Job Title

Manufacturing ConsultantLocation: UK (home-based with travel to customer sites)Full time, permanent positionIndustry Focus: Pharmaceuticals (with exposure to other manufacturing sectors)About the RoleI'm currently recruiting for a global manufacturer of automation and smart factory technologies. We are seeking an experienced manufacturing operations professional to join us as a manufacturing consultant.This is a hands-on, manufacturing-led consulting role. You will work directly with pharmaceutical manufacturing sites to improve production and packaging performance, drawing on your real-world experience of running manufacturing operations in regulated environments.This role is ideal for someone who has owned production or packaging lines and now wants to apply that experience across multiple sites and industries — not someone looking for a pure CI, quality, or IT role.What You'll Be DoingWorking on-site with pharmaceutical manufacturersAssessing live production lines, equipment performance, changeovers, downtime, and material flowEngaging directly with operators, engineers, and production managers to understand real operational constraintsLeading shop-floor workshops and Gemba-based assessments focused on practical improvementsApplying lean and continuous improvement methods to stabilise and improve line performanceSupporting digital and data-driven improvements (e.g. OEE, MES usage) from a manufacturing user perspectiveApplying the same operational expertise to other regulated and discrete manufacturing industries over timeWhat We're Looking ForEssential:Hands-on experience owning or running manufacturing or packaging operations in a pharmaceutical environmentStrong understanding of GMP manufacturing and operational realitiesExperience working directly with production lines, machines, and operatorsAbility to diagnose operational issues and drive practical improvementsUK based and able to work without sponsorshipDesirable:Experience with Lean, CI, or operational excellence tools applied on the shop floorExposure to MES, OEE systems, or manufacturing digitalisation (as a user or operational ownerWhat This Role Is NotThis role is not suited to candidates whose experience is limited to:Pure CI / Lean / Black Belt positions without production line ownershipQuality or regulatory-only rolesIT, MES, or automation roles without manufacturing accountabilityIf you've got this far - Hit apply! We are actively reviewing candidates to onboard someone as soon as possible. If you prefer a direct approach, feel free to email your CV to me (Michael Frankland) at