Manager Manufacturing Engineer

Responsibilities

• Lead the Manufacturing Engineering team across multiple aerospace production programmes.
• Deliver manufacturing performance across safety, quality, cost, and on-time delivery.
• Develop production strategies that support increasing manufacturing capacity and customer demand.
• Drive Design for Manufacturing (DFM) and Design for Production (DFP) initiatives.
• Champion Lean Manufacturing tools including Kaizen, 5S, Value Stream Mapping, and continuous improvement.
• Identify manufacturing bottlenecks and implement data-driven process improvements.
• Support major programme reviews including SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, and MRR.
• Mentor, coach, and develop Manufacturing Engineers while building a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
• Collaborate with Engineering to ensure products are designed for efficient manufacture.
• Partner with Quality to improve first-pass yield, resolve non-conformances, and maintain AS9100 compliance.
• Work closely with Supply Chain and Production to ensure material availability and manufacturing readiness.
• Monitor operational KPIs and implement corrective actions where required.
• Support production scheduling, inventory planning, and manufacturing scalability.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Operations Management, or a related discipline.
• 8+ years of manufacturing experience, including at least 3 years leading engineering or manufacturing teams.
• Experience within aerospace, defence, space, or another highly regulated manufacturing environment.
• Strong knowledge of Lean Manufacturing and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Proven experience improving manufacturing performance, productivity, and operational KPIs.
• Experience with ERP/MRP systems and production planning.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills.

Qualifications

• Nice to have: Spacecraft manufacturing, propulsion systems, satellites, or launch vehicle experience.
• Experience with spacecraft fabrication, integration, and testing.
• Knowledge of AS9100 quality systems.
• Experience developing manufacturing processes from prototype through production.
• Familiarity with high-rate production environments.