Engineering & Manufacturing

When a leading Chinese automotive company wanted to accelerate their expansion into key European markets, they turned to Mane Automotive to help establish a European hub of excellence. Having previously worked with this client on recruiting for their China operations, they again sought out expertise when they required a trusted partner. 

Our goal was to build a talented senior leadership team to steer the new technical centre in Europe. Through our talent mapping, salary benchmarking, and market surveying, Mane provided consultative support to develop a tailored recruitment strategy for the client.  

We successfully placed seasoned hires across research and development (R&D) and advanced engineering positions to lead the client’s strategic initiatives from the new European headquarters.

Scope of Supply:

- Talent mapping analysis of automotive R&D and engineering senior talent landscape in target European countries

- Salary benchmarking to align pay packages with European industry standards  

- Market surveying to identify talent availability, labour dynamics and cost structures

- Strategic recruitment plan tailored to the client’s business goals and budget 

- Headhunting, screening and placement of senior leadership hires

The outcome was securing the leadership talent needed to effectively establish the client’s European technical hub to support their accelerated growth strategies in key regional markets.

A prestigious German sports car brand turned to Mane Automotive when they needed an influx of composite talent to meet growing demand. We were engaged to rapidly deliver experienced professionals in composites manufacturing for a 3-year agreement.

The client required highly skilled laminators, trimmers, fitters and production operatives to produce composite components being supplied for their high-end sports cars. With production targets demanding a high volume throughput, our role was to ensure successful phased induction and on-boarding.

Over 3 months, Mane placed over 100 people across multiple composite specialisations. We provided full contractor management and helped coordinate the successful integration of the new team onsite. Our phased onboarding approach allowed the new hires to quickly come up to speed, meeting the production standards and volumes required.

The successful delivery and integration of this large composite team then saw Mane retained for further recruitment assistance down the client’s supply chain, as well as to provide additional staff to the paint and finishing departments. Our expertise in composites recruitment and on-boarding large teams made the difference in equipping the client with the specialty talent they needed.

When a prestigious high performance automotive brand launched a new engine development programme, they called on Mane Automotive to source very specialised talent across critical areas of the project lifecycle.

As a development partner and motorsport specialist, our client needed proven experts in quality, testing, and durability for this ambitious powertrain initiative. Mane was responsible for recruiting and onboarding engineers to cover the full spectrum from initial design through to track testing and design adjustments.

We focused on test engineers and durability experts with prior experience in high performance engines and motorsports. By partnering with our client’s in-house team, Mane placed strategic hires to lead quality assurance, benchmark performance testing, and direct critical engine calibration.

The outcome was assembling a hand-picked powertrain team with the specific skillsets to execute this engine development programme from concept to completion. Our motorsport engineering recruitment expertise equipped the client with perfectly aligned talent through a collaborative, targeted approach.

With expertise across automotive engineering and manufacturing, Mane has been privileged to assist some of the world’s most prestigious and famous brands behind the scenes. From luxury sports cars featured as the iconic ride of British super spy James Bond to the quintessentially English black cab – we’ve partnered with celebrated British heritage brands on sourcing top talent for confidential projects.

Whether responding to urgent recruitment needs or providing consultative workforce advice, Mane has been the trusted talent partner underpinning the success of these automotive legends for decades. Our unmatched experience has made us a go-to talent solution for prestigious vehicle manufacturers requiring discretion and a passionate commitment to quality.

While details of specific models remain confidential even years later, the most famous cars on the road have benefitted from the meant-to-be-unseen hand of Mane’s expert recruiters. Our network of specialist candidates allows iconic brands to focus on design excellence, relying on us when they suddenly need the perfect engineer, scientist or technician yesterday.