Group Senior Quality Engineer – Defence

Manage Cyber and QA accreditations across the defence sector

Job Title:
Group Senior Quality Engineer:
Defence

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 Role

The Group Senior Quality Engineer – Defence is accountable for qualifying our Portfolio Company (Xtrac+Helix+New Eagle+Zoerkler) as a supplier to UK MoD, NATO and US DoD programmes, so that no defence opportunity is lost for want of a certification. Reporting to the Group Quality Compliance Manager, the role begins with gap analysis against AQAP 2110 and JSP 940 across the sites to establish the true cost, timescale and options for positioning the business, and then champions those certification programmes through to approval across the applicable sites who are accountable for their delivery.

The role works alongside the site quality managers rather than a direct team and holds the group relationship with DE&S, DECA and the relevant national quality assurance authorities, works alongside the IT and Information Security Lead on the cyber accreditations that UK MoD and US DoD now treat as entry conditions, and supports Engineering on defence functional safety requirements. It works through the Group Central Quality Organisation and is the authority Commercial relies on before answering a quality clause in an MoD, US DoD or NATO tender.

Day to Day

• Commission and manage AQAP 2110/ JSP 940 gap assessments across the sites, then advise and facilitate the certification programme through to approval — quality plans, deliverable evidence, risk management, government quality assurance interface and audit readiness.
• Produce a costed, resourced and prioritised view of what defence accreditation requires of the group, so that the business can decide where and when to invest and which opportunities it can credibly pursue.
• Own the working relationship with DE&S, DECA, NATO national quality assurance authorities and any Government Quality Assurance Representative.
• Maintain defence accreditation on a strictly site and geography-specific basis, ensuring no group-level consolidation mixes customer or national security data across the UK, US and Austrian entities.
• Support Facility Security Clearance and personnel vetting requirements with the Industrial Operations Director and advise the quality system and record-keeping side of export control.
• Support Engineering on related defence functional safety requirements, ensuring safety evidence on defence programmes is captured, authorised and retained.
• Act as the authority on MoD, DoD and NATO quality clauses in RFQ’s and contracts: what the group can commit to today, what it cannot, and what it takes to close the difference.
• Support customer audits and supplier qualification submissions.
• Support the sites in closing identified gaps by standardising defence-related processes, procedures and policies across the group.
• Res…