Manufacturing recruitment

Manufacturing recruitment in Brighton

YP Recruitment places production engineers, quality managers, operations managers, and process technicians in Brighton for food manufacturers, medical devices businesses, specialist electronic manufacturers, and the niche precision engineering operations that serve Brighton's coastal and construction markets. Brighton is not a traditional manufacturing city, but its South Coast location sustains a range of small and medium manufacturers whose proximity to London creates both market access and salary pressure. Salaries run from £28,000 for production technicians to £58,000 for operations directors.

The manufacturing market in Brighton

Brighton's manufacturing base is characterised by smaller, specialist operations rather than large-scale process or automotive manufacturing. Food and beverage manufacturing is one of the most active sectors, with Brighton's strong independent food culture supporting a cluster of artisan and scale-up food manufacturers across the city and its hinterland. Businesses in this space require production managers and quality technicians with food safety (HACCP, BRC), and the pressure from supermarket supply chains and food service customers to maintain accreditation creates consistent compliance and quality management demand.

Medical devices and healthcare technology manufacturing on the South Coast, linked to the healthcare technology ecosystem around Southampton and the medical research activity at Brighton's universities, creates quality engineering and regulatory affairs demand. Companies operating in class II and class III medical device manufacturing require quality managers with ISO 13485 experience and, increasingly, MDR compliance knowledge. These are specialist roles where the pool of candidates in Sussex is limited, and employers frequently look beyond the immediate area to recruit.

Electronics and precision manufacturing serving Brighton's technology businesses and the broader South East aerospace and defence supply chain creates further demand. The Gatwick corridor between Brighton and London includes aerospace components manufacturers and precision engineering businesses. Production engineers and manufacturing engineers with CNC, CAD/CAM, and lean manufacturing experience are consistently sought by businesses that compete directly against London-fringe employers for talent, requiring Brighton manufacturers to pay accordingly.

Manufacturing salary benchmarks in Brighton

Production technicians and operators in Brighton earn £28,000 to £35,000. Production engineers and quality engineers at mid-level earn £35,000 to £46,000. Operations managers and quality managers earn £44,000 to £54,000. Manufacturing directors and senior operations leaders earn £52,000 to £58,000. Brighton salaries for manufacturing roles run approximately 10-15% above Midlands equivalents due to London proximity and South East cost of living pressures.