Recruiting engineering talent in South East has changed. Posting an advert and waiting rarely works when the best engineers are already employed and in demand elsewhere.
At Coburg Banks, we've spent over two decades recruiting across the aerospace, defence, electronics and high-tech manufacturing employers across the South East. We know where the strong performers are, and how to get them interested in your opportunity.
From aerospace and defence primes to electronics and precision manufacturers across Surrey, Hampshire and the Thames Valley, we understand the region's engineering employers. We understand what different engineering employers need from a hire, and what tends to go wrong.
The best engineers in South East aren't scrolling job boards. They're already delivering somewhere else. We reach them through our network and proactive outreach, so you see people you wouldn't find on your own.
Our average time to hire is 29 days. We move fast because an unfilled engineering role holds up production and projects, but we never send someone who isn’t right just to fill a gap.
Every placement comes with a three-month replacement and rebate guarantee. If it doesn’t work out, we sort it.
If you’re hiring engineers or engineering managers in South East, let’s have a conversation.
Yes. We have recruited engineers across South East since 2002, from maintenance engineers through to engineering directors, for SMEs and established organisations alike. Whether you need a single hire or a whole engineering team in South East, we can help, and we will know the local market you are hiring into.
As a 2026 guide for South East: Maintenance Engineer £43k, Design Engineer £46k, Electrical Engineer £49k, Quality Engineer £43k, Production Manager £56k and Engineering Manager £66k. South East pay is typically 2% above the UK average. The table above shows the full ranges, and we are happy to benchmark the exact role you are hiring.
It depends on the role, mainly how senior the position is and how hard it is to fill, so we don't quote a one-size-fits-all number. We would rather talk it through with you on a quick call and agree a clear, fixed fee upfront before we start any work, with no surprises later. The one thing we can promise now: there is nothing to pay unless you actually hire someone we introduce. Give us a call and we will give you a straight answer for your specific role.
From the shop floor to the boardroom. Maintenance, design, mechanical, electrical, process, project and quality engineers, through to production, plant, manufacturing and engineering managers, and up to Operations Director. Permanent, contract and interim across manufacturing and industry.
Usually a shortlist of vetted, interviewed engineers within days of your brief. We move quickly because we already know the engineering and manufacturing market rather than starting cold, and you only ever see people we have met and rate, not a stack of half-relevant CVs.
Strong engineers are usually busy delivering somewhere else, not on job boards. We reach them through relationships built over two decades, referrals and direct approaches. That is how you get a shortlist of genuinely capable people rather than whoever is currently looking.
Every placement comes with a three-month rebate and replacement guarantee. If it does not work out in the first three months, we either find you a replacement or refund a share of the fee. We would far rather get it right first time, but the guarantee means the risk sits with us, not with you.
When your new hire starts, and nothing before. No charge to brief us, nothing on shortlist, nothing at interview. Our fee is only due once the right person is in post and working. If we do not find someone you hire, it has not cost you a penny.
