Production Support Engineer

About us

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is a charity that provides, on call, a 24-hour lifeboat search and rescue service and a seasonal lifeguard service. Our lifeboat crews and lifeguards need a dedicated, professional, and talented team behind them. 

The All-weather Lifeboat Centre is the RNLI's in-house boat building facility located in Poole, which brings every stage of the lifeboat build, repair, and refit under one roof. 

Some of the benefits

• £34,893 - £41,050 (dependent on experience)
• Performance related pay scheme annually reviewed
• 26 days’ annual leave plus Bank Holidays 
• Time off in lieu available
• Flexible working opportunities
• Outstanding pension scheme  
• Life assurance 
• Health and dental cashplan 

Your role

We are looking for a dedicated and detail-oriented Production Support Engineer to join our team, supporting the delivery of lifeboat production and refits at both the All-weather Lifeboat Centre in Poole and the Inshore Lifeboat Centre located on the Isle of Wight. It is envisaged there will be a 50/50 attendance approach to both sites. In this role, you will be responsible for creating comprehensive work instructions, known as ‘job cards’, to ensure that engineering designs are translated into safe, efficient, and repeatable production processes.

You will ensure design information and drawings are readily available to production teams along with the necessary tools, parts, and resources to meet the production schedule.

A key part of your role will involve applying Continuous Improvement tools and techniques to enhance operational efficiency. Additionally, you will support Production Control with the integration of projects into our systems, including MRP and Microsoft Dynamics AX. Your responsibilities will also include assisting with risk assessments and ensuring the proper distribution of COSHH and other safety-critical information.

If you have a strong background in production or engineering support, a keen eye for detail, and a proactive approach to safety and process improvement, we’d love to hear from you.

About you

You will ideally have an HNC/HND in a relevant engineering discipline or extensive practical experience within the boat building sector. Experience in small boat production, refit and/or repair environment, including knowledge of composite construction methods, mechanical and electrical systems, marine coatings, and repair processes.

You will be confident in your communication and organisational skills and with existing technical knowledge of production processes, be driven and decisive.

Come and join us in the build of this centre of excellence and help save lives at sea!

Safeguarding

The RNLI is committed to safeguarding; protecting a person’s health, wellbeing, and human rights, enabling them to live free from harm, abuse, and neglect. We expect all employees and volunteers to share this commitment and have a zero-tolerance approach. The suitability of all prospective employees and volunteers will be assessed during the recruitment process in line with this commitment. This will include relevant criminal record checks being carried out dependent on the eligibility of the role. (England & Wales; DBS check, Scotland; Disclosure Scotland PVG, Northern Ireland; Access NI, Republic of Ireland; Garda Vetting; International, International Child Protection Certificate process).

Diversity at the RNLI

Our staff and volunteers have been saving lives at sea without prejudice for 200 years. We respect and value diversity of background, skills and perspectives within our teams, and consider it essential to help us deliver a world-class lifesaving service. We are an inclusive organisation and welcome applications from everyone. In addition to having the skills needed for the role, we also look for applicants who share our commitment to living our RNLI values (trustworthy, courageous, selfless, and dependable), and helping us work towards Our Vision: To save Every One.