Blackburn
R&D Technician - Fabrication & Tooling Location: Preston / Fulwood, Lancashire Salary: Up to £40,000 DOE Hours: Monday-Friday, 39.5 hours per week Permanent | Days We are recruiting for an experienced R&D Technician to join a well-established and highly successful manufacturing business based in the Preston area. This is an excellent opportunity for a skilled Fabricator, Toolmaker, Sheet Metal Worker or Development Technician who enjoys solving engineering problems, working from drawings and turning new product concepts into practical prototypes, tooling, moulds and production-ready solutions. This is a genuinely hands-on engineering position where you will work closely with the R&D and wider manufacturing teams, taking projects from initial concept through manufacture, modification, testing and final verification. The Role As R&D Technician, you will be responsible for the manufacture and development of bespoke tooling, moulds, jigs and formers used in new product development. Your duties will include: • Manufacturing and developing new tooling, moulds, jigs and formers, • Building components and tooling from detailed engineering drawings, • Carrying out sheet metal fabrication and developing complex shapes, • MIG and TIG welding to a high standard, • Bending, drilling, grinding and press brake work, • Modifying and improving new tooling during the development process, • Carrying out new tool verification and snagging, • Supporting design reviews and providing practical manufacturing input, • Advising design teams on Design for Manufacturability (DfM), • Carrying out R&D moulding trials and verifying operating parameters, • Product verification, testing and problem solving, • Supporting pilot production runs and the transition of new products into manufacture, • Working with a range of materials including sheet metal, plastics, wood and composites, • Using measuring equipment including micrometers and calipers, • Providing advanced maintenance and technical support where required, • Working closely with R&D, engineering and production departments, • Sharing technical knowledge and supporting less experienced team members, • Ensuring work is completed in line with health, safety and quality requirements What We're Looking For We are particularly interested in hearing from candidates with a strong practical background in fabrication, tooling, prototype manufacture or product development. You will ideally have: • A minimum of 10 years' hands-on experience within tool manufacture and/or fabrication, • Strong sheet metal fabrication skills, • Experience developing complex shapes and bespoke components, • Strong MIG and TIG welding skills, • Experience with bending, drilling, grinding and press brake setup, • The ability to confidently interpret and manufacture from detailed engineering drawings, • Excellent practical problem-solving skills, • Good 3D visualisation skills with the ability to understand how a finished component or tool needs to be manufactured, • Experience taking complex projects from concept through to manufacture and verification, • Experience working with different materials, • Good knowledge of dimensional inspection and measuring equipment, • Excellent attention to detail, • The ability to manage multiple projects and priorities, • Good communication skills and the confidence to work across different engineering departments, • A Level 3 NVQ / City & Guilds qualification in Fabrication & Welding Engineering, Sheet Metal or similar, • Full UK driving licence Experience within a manufacturing environment or knowledge of plastic moulding processes such as rotational or injection moulding would be advantageous but is not essential. Salary & Benefits Salary up to £40,000, depending on experience and capability. Benefits include: • 25 days annual leave plus 8 public holidays, • Additional holiday purchase scheme, • Company pension, • Healthcare scheme, • Death in service benefit, • Free on-site parking, • Tea and coffee provided, • Permanent, stable position, • Monday-Friday working hours Working Hours 39.5 hours per week Monday-Thursday: 8:00am - 5:00pm Friday: 8:00am - 4:30pm Some additional flexibility may occasionally be required depending on business and project demands. Interested? If you are an experienced Fabricator, Toolmaker, Sheet Metal Worker, Prototype Technician, Development Technician or R&D Technician looking for a hands-on role where you can use your fabrication and problem-solving skills on new product development projects, we'd love to hear from you. Apply today with your CV for immediate consideration. JBRP1_UKTJ