Senior Manufacturing Engineer

Location

Crawley, United Kingdom

In fast changing markets, customers worldwide rely on Thales. Thales is a business where brilliant people from all over the world come together to share ideas and inspire each other. In aerospace, transportation, defence, security and space, our architects design innovative solutions that make our tomorrow's possible. Together we offer fantastic opportunities for committed employees to learn and develop their career with us.

At Thales UK, we research, develop, and supply technology and services that impact the lives of millions of people each day to make life better, and keep us safer. We innovate across the major industries of Aerospace, Defence, Security and Space. Your health and well‑being matters to us and that’s why we offer you the flexibility to do what’s important to you;

whether that’s part time hours, job sharing, home working, or the ability to flex your start and finish times. Where possible, we support a working pattern that suits your lifestyle and helps you reach your ambitions.

Senior Industrial Process Engineer.

Location:

Crawley, full‑time (5 days a week) onsite. If you’re ready to shape how cutting‑edge products are built and want real influence in a high‑impact engineering environment, we’d love to hear from you!

• End‑to‑end influence:
  Ownership from late‑stage industrialisation through to steady‑state production, shaping how new products are manufactured
• High‑impact environment:
  Work within a multidisciplinary industrial engineering function (IPEs, Architects, Cost Engineers) on complex, high‑reliability defence products
• Continuous improvement & innovation focus:
  Opportunity to embed Industry 4.0, lean methodologies, and advanced manufacturing practices across the shopfloor

Reporting to the Manufacturing Engineering Manager and working within the Industrial Engineering function, this role leads the late stages of industrialisation and supports the production of released products while driving continuous improvement.

• Lead and own the late‑stage industrialisation process (MRL 6–8), ensuring products are ready for full‑scale manufacture
• Support earlier industrialisation phases in collaboration with the Industrial Architect
• Set best‑practice standards and provide technical leadership across the Industrial Engineering team
• Provide ongoing IPE support for production post‑launch (MRL 8+), resolving issues and optimising flow
• Drive continuous improvement through VSM, 5S, TPM, PFMEA, control plans and InCIght methodologies
• Develop and optimise production processes, including BOMs, routings, MES routes, ERP setup, and MI creation
• Ensure compliance with all health, safety, environmental and regulatory requirements across manufacturing processes
• Identify and implement Industry 4.0 opportunities to enhance capability, efficiency, and data‑driven decision‑making

• Proven relevant experience in a similar role and / or transferable skills
• Background in industrial engineering, manufacturing engineering or process engineering
• Experience of establishing new products into an industrial manufacturing environment
• HNC or HND in a relevant discipline, an engineering apprenticeship, and / or equivalent proven experience
• Strong understanding of lean principles and continuous improvement
• Skilled in Design for Manufacture (DFM) and Design for Assembly (DFA)
• Proven ability to convey information clearly, confidently and appropriately to different audiences
• Demonstrated experience of working across departments, building strong relationships and ensuring alignment
• Proven presence, credibility and the ability to influence decisions and stakeholders constructively
• Experienced in presenting data, updates and recommendations in a structured, concise and easily understood manner
• Proven structured reasoning and sound judgement abilities
• Experienced in driving progress for both team and project objectives, ensuring milestones are met

• Competitive salary and benefits package designed to support our employees’ wellbeing and professional growth, which…