Senior Painter - Automotive Manufacturing

UPCS, Portsmouth

Full time

PO3 Portsmouth

£43,689 + 20% shift premium, 33 days holiday, pension, life assurance, employee assistance programme, wellbeing support, and flexible benefits scheme

Please note that the working pattern is double days (Week 1, 6am - 2pm and Week 2, 1.45pm - 9.45pm Mon-Thur, 1pm - 9pm Fri)

Overtime hours are currently available

As a Senior Painter you will support our semi‑automated paint line and paint booths by preparing and painting parts. As part of your key responsibilities you’ll:

Paint, Prep, & Polish: Prepare, spray‑paint, and polish components to technical standards, meeting customer specs while minimising scrap and rework.

Conduct 100% inspections, sign off on first/last samples, and investigate quality concerns or process improvements.

Assist with rework activities to reduce department scrap and maintain delivery schedules.

Train and mentor other painters and trainees by sharing best practices, troubleshooting defects, and providing constructive feedback.

Support teammates and meet departmental KPIs, collaborating to resolve bottlenecks or issues when targets are at risk.

Maintain and clean tools and facility areas in line with 5S standards to ensure safe, efficient operations.

We’d love you to have the following skills and experience, but please apply if you think you’d be able to perform well in this role!

Strong ability to prepare polymer/carbon components and apply primer, base, and top coats to high standards in smart booths or inline conveyor systems.

Skilled in using pneumatic and manual hand tools to achieve precise surface finishes, polish to high‑gloss levels, and remove paint defects.

Strong interpersonal skills to interact at all levels, adapt to individual needs when coaching/training, and ask questions for personal development.

Collaborative team player who follows instructions well and actively participates in sharing, receiving, and drawing knowledge from others.

Flexible approach to handling different materials and changing production demands, with the ability to prioritise and track your own workload.

Our recruitment and selection process has been developed to ensure that it is consistent, fair and provides equality of opportunity – all selection decisions are based solely on technical and behavioural competencies. We do not discriminate on the grounds of race, colour, or nationality, ethnic or national origins, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, disability, religion or belief, age or any other current or future protected characteristic as defined in the current Equality Act of England and Wales.

As an organisation we also promote an environment which encourages diversity of characteristics and thought, where you feel included, safe and confident to be the best version of yourself and do your best work every day.