Group Senior Quality Engineer- Aerospace

Job Title:
Group Senior Quality Engineer
- Aerospace

Reporting to:
Quality Compliance Manager

Location:
Thatcham-UK or Milton Keynes-UK or Jois-Austria (Hybrid)

Xtrac is the world's leading design and manufacture of specialist transmissions. Our customers include the top motorsports racing series including Formula One, Le Mans, Indy Car and NASCAR and we also supply transmissions for the most exclusive high-performance cars in the world. We are at the forefront of a once-in-a-generation opportunity as the automotive industry transitions from internal combustion to electric and hybrid and our experienced and dedicated teams are using the latest cutting-edge technology to achieve this transition.

Xtrac also has a new partnership with Zoerkler, a specialist in gear manufacture and precision engineering. This strategic venture marks a significant step forward in our ambitious growth plans and reinforces our commitment to delivering world-class transmission components and systems to our customers.

The Group Senior Quality Engineer
- Aerospace owns the group's aerospace quality and accreditation framework and is accountable for making sure no aerospace opportunity is lost and no existing certification is put orting to the Quality Compliance Manager, the role is the group's technical authority on AS9100 Rev D and EN 9100:2018 and the AS91xx family that sits around them and drives the certification and surveillance programme at the sites doing aerospace work - principally Zoerkler at Jois and Helix at Milton Keynes, with Thatcham and New Eagle as scope grows.

The role works alongside the site Quality Managers rather than a direct team and holds influence without line authority. It directs and supports the Industrial Operations and Engineering & R&D Councils on EASA/CAA/FAA Part 21 applicability and approval, supports Engineering on aerospace functional safety requirements, and gives the business an authoritative position on aerospace quality capability, certification status and realistic timescales to close any gap.

The post holder sits on the Quality & Accreditation Council and reports aerospace accreditation status into the monthly Quality Performance Pack and is the authority Commercial relies on before answering a quality clause in an aerospace tender.

• Commission and manage AS9100 Rev D and EN 9100:2018 gap assessments across the sites, then advise and facilitate the certification programme through to approval - quality plans, deliverable evidence, risk management, customer specific requirements, and audit readiness.
• Produce a costed, resourced, and prioritised view of what aerospace accreditation requires of the group, so that the business can decide where and when to invest and which opportunities it can credibly pursue.
• Determine whether EASA/CAA/FAA Part 21G (Production Organisation Approval) and Part 21J (Design Organisation Approval) apply across the sites, on the basis of a documented review of customer and programme requirements and bring a recommendation to Council within three months of appointment.
• Support Engineering on aerospace functional safety requirements, and on the capture, authorisation and retention of associated safety evidence
• Determine which special processes across the group - heat treatment, surface treatment, chemical processing, welding, non-destructive testing - require NADCAP or customer-specific approval.
• Support customer audits and supplier qualification submissions.
• Support the sites in closing identified gaps by standardising aerospace related processes, procedures and policies across the group.
• Responsible for preparing and facilitating external aerospace audits.
• Build internal auditor competence at the sites against the aerospace standards.
• Report aerospace accreditation gaps and contract-readiness status monthly into the Quality Performance Pack and to the Quality & Accreditation Council, escalating slippage early rather than absorbing it.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

• Demonstrable experience implementing, maintaining or being assessed against AS9100 Rev D or EN 9100:2018 in a global aerospace supply chain.
• Auditor qualification against AS9100 / EN 9100 (AS9101 methodology), with aerospace sector auditing experience.
• Demonstrated ability to conduct structured gap analysis against a standard and translate the findings into a costed, resourced and credible closure plan.
• Evidence of delivering change across multiple sites or legal entities…