Production Area Controller

About us:

Every refrigerated truck and trailer moving goods across the country has relied on diesel for decade. It's polluting, expensive, and the technology has not changed. Two companies have dominated the market, selling the same legacy technology with minor updates.

Sunswap makes the electric refrigeration that's replacing it — zero emissions, lower operating costs, built from the ground up for how fleets actually operate. Endurance runs frozen goods for 24 hours on a single charge and chilled goods for up to two months. Those numbers matter on the road, and getting them right took years of obsessive engineering from a team drawn from automotive, aerospace, and motorsport.

We have gone from founding to manufacturing at scale globally in just six years. We built our own production facility in Surrey. Today we are 200 times larger by square footage than when we started. We operate on three continents — units run across the UK, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Chile, and Australia. And we are trusted by major brands like Tesco, Ocado, Birds Eye, and Happy Eggs every single day.

We have been named Sunday Times Best Place to Work in 2024, 2025 and 2026. We have won awards for innovation, technology, and marketing excellence. In 2025 we were named Winner in the Excellence in Procurement category at the Made in Britain Impact Awards. We have backing from leading investors including BGF, Barclays, Clean Growth Fund, Shell, and Rabobank.

We have got the customers, the traction, and the momentum. Now we are taking this British-engineered product global — scaling manufacturing, opening new markets, and building the team that will make legacy polluting technology obsolete across the world.

If you want to be part of a company that is setting new standards for the industry and scaling internationally, this is it.We strive to cultivate an inclusive, forward-thinking, and engaging culture that embraces everyone.

Our benefits:

• 30 days of annual leave (includes a Wellbeing Day)

• Sabbatical (after 3 years of working with Sunswap)

• 5 free counselling sessions per year

• Family leave ranging from 4 weeks to 4 months
• Free Monthly Lunches & Quarterly Socials!

• Cycle to Work Scheme

• Sunswap merch

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Role Overview:

The Production Area Controller owns floor operations within their area. They are the first responder to production issues—diagnosing problems, executing recovery actions, holding technicians to standard, and escalating when issues exceed their authority.

This role combines hands-on technical work with operational problem-solving. The PAC works alongside the Production Lead, suppliers, engineering, and quality to keep work flowing, maintain standards, and build team capability. Success means issues are caught early, contained fast, and detail is captured for root cause.

This role suits a process-driven individual who takes pride in systems thinking, owns accountability for area performance, and understands what's needed today to hit targets without compromising quality or safety.

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Key Responsibilities:

Day-to-Day Floor Operations

• Andon first response: assess, tag and log (all types: defects, part shortage, etc.)
• Shortage handling: supermarket → stores → SRR
• Kit issues: missing parts, wrong parts, red tags, replacement part requests
• Confirm re-issued parts arrive and are kitted — close the loop
• W.I. failures: first contact with operators, capture detail before escalation to Production Lead
• Operator feedback on the line — step back and redo

Equipment & Tooling

• Daily equipment checks and quick fixes
• Log faults for tracking and escalation
• Support ICA implementation at stations (no review or approval responsibility)

People & Development

• Coaches and trains operators; buddy for new starters
• Covers for Production Lead during absences
• Pre-shift meeting with Production Lead starting at 07:45

Quality & Standards

• Verifies quality at the station (self-checks, peer checks, first-off inspections)
• Feeds practical input to work instructions and process changes
• Keeps 5S and standard work honest in their area
• Gathers workplace improvement ideas from the team

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Experience & Requirements:

• Process-driven individual with proven lean manufacturing experience
• 8D experience, understanding our role as a production team contributing to structured problem-solving
• Basic understanding of stores/inventory and our role in supporting stock accuracy

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Key Attributes:

• Team player: ready to work with Production Leadership to deliver on challenging deadlines
• Proud owner of accountability: takes ownership of area performance
• Practical problem solver: understands what's needed today to hit targets while maintaining quality balance, particularly for containment
• Doesn't overcomplicate problems/issues
• Can articulate challenges, present options, and help move forward
• Safety>Quality>Speed mindset

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