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4 Tips for Becoming an Engineering Manager

4 September 2026

4 Tips for Becoming an Engineering Manager

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Engineering managers supervise teams throughout the design and development of a product, making sure that all deadlines are met. As you can imagine, this job requires strong organisational skills and great communication.

As with most engineering roles, no two days are the same and the industry offers many exciting opportunities. If you’re considering taking your career to the next level and becoming an engineering manager, here are our top tips for landing the job.


1. Push yourself beyond your hard skills

Managerial roles require a huge range of skills, so you’ll need to think beyond your technical abilities. You might be an exceptional engineer, but you also need to be a good leader. Some of the most important skills for the role include communication, organisation, critical thinking, and motivation.

Take some time to build on your soft skills, perhaps offering to oversee projects or work closely with new members of the team. This will enable you to work on your project management skills and highlight any areas you may need to work on before you take the next step to becoming a manager.


2. Find a mentor

Undoubtedly, there will be managers in your workplace right now who worked hard to get where they are. Speak to them and ask their advice. They may be able to offer you tips on how to boost your skills, or what you need to do to take the next step in your career.

Finding a mentor also gives you someone to turn to if you’re unsure, and they can help motivate you to keep pushing yourself. Potential mentors might include your current manager or other senior members of the team. Choose someone you believe will support you in achieving your goals.


3. Practice project management

The best way to prepare yourself for a managerial role is by taking on new responsibilities. Put yourself forward to manage projects or to organise the team. Sometimes when you’re working on a product it can be easy to blend in as just another part of the team. And while teamwork is extremely important, you want to make yourself stand out from the crowd.

One way to do this is by offering to oversee specific tasks and continually motivating your team members. Help others to solve problems and prove that you have the leadership skills required to be a manager.


4. Learn new skills

You’re never too old to learn new skills. Consider taking some additional training courses. You might want to brush up on some of your technical skills or you might want to take a course on how to communicate better. Whatever it is, it’s always good to be learning!

On a similar note, try and gain some more experience. This could be through work or a personal project. All this experience looks great on your CV and shows you’re passionate about your field. So consider this before you apply for the engineering manager role.

Overall the role of an engineering manager is varied. If you’re considering taking the next step in your career, take some time to work on your leadership skills and find yourself a mentor to help you along the way.

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THE ONE GROUP

Where we're from,
and how we got here

Twenty years of specialist recruitment in the East – and a lot of small decisions that added up.

TOG started in Peterborough in 2004 with a small team and a simple idea: that recruitment is a people business, done best by specialists who stay in their sector long enough to know it properly.

More than two decades on, we've grown into four offices across the East of England and Home Counties. We recruit for finance leaders, HR directors, engineering managers, tech founders, scientists, and the commercial teams that keep businesses running day to day. Between us, we've built up over 258 years of collective recruitment experience across our specialist divisions, and a network of more than 150,000 candidates we've placed, coached, or come to know across two decades in the region.

The founding principle hasn't changed. Recruitment as it should be.

OUR STORY

Key events timeline

2004

Doors open in Peterborough.

Our first office launches with a team of six on Lynch Wood. Cambridge follows the same year, giving us two offices before our first anniversary.

2015

Northampton makes it three.

Our third office opens with a team of five, quickly growing to eleven consultants covering the wider Midlands region.

2017

Peterborough moves across the road.

The team has outgrown the founding office. We move into Arena House on Lynch Wood, big enough for a growing consultant base and the back-office team that supports the whole group.

2018

Cambridge moves too.

Our second office relocates to Cambourne Business Park, giving the growing Cambridge team the space it now needs.

2023

Four offices, three counties, one very good year.

The Hertfordshire & Essex office opens in Potters Bar, extending our footprint into the Home Counties.

In the same year, we're named Business of the Year in Northamptonshire, and Employer of the Year in both Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire at the regional SME Business Awards. Three counties, three panels.

TODAY

Still growing.

Four offices, more than 258 years of collective recruitment experience across our specialist divisions, and a network of over 150,000 candidates.

Same founding principle.

SPECIALISTS BY DESIGN

What we do

We're specialists, not generalists. Every consultant at TOG focuses on one sector and stays in it. Not because it's the only way to do recruitment, but because it's how you build the depth to spot the difference between a strong CV and a strong hire.

It's also why so many of our clients come back to us years, even decades, after a first placement.

01
Accountancy & Finance
→
 02
Human Resources
→
 03
Commercial Office
Administration, customer service, project management and more
→
 04
Technology
→
 05
Engineering & Manufacturing
→
 06
Scientific
→
 07
Sales, Marketing & Creative
→
 08
Executive Search
Across all of the above
→

Beyond the recruitment itself, we produce annual salary guides, regional market reports, and the practical resources our clients and candidates turn to when they want a clearer view of what's happening in their sector.

THE WAY WE WORK

How we work

Four principles show up in every conversation and every process.
01

Be curious.

We stay interested in the market we work in, and in the people who work in it.

02

Keep it human.

We remember your kids' names and know how you take your coffee. That's just how we work here.

03

Make a difference.

We're here to help people build careers they love and businesses they're proud of.

04

Enjoy the ride.

Recruitment is a career, but it should be fun too. If it isn't, we've done something wrong.

WHAT COMES NEXT?

Recruitment
as it should be.

Hire with TOG → Looking for a role →
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