Principal Manufacturing Engineer (GA & EOL)

### What to Expect
As part of the Manufacturing Engineering team, reporting to the Head of Production Steering and Strategic Innovation, the Principal Manufacturing Engineer provides technical leadership for series manufacturing process development, industrialisation and continuous improvement within an assigned operational area. The role translates product requirements into safe, capable and repeatable manufacturing processes, supporting programme delivery and stable series production within the McLaren Automotive production environment.
Working across Product Engineering, Production, Quality, Maintenance, Production Planning and Supply Chain, the role leads complex technical problem-solving and the delivery of manufacturing processes, equipment, tooling and operating standards. It provides technical direction and coaching to manufacturing engineers, manages process readiness through a collaborative relationship with launch teams and drives improvements in safety, quality, delivery, cost and environmental performance. Area-specific responsibilities apply according to the assigned operational scope.

What You'll Do

- Provide technical leadership for the assigned manufacturing area, establishing process standards and ensuring robust engineering decisions reflect current knowledge from the series environment to ensure Lesson Learned are adopted into new models.
- Develop and maintain manufacturing process flows, station layouts, work content, cycle-time studies, line balancing and capacity assessments, identifying constraints and improving hours per car.
- Lead process risk assessment and PFMEA development with cross-functional teams; ensure control plans, standardised work, inspection requirements and reaction plans address identified risks and remain aligned following change.
- Define technical specifications and acceptance criteria for equipment, tooling, fixtures and production systems. Lead supplier technical reviews, installation, commissioning and acceptance trials, working with Maintenance to establish support requirements.
- Ensure manufacturing processes incorporate machinery safety, ergonomics and appropriate legal and environmental controls. Work with specialist teams to assess risks and comply with applicable requirements.
- Collaborate with NPI teams on manufacturing readiness from prototype builds through launch and ramp-up, with a phased transfer of ownership. Challenge NPI teams to resolve issue robustly with evidence to achieve a seamless transition into series production.
- Lead structured problem solving for complex manufacturing and quality issues. Utilising available data, trials and recognised problem-solving methods to validate corrective actions and prevent recurrence.
- Manage manufacturing engineering changes, ensuring process documentation, tooling, equipment settings, validation evidence and training requirements are updated before controlled implementation.
- Lead technical projects within agreed scope, timing and budget; develop investment justifications, manage supplier interfaces and escalate risks, dependencies and trade-offs through programme and business governance.
- Monitor process performance, including right first time quality, scrap, rework, cycle time, downtime and throughput. Prioritise improvement opportunities with Production and Quality without compromising safety or product conformity.
- Provide technical mentoring, peer reviews and coaching for manufacturing engineers, promoting consistent standards, knowledge sharing and effective cross-functional collaboration.

What You'll Bring

Knowledge, skills & experience:

- Degree in Manufacturing, Mechanical, Automotive or a related engineering discipline, or equivalent relevant industry experience.
- Proven manufacturing engineering experience in automotive or a comparable complex manufacturing environment, with demonstrated technical leadership through industrialisation, standardisation and continuous improvement..
- Experience of low-volume, high-value product manufacturing and balancing product complexity, process capability, quality and investment requirements.
- Strong knowledge of lean manufacturing, process planning, line balancing, capacity analysis, standardised work, ergonomics and continuous improvement.
- Practical experience with PFMEA, control plans, process validation, measurement system analysis, statistical process control and structured root-cause analysis, including 8D or equivalent methods.
- Experience specifying and commissioning manufacturing equipment, tooling and fixtures, including supplier technical management, acceptance testing and production handover.
- Ability to interpret engineering standards, drawings, tolerances, product specifications and manufacturing data, translating requirements into effective process controls.
- For Body Assembly (BA) and Paint Application: broad knowledge of joining and bonding techniques, dimensional control, fixture design, surface preparation, paint application, curing and finish-defect resolution. Ability to work with specialists on materials, exposure controls and paint-system safety.
- For General Assembly and End of Line Operations: technical knowledge of assembly sequencing, fastening systems, error-proofing, traceability, vehicle diagnostics, software configuration and functional test processes. Knowledge of safe working practices for high-voltage systems.
- Experience with manufacturing execution, quality and production data systems; knowledge of SAP PP/ME and digital manufacturing tools would be an advantage.
- Ability to lead cross-functional technical work, mentor engineers and communicate recommendations, risks and trade-offs clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Experience of project delivery, engineering change control, investment justification and programme governance in a demanding production environment.

Personal attributes:

- T echnically credible, analytical and evidence-led, with sound judgement and attention to detail.
- Accountable for delivery, with the confidence to challenge assumptions and escalate safety, quality or readiness concerns constructively.
- Practical and hands-on, with a strong shop-floor presence and a focus on sustainable solutions.
- Collaborative and influential, able to build trusted relationships across engineering, operations and supplier teams.
- Clear and concise written and verbal communication, translating complex technical issues into actionable decisions.
- Resilient and adaptable under pressure, able to prioritise competing demands without compromising standards.
- Committed to coaching, knowledge sharing and developing the technical capability of others.
- Curious and improvement-focused, combining innovation with disciplined validation and change control.
- We recognise that we can only achieve our vision with the dedication and collaboration of our world class employees. It is our aim to become the employer of choice within the global automotive industry.
- At McLaren Automotive we are constantly looking to improve. To become the employer of choice we are always looking to develop our employee offerings. We currently offer a range of benefits to employees at all levels of the business including Private Healthcare, Contributory Pension Scheme, Life Assurance and Personal Lease Car Scheme. We also offer a range of discounts with our partner organisations.

### What We'll Do for You
We offer a wide – ranging benefits package, which includes:
- Structured career development framework
- 25 days’ holiday, plus bank holiday. Annual buy & sell up to five days
- Enhanced company pension scheme
- Discretionary annual bonus award
- Private medical insurance and health cash plan
- Life assurance benefit
- Ability to apply for a sabbatical of up to one year after only two years’ service
- Benefits you can adapt to your lifestyle, such as discounted shopping
- Generous parental leave policies
- A range of wellbeing initiatives, such as employee assistance programme and free financial & mortgage advice

### Who Are We?
No restraints. No limitations. We don’t simply push boundaries. We completely rethink them. McLaren Automotive exists to create breath-taking performance road cars.
It takes a community to do what we do. A diverse group of people with many areas of expertise, united by their passion to deliver visionary products and set new benchmarks.
McLaren Automotive commits to equal opportunity for all. Diversity, Equality and Inclusion is at the heart of our impact, it drives our innovation and enables us to truly create something special. Join us on our journey.