West Midlands
Jobs in Birmingham
Automotive, aerospace and tier-one manufacturing across Birmingham and the wider West Midlands.
The market here
Birmingham and the wider West Midlands remain the centre of gravity for UK automotive and aerospace supply. The transition to electrified powertrains has reshaped what clients ask for: battery systems, thermal management and high-voltage safety experience now appear in briefs that would have asked for combustion calibration three years ago.
That shift has created a genuine skills gap. There are more open high-voltage engineering roles in the region than there are engineers with two years of relevant experience, and clients who insist on a perfect match are waiting six months or longer. The searches that close quickly are the ones where a client will take strong fundamentals and fund the specialism.
Contract rates for design and validation engineers have held firm, and IR35 determinations are now handled well by most of the tier ones we work with.