Senior Manufacturing Engineer - Tooling

Location: Pilning

Senior Manufacturing Engineer – Tooling

Location:

Filton, Bristol Duration: 12 months with potential extension Working Pattern: 37 hours per week, Monday – Friday Rate: GBP 45 – GBP 55 p/h PAYE/Inside IR 35, depending on experience

Job Description The Tooling Engineer is responsible for defining tooling concepts, datum strategies and production tooling requirements to support the manufacture of aerospace structures and assemblies throughout the product lifecycle. The role provides technical leadership and oversight for the design, manufacture, acceptance and qualification of production tooling, ensuring solutions are robust, repeatable and compliant with manufacturing and regulatory requirements. Working closely with Design Engineering, Procurement, Quality and Site Production teams, the Tooling Engineer will ensure tooling solutions enable process capability, product conformity, operator ergonomics and certification requirements, while supporting efficient and safe manufacturing operations.

The role acts as the focal point for tooling technical authority, ensuring tooling designs are developed and deployed in accordance with programme schedules, cost objectives and engineering standards. General Requirements Safety & Compliance:
Ensures all tooling activities comply with Health, Safety, Environmental, regulatory and configuration control requirements. Technical Ownership:
Defines tooling concepts, datum strategies and production tooling requirements, providing technical oversight through design, build, acceptance and qualification. Problem Solving & Process Capability:
Applies structured problem-solving techniques to resolve tooling and manufacturing issues, ensuring robust, repeatable and capable production processes. Collaboration & Supplier Management:
Works effectively with cross-functional teams and tooling suppliers to deliver tooling solutions and resolve technical, quality and schedule issues. Continuous Improvement:
Drives Lean and continuous improvement initiatives to enhance tooling performance, ergonomics, product quality and manufacturing efficiency. New Product Introduction & Project Support Support New Product Introduction (NPI) activities through the definition and delivery of tooling concepts, datum strategies and production tooling solutions. Provide tooling expertise during product and process development reviews to ensure manufacturability and production readiness. Plan and manage tooling activities to achieve programme cost, quality and schedule objectives.

Support tooling procurement, supplier management, acceptance and qualification activities. Manufacturing Process Development Develop tooling solutions that enable safe, repeatable and capable manufacturing processes. Define tooling requirements to support product conformity, process capability and certification requirements. Collaborate with Design, Manufacturing and Quality Engineering teams to optimise manufacturing methods and reduce process variation. Ensure tooling documentation, validation records and technical data are maintained throughout the product lifecycle.

Capacity, Capability & Scalability Assess current and future tooling requirements to support production rate increases and business growth. Develop tooling strategies that improve manufacturing capability, flexibility and operational efficiency. Identify opportunities for automation, standardisation and process improvement within tooling solutions. Support industrialisation activities to ensure manufacturing systems can meet future volume and performance requirements. Continuous Improvement & Cost Reduction Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance tooling performance, manufacturing efficiency and product quality.

Identify and implement tooling cost reduction opportunities through simplification, standardisation, reuse and design optimisation. Apply Lean Manufacturing principles to eliminate waste, reduce cycle times and improve process capability. Develop and implement improvements that reduce recurring tooling issues, minimise downtime and deliver measurable business benefits. Operational Support Provide day-to-day technical support for…