Chief Manufacturing Engineer (NPI)

Job Summary

Its great to know youre making a difference to the future of aviation! Whatever part you play youll be helping us deliver operational excellence to our customers. Based at our Luton manufacturing plant youll do just that. Established in 1993 GKN Aerospace in Luton is a world leader in commercial and military ice protection systems and transparencies. Offering a full range of capabilities; design analysis testing certification and manufacture of electro-thermal ice protection military fast jet canopies and flight deck windows to over 20 programmes including: Boeing 787 Dreamliner Airbus A320 AgustaWestland AW101 Eurofighter Typhoon and Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor. Our customers include Boeing Airbus Lockheed Martin Bell Helicopters Textron BAE Systems Pratt & Whitney Leonardo. Our Luton site is home to 370 employees and onsite facilities including onsite parking food hub and vending machines.

We are excited to introduce a newly created opportunity to join our team as Chief Manufacturing Engineer - NPI playing a key role in shaping the future of our manufacturing capability.

The Chief Manufacturing Engineer is responsible for leading the Industrialisation elements of New product development and/or transfer of work programmes from initial RFP response through to LCG7 within an IPT working within a structured project / programme environment.

The Chief Manufacturing Engineer holds technical accountability for project and programme deliverables ensuing high standards and due diligence of industrialisation content. Specific responsibilities include generating manufacturing cost assessment for bids creating and validating manufacturing system design and layouts implementation and manufacturing system establishment including equipment tooling and methods to deliver a capable manufacturing system meeting programme Quality Rate and Manufacturing cost requirements (SQDC) utilising APQP tools and value stream design principles; as well as ensuring all regulatory customer and internal GKN policy requirements are met.

This work also extends to advanced planning and contribution to Technology programmes to establish / evaluate manufacturing methods for emerging technologies up to and including to CME NPI directly manages and leads a team of Industrialisation engineers Industrial Architects and process development Research engineers who are deployable to projects and programmes as required and provides functional governance for resources seconded into NPI / ToW programmes.

This role is focussed on delivering solutions for the Luton manufacturing site for both Ice Protection systems and Transparencies product lines however it is anticipated that collaboration with other sites and teams will be required to maximise impact and best practice learning.

Occasional national and international travel is required dependent on program need. Core working hours at our Luton site are 07:3016:30 Monday to Thursday and 07:3012:30 on Fridays.

Job Responsibilities

NPI - the CME is responsible for Planning Development Commissioning of the Manufacturing System and Processes for New Product Introductions LG0->LG7. Working with the Design Chief Engineers (for Design and Build contracts) and Programme management they are accountable for delivering a manufacturing system that fulfils all stakeholder requirements (Safety Logistics Quality Produceability & Business case metrics) including development and maturity of Manufacturing processes and documentation.
Sustaining - the CME may lead or support site improvement projects including shopfloor layout improvements Value Stream optimisation and process re-engineering efforts. This includes Identification of new technologies and their development & exploitation and benchmarking of processes across the GKN portfolio of products.
Leadership of Projects- Responsible for technical leadership of industrialisation projects including manufacturing system design process requirements defintion implementation and deliver of APQP activities to ensure robust process capability and ongoing performance. This includes Program Management Planning Resource provisioning budgeting & Project EV reporting within functional and Enterprise standards.
Leadership of Teams Accountable to the site E&T manager for the delivery for all ME and Industrialisation content through the leadership of the core industrialisation team and the deployed manufacturing engineering team.
Quality Responsible for Product quality within the NPI ME function. Expected to drive a quality mind-set within the deployed engineering team and ensure compliance to agreed Customer Regulatory Business and functional standards including AS9145 (ZDM).
Bids Working closely with the Programme and Business Development team be responsible for the industrialisation content of bid work including Technical risk management cost estimation and implementation planning.
Relationships - Maintain positive team relationships with internal and external customers key stakeholders within the business. Foster and champion 5 principles within sphere of influence.

What Youll Bring

To help us make a difference youll bring your passion and talent for what you do along with the following skills experience qualifications and attributes:
Essential:
Technical expertise in Manufacturing Engineering with a relevant professional qualification / background (university degree) in engineering (eg. Aerospace Mechanical Electrical Chemical)
Experience of managing New Product / Process introduction (industrialisation) & existing production process improvements
Ability to influence people build trust and establish effective working relationships within a global organisation
Familiarity with AS9145 APQP process or equivalent
Working knowledge of LEAN processes and practices
Demonstrable experience in Manufacturing Engineering and/or Demonstrated ability in leadership position with evidence of delivering significant improvements in terms of cost/quality of a manufacturing system.
Working knowledge of quality system models such as ISO9000 or AS9100
Experience of being a primary contributor to Engineering Design Reviews (e.g. PDR CDR) and Life cycle reviews.
Experience of contributing to technical proposals and manufacturing cost assessment to support new business opportunities

Desirable:
Project / Program Management Professional Qualification
Familiarity with appropriate digital opportunities for manufacturing systems

We are looking for people who want to make a difference talented members with the skills and passions to become the best of the future in what they do.

Note: Some GKN programmes are subject to regulatory restrictions which may impact certain nationalities. As part of the application process you will be asked to declare when applying for this role.

The position requires UK National Security Vetting (UKNSV) Security clearance (SC) due to the nature and responsibilities of the work carried order for us to obtain an SC you usually need to have been resident in the UK for a minimum of 5 years to current date (but we do assess each case individually).

What Well Offer

Once youre on board youll get the following perks and benefits:
Competitive salary dependent on experience
The opportunity to earn up to 22.5% bonus and car allowance
Industry Leading Pension Scheme well match your contributions up to 8% on a 1 : 1.5 basis
Life Assurance 8 x salary
185 hours holiday bank holidays
Income protection
Shopping discounts
Cycle To Work Scheme
Employee Assistance Programme
Virtual GP Clinic for you and immediate family
Free onsite parking
Local gym discount
Free airport parking
Discount with local nursery and preschool childcare setting
Enhanced family friendly leave
A collaborative dynamic working environment

As well as a competitive package well offer you a world of opportunity. We want to see your career fly! Well support your career progression by providing you with learning and development opportunities. Thats the beauty of being part of a global business once youre on board you never know where you career journey may take you!

Join us and keep the world moving click on the link below to apply

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