Lead Manufacturing Engineering Specialist

Salary: £59,400- 68,500 Leonardo UK operates a grade-based salary framework with broad bands. The salary range shown reflects the approved grade band for this role, or a narrower hiring range published within that band, and is benchmarked against the external market. Exceptions above the standard range are managed through governance controls to protect internal equity.

Leonardo’s Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) programme represents one of the most significant next‑generation defence avionics developments in Europe. This is a rare career‑defining opportunity to step into a pivotal national technical leadership role, at the heart of a world‑class engineering organisation with decades of expertise.

Lead Manufacturing Engineering Specialists are responsible for developing robust solutions and having broad experience across a number of the lifecycle phases and must be able to demonstrate a 'through life approach’ to manufacturing engineering. Lead Manufacturing Engineering Specialist are expected to achieve objectives across longer term planning horizons and provide complex technical advice to both internal and external customers. As a Lead Manufacturing Engineering Specialist you will join the team to develop the operations manufacturing requirements of the future, taking innovative processes and equipment into account, enabling world class production of future Leonardo products.

This role will require travel to other sites such as Edinburgh, Basildon and Southampton, with an opportunity to work from home on occasion.

• Provide specialist input including the application of specialist skills and knowledge into a project team to help ensure the delivery of a technically sound solution meeting all stakeholder requirements
• Lead and deliver Manufacturing Engineering sections of the Manufacturing Maturity Reviews, maintain governance through the Lifecycle Management process and create / contribute / review and/or lead Manufacturing Plans, contributing to design and phase reviews, including demonstrating Manufacturing Readiness Level reviews
• Track external developments and disruptive technologies to identify exploitation and knowledge sharing within the project team
• Enable the future development of innovative manufacturing and testing processes for the EW domain by studying product requirements (including new materials), product/process/handling lessons learned, researching and exploring manufacturing methods and equipment; understanding feedback from internal stakeholders, conferring with equipment vendors or external suppliers
• Ensure manufacturing and test decision‑making information is robust with objectives and results through preparing product and process reports by collecting, analysing, and summarizing information and trends
• Assure product and process quality by designing methods; validation/verification of process capabilities; establishing standards; confirming manufacturing processes
• Create a culture which improves manufacturing efficiency by generating innovative ideas and solutions developing into infrastructure, cyber security, physical security requirements for the factory of the future developing into capacity analysis, simulation planning workflow, space requirements, and equipment layout
• Take the above and developing manufacturing and test requirements for future designs, collaborating with engineering to influence concepts in preparation for the design and development stage
• Advise and participate on improving policies and processes within the operations framework
• Promote a culture of best practice sharing and knowledge exploitation
• Mentor, coach and develop more junior members of the team in order…