McLaren Automotive Ltd
DVA Strategy Manager
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What to Expect
As a DVA Strategy Manager within Design Execution Validation, you are accountable for the definition, governance, and consistent delivery of Part Quality Definition (PQD), datum strategy, and tolerancing across all vehicle programmes.
PQD defines how parts mount, locate, and interface on the vehicle, forming the foundation for engineering design execution. You are responsible for ensuring that PQDs are clearly defined, scalable, and uniformly applied across the organisation, enabling robust, buildable designs.
This role operates at a senior management level, setting the direction, standards, and operating framework for dimensional engineering, while ensuring delivery is executed effectively through a team of DVA Programme Leads embedded within each programme.
You act as the organisation’s authority for dimensional definition, influencing senior stakeholders and ensuring alignment between design intent, manufacturing capability, and product quality targets, with a direct impact on Engineering Right First Time (RFT) performance.
What You'll Do
DVA Strategy Coordination
- Own the definition and deployment of PQD as the enterprise standard for how parts mount and interface on the vehicle. Ensure all the PQS Sprints are timely planes and delivered.
- Establish PQD as a core element of engineering governance, ensuring consistent interpretation and application across all programmes.
- Ensure strategies are scalable, repeatable, and consistently applied across programmes.
- Drive alignment between design, manufacturing, and quality functions to ensure feasibility and robustness.
- Act as the senior authority for dimensional strategy across the business.
- Represent dimensional strategy in programme reviews, governance forums, and business decision-making.
- Ensure dimensional considerations are embedded in key product and engineering decisions.
Programme Delivery Accountability
- Hold overall accountability for delivery of DVA and dimensional quality targets across all programmes.
- Ensure readiness and robustness of gateway deliverables at a portfolio level, rather than at individual programme execution level.
- Provide a portfolio-wide view of dimensional risks, driving early intervention where required.
- Ensure consistency of methodologies, outputs, and maturity across all programmes.
- Effectively communicate concerns to senior management for concept/business decisions.
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Leadership Through Programme DVA Leads
- Lead and manage a team of DVA Programme Leads, each accountable for implementation within their respective programmes.
- Set clear direction, expectations, and performance standards for delivery of PQD, datum, and tolerancing.
- Provide oversight and assurance, ensuring consistent quality and adherence to standards across all programmes.
- Intervene at a senior level to resolve any cross-programme conflicts, high-risk dimensional issues, strategic misalignments.
- Provide an integrated link between design intent, quality target expectation, and engineering drawing/quality control plan definition to ensure robust design capability and effective communication.
Governance, Standards & Capability Development
- Define and maintain the DVA standards, frameworks, and governance over tolerances.
- Drive consistency in PQD implementation, Datum and tolerancing approaches.
- Build and develop a high-performing DVA leadership capability through Programme Leads.
- Ensure alignment between engineering, simulation, and manufacturing disciplines into a unified dimensional strategy.
What You'll Bring
Knowledge, Skills And Experience
- Degree in Mechanical/Automotive Engineering or similar with extensive experience in dimensional engineering.
- Deep expertise in: GD&T (BS8888/ISO1101), Datum strategy and location principles, Tolerancing strategy at system and vehicle level.
- Proven experience operating at senior or leadership level within complex programme environments.
- Strong track record of influencing engineering design direction and delivery outcomes.
- Experience leading teams through a management layer (Leads/senior engineers).
- Strong understanding of manufacturing processes, variation drivers, and assembly systems.
- Familiarity with DVA simulation tools (e.g. 3DCS) to support strategy and decision-making.
- Experience of 8D or Practical Problem Solving (PPS).
- Methodical approach to work with strong analytical skills.
- Self-starter capable of using initiative.
- Experience with the launch of low volume vehicles into the production environment.
- New product development experience in the automotive industry.
- The application of best practice location strategies for a range of components/assemblies, materials, and manufacturing processes covering composites, polymer mouldings, pressed steel/aluminium sheet metal, castings, and laminates.
- Understanding of SPC, statistics, and process capabilities.
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Personal Attributes
- Strong leadership presence with the ability to influence at senior and executive levels.
- Strategic mindset with accountability for business-critical outcomes.
- Confident in setting direction and holding engineering teams to account.
- Excellent communication skills, able to translate complex technical topics into business impact.
- High level of resilience and adaptability in a fast-paced programme environment.
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.
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