McLaren Automotive Ltd
Head Of Production Steering and Manufacturing Innovation
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What to Expect
This is an exciting opportunity to join the senior leadership team, reporting to the Director of Manufacturing Engineering, providing series manufacturing support and shaping the future of Manufacturing tools and process. You’ll translate functional strategy into clear, executable plans and hold end-to-end accountability for defined business outcomes within delegated authority, including responsibility for people, budgets and technical delivery across this critical area.
You’ll provide functional leadership across McLaren’s manufacturing operation for the production areas within scope, covering all manufacturing innovation teams supporting assigned current and future vehicle programmes from concept and process development through industrialisation, launch, vehicle validation and customer-ready buy-off.
What You'll Do
Health & Safety
- Champion a safe working environment and ensure manufacturing engineering decisions, processes, equipment and facilities meet applicable safety and regulatory requirements.
- Embed safety-by-design and hold the team accountable for identifying, escalating and resolving risk.
Functional and Technical Leadership
- Lead series manufacturing and manufacturing innovation.
- Own strategy deployment, technical governance, engineering standards, methods and assurance for all tools, processes and transformation workstreams.
- Partnering closely with Operations, Quality, Product Development and relevant external partners to deliver aligned outcomes.
Programme Delivery and Quality
- Hold direct accountability for manufacturing engineering readiness.
- Ensure processes, equipment and facilities deliver agreed programme gateways, start-of-production timing, first-time quality, throughput, safety, efficiency and customer-ready release targets, working with Operations and Quality within their respective accountabilities.
People and Capability Leadership
- Lead a multidisciplinary Manufacturing Engineering team, creating an inclusive, high-performing and collaborative environment.
- Shape the organisation design, capability plan, succession pipeline and technical development priorities needed to deliver the functional roadmap and build sustainable capability across the assigned scope.
Complex Problem Solving
- Lead the resolution of complex and frequently non-routine manufacturing challenges involving new technologies, concurrent vehicle programmes, capacity constraints and evolving information.
- Integrate technical, commercial and operational evidence, use recognised problem-solving methods and balance cost, quality, safety and delivery trade-offs to achieve sustainable outcomes.
Operational Excellence and Transformation
- Drive improvements in launch performance, production efficiency, resource utilisation and vehicle validation without compromising safety or quality.
- Champion appropriate technologies, robust engineering methods and a continuous-improvement culture, with measurable outcomes across the assigned scope.
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Strategy and Functional Roadmap
- Develop and deliver the Manufacturing innovation roadmap aligned with the company’s manufacturing strategy and approved business plan.
- Shape future capacity, technology, facility and capability requirements, recommend portfolio priorities and lead measurable transformation across the assigned scope.
Technical Authority
- Set technical standards and priorities, using delegated authority to make key decisions on manufacturing processes, equipment, resources, suppliers and launch readiness within agreed budgets and programme parameters.
Stakeholder and Supplier Leadership
- Influence and align senior stakeholders across Manufacturing, Product Development, Quality, IT, Supply Chain, Finance and vehicle programmes, resolving competing cost, quality, timing and technical priorities.
- Represent the function in senior governance forums.
Financial and Resource Accountability
- Control the Manufacturing Engineering people and overhead budget, preparing robust forecasts and capital expenditure proposals to keep investment aligned with the business plan.
- Oversee spend and resources from project identification through to completion, ensuring effective governance, value delivery and compliance with legal and financial requirements.
Success in the Role
You’ll be successful through delivering programme milestones and start-of-production dates, achieving quality, safety, cost and efficiency targets, enabling customer-ready vehicle release, and building a capable and sustainable Manufacturing Engineering team.
What You'll Bring
- A degree or equivalent professional expertise in Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality Management or a related discipline.
- Substantial senior-level experience leading Manufacturing Engineering across DC Tooling implimentation, Virtual build governance, manufacturing 4.0 strategies and IT transformation workstreams.
- A strong track record of leading multidisciplinary teams, managers or technical leaders and building organisational capability, succession and technical development.
- Sound understanding of machinery safety and manufacturing equipment compliance, including risk assessment, PUWER and LOLER responsibilities.
- Deep knowledge of Manufacturing strategies, technologies, processes, facilities, technical standards and best practice across the manufacturing lifecycle.
- Experience translating strategy into a multi-year functional roadmap and delivering measurable improvements in launch readiness, cost, quality, safety, throughput and efficiency.
- Experience exercising delegated authority over technical standards, process and equipment selection, resources, suppliers, investment proposals, launch readiness and production acceptance.
- The technical judgement to integrate engineering, commercial and operational evidence, make timely decisions with incomplete information and resolve competing cost, quality, safety and delivery priorities.
- Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders across Manufacturing, Product Development, Quality, Supply Chain, Finance and programme leadership, including effective supplier and external-partner negotiation.
- Experience governing manufacturing systems, equipment, facilities and core technical documentation, including work instructions and PFMEA, to support safe, compliant and consistent programme delivery.
- Strong structured problem-solving expertise, including DMAIC and the seven basic quality tools, with evidence of resolving complex, non-routine manufacturing challenges and embedding sustainable corrective action.
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Personal attributes
- Highly motivated, resilient, assertive and process / data driven.
- Dynamic, with the ability to respond to challenging situations in an innovative manner.
- Clear Communication Skills: Effective communication is essential. As a head of manufacturing engineering, you’ll interact across the business at all levels. Clear communication both written and oral is vital for explaining instructions, presenting solutions, and avoiding project failure.
- Team Player, quickly develop good working relationships / Teamwork: You succeed with your team. Encourage, empower, and improve team members.
- Trustworthy, building trust within the organisation is crucial for this role. Trust fosters positive dynamics and contributes to successful outcomes despite challenging situations faced.
- Ability to think logically whilst ensuring day to day operation objectives are met. Passion for coaching and motivating people.
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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