Senior Research Engineer – Composite Manufacturing Processes

Responsibilities

• Contribute to shaping and delivery of project strategy, integrating cross‑functional expertise and understanding the strategic direction for target products
• Plan and manage delivery, including budgets, schedules, and preparation of Technology Development Plans and Technology Business Cases
• Lead development activities, from hands‑on testing and trials through to high‑quality technical documentation
• Drive projects to exploitation, supporting development toward industrialisation and real‑world application
• Engage stakeholders and partners, build and maintain strong relationships across internal and external partners, customers, and the supply chain
• Support and develop people while fostering a safe, inclusive, and high‑performing working environment

• Experience and knowledge of composite materials and manufacturing methods
• Good technical knowledge in one or more advanced composite manufacturing processes (e.g. Resin Transfer Moulding, automated layup, fibre placement/tape laying)
• Experience contributing to the development and delivery of composite structures, including tooling concepts, forming/layup technologies, in-process monitoring, and manufacturing systems and equipment
• Good understanding of process control, repeatability, and statistical variation for composite manufacturing
• Experience collaborating with tooling engineers and others on mould/tool design, material deposition strategies, and thermal/process management
• Knowledge of common composite manufacturing defects (e.g. porosity, fibre misalignment, dry areas, wrinkles) and mitigation approaches
• Hands‑on experience supporting composite manufacturing in a production or industrial R&D environment
• Detailed knowledge of carbon fibre materials and processing options, across manual and automated processing methods
• Strong understanding of aerospace‑grade composite systems, including fibres, resins, and core materials

• composite materials
• advanced composite manufacturing processes
• Resin Transfer Moulding
• automated layup
• fibre placement
• tooling concepts
• in-process monitoring
• manufacturing systems
• process control
• statistical variation

• project strategy
• stakeholder engagement
• relationship building
• people development
• inclusive working environment
• high-performing team management