Job Description
This is for the Engineering Project Manager who genuinely understands the engineering they are managing - and now wants 12 months of real ownership at a world-leading robotics company. Not paper-pushing. Not status reports.
Shadow Robot is hiring an Engineering Project Manager for a one-year fixed-term contract from August 2026, providing parental leave cover for our Head of Product Development.
You will lead day-to-day from a project point of view alongside our CEO and senior technical leads.
You will earn the trust and respect of an experienced engineering team through technical credibility, calm decision-making and the confidence to drive progress without needing to be the cleverest person in the room.
What you will be accountable for
- Leading the engineering team day-to-day from a project point of view, alongside the CEO and senior technical leads
- Driving progress across our flagship ARIA-funded R&D programme and our active commercial partner work
- Owning the engineering rhythm - meetings that matter, decisions that move, milestones that hold
- Bridging hardware and software teams, and acting as the day-to-day face of the company to external partners
- Supporting our shift from R&D-focused work into product-ready development
What makes this worth your time
- 12 months of full project ownership across genuinely interesting technical work
- Real partnership with the CEO and senior technical leads at a critical moment in Shadow's growth
- The chance to support our shift from R&D-focused work into product-ready development
This is not for you if
- You have not led iterative technology development in robotics, mechatronics or electromechanical environments
- You wait for permission before making decisions
- You need a corporate atmosphere - Shadow is small, scrappy and team-orientated, with no room for arrogance or grandstanding
The practicals
- Salary: £70,000 - £75,000 + £5,000 completion bonus on successful contract delivery
- Basis: PAYE, 12-month fixed-term contract. Office-based, Gospel Oak, London
- Start date: First 1-2 weeks of August 2026
- Notes: Not for recent graduates. We are unable to offer visa sponsorship
Apply through Helen at HFBAC and she will be in touch.
You may also see this role advertised as a confidential search through HFBAC.
It is the same vacancy. If you have already applied to one version, you do not need to apply again.
Recruiters: please register your iterst with Helen at HFBAC as our embedded talent partner.
Robotics Engineering Project Manager - Shadow Robot
Gospel Oak, London | 12-month fixed-term contract | £70,000 - £75,000 + £5,000 completion bonus