has expanded significantly with REACH Regulation obligations and the growing emphasis on product sustainability data from customers. Candidates who understand substance of very high concern (SVHC) management, safety data sheet compliance, and the supply chain obligations under REACH bring genuine commercial value. At interview, employers in this sector will assess both regulatory depth and the ability to communicate complex compliance requirements to sales and commercial teams in plain terms.

Salary benchmarks

Technical Managers in food and pharma sectors typically earn above general manufacturing equivalents due to regulatory complexity. Larger multi-site businesses pay towards the top of the range for Group Technical Manager appointments overseeing multiple sites.

Industries that hire Technical Managers

• Food and drink: technical and quality management with retailer standard compliance, new product development oversight, and customer technical relationship management
• Pharmaceuticals: technical authority for manufacturing processes and products, GMP compliance, and regulatory affairs interface
• Chemicals: process and product technical management including REACH compliance, formulation development, and customer specification management
• Industrial manufacturing: engineering and quality technical leadership across diverse product ranges and customer sectors
• Packaging: material specifications, technical compliance with food contact regulations, and customer technical account management

Related roles

• Quality Manager: often a direct report to the technical manager, leading the QMS and audit function within the broader technical team
• Operations Manager: peer relationship where technical and operational priorities must be balanced to deliver customer commitments
• New Product Development Manager: direct partner on NPD programmes, with the technical manager providing approval authority over technical standards
• Manufacturing Engineer: technical team member responsible for process design and NPI engineering under the technical manager's leadership

Where we place Technical Manager professionals

We place technical manager professionals across the UK. Browse by location or register your CV for roles that match your experience.