Technical Service Lead

At Smartbox, our assistive technology empowers people with disabilities who experience speech difficulties to express themselves, connect with others, and live more independent lives.

We’re proud to be a global leader in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), supporting people across the UK, US, Europe, and beyond. But what truly sets us apart is our people: passionate, collaborative, and driven by the impact our products have every day.

If you're motivated by meaningful work and want to use your technical expertise to help create technology that genuinely changes lives, we'd love to hear from you.

The opportunity

This is an exciting 12-month maternity cover opportunity for a Technical Service Lead to own our Service and Repairs function, lead a talented team, and help ensure the people who rely on Smartbox technology continue to receive exceptional service.

This is a unique opportunity for someone who enjoys combining hands-on technical problem-solving with people leadership and operational improvement. You'll play a key role in ensuring customers receive a responsive, reliable repair service while helping shape the future of our service operation as we continue to grow and evolve.

What you’ll be doing

You'll lead the day-to-day operation of our Service and Repairs team, creating a culture where ownership, accountability and continuous improvement thrive. You'll support, coach and develop team members, helping them build confidence, capability and technical expertise while ensuring the team is motivated, engaged and aligned with business priorities.

You'll act as a technical expert within the business, supporting complex fault diagnosis and repairs, leading root cause investigations, and working closely with our Hardware Engineering team to improve product reliability and customer outcomes.

Working collaboratively across Customer Services, Production, Quality, Supply Chain and Engineering, you'll help remove barriers, improve communication and drive operational excellence across the entire customer journey.

You'll also lead improvements that reduce turnaround times, streamline processes, improve reporting, introduce best practice and prepare the department for future regulatory requirements, including ISO 13485 compliance.

Why this role is unique

This isn't a typical service leadership role.

You'll be working at the intersection of:

• Assistive technology and accessibility.

• Technical troubleshooting and people leadership.

• Customer experience and operational excellence.

• Product reliability, quality and regulatory compliance.

Every repair you and your team complete has a direct impact on someone's ability to communicate, connect with others and live independently. The work is technically challenging, highly rewarding and genuinely meaningful.

What success looks like in 12 months

• Reduce repair turnaround times.
• Improve first-time fix performance.
• Strengthen reporting and KPIs.
• Support ISO 13485 readiness.
• Build strong relationships across Engineering, Production and Customer Services.

What we’re looking for

We're looking for a rare combination of technical expertise, leadership capability and a passion for continuous improvement.

Essential experience

• A technical qualification in electronics, engineering or a related discipline.

• Experience diagnosing, troubleshooting and repairing electronic products.

• Proven experience leading, motivating and developing technical teams.

• Strong communication and relationship-building skills.

• Excellent troubleshooting and root cause analysis capability.

• Experience using ERP systems.

• Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage competing priorities.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Desirable experience

• Medical devices and regulated products.

• ISO 13485 and quality management systems.

• Six Sigma methodologies.

• CAPA investigations.

• Business Central.

• Electronics fault-finding to component level.

Why join Smartbox?

Every day, you'll contribute to products that help people communicate, express themselves and live more independently. You'll see first-hand the impact our technology has on users and their families, knowing that your work makes a real difference.

You'll join a supportive, collaborative team that values new ideas, continuous learning and helping each other succeed. We encourage people to take ownership, challenge the status quo and contribute to meaningful improvements that shape the future of the business.

In return, we offer:

• Purpose-driven work with real-world impact.

• A welcoming, collaborative and supportive culture.

• Opportunities to grow, develop and lead.

• The chance to influence and improve a critical function within the business.

• Wellbeing support and a strong benefits package.

• The opportunity to work alongside passionate experts committed to making a difference.

Dive into our website to discover all the fantastic benefits available at Smartbox.