Corporate Quality Engineering Graduate

McLaren Racing; Old Woking; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 34,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days holiday

Annual buy & sell up to five days

Enhanced pension scheme

Discretionary annual bonus

Job summary

McLaren Automotive offers a two-year rotational quality programme in the UK, spanning 4 x 6-month placements. You’ll gain a 360-degree view of quality across design, engineering and manufacturing, while developing core skills in governance, fault management and regulatory compliance.

This is an onsite role in a high-performance automotive environment. You will contribute to Programme Quality, VLQ, and product quality standards, with mentoring and cross-functional project involvement as part of

Qualifications

• Must have a 2:1 or higher in a STEM or Business-related discipline.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with attention to technical detail.
• Effective communication and stakeholder engagement abilities.
• Passion for the automotive industry and continuous improvement.

Responsibilities

• Support governance of programme quality and Q-Gate release processes.
• Contribute to fault management and ensure teams follow quality protocols.
• Collaborate across Engineering, Operations and Programme Management to maintain delivery standards.
• Conduct inspections, fault analysis and quality testing on McLaren vehicles.

Skills

Analytical skills

Communication

Problem solving

Attention to detail

AI proficiency

Collaboration

Passion for cars

Education

2:1 STEM or Business

Tools

Microsoft Office

Minitab

Power BI

Job description

What You’ll Do

This is a two-year rotational programme (4 x 6-month placements) designed to build your knowledge of the entire product lifecycle-from concept through to customer delivery-while helping you develop the skills required for a successful career in quality management and automotive operations. Please note this is an onsite position. Throughout the programme, you’ll rotate across key pillars of the Corporate Quality function, gaining a 360-degree view of how quality drives business performance and brand reputation at McLaren.

Technical & Programme Quality

• Support governance of programme quality and Q-Gate release processes
• Contribute to fault management and ensure functional teams follow aligned quality protocols
• Collaborate across Engineering, Operations, and Programme Management to maintain delivery standards

Vehicle Line Quality (VLQ)

• Conduct inspections, fault analysis, and quality testing on McLaren vehicles
• Review warranty and field performance data to identify trends and drive improvements
• Support quality audit activities throughout the build and launch process

Product Quality Standards

• Work across Design, Engineering, and Marketing to ensure perceived quality is built into every vehicle
• Support tolerance stack analysis and benchmarking to uphold McLaren’s premium aesthetic and fit/finish expectations

Total Quality Management (TQM)

• Contribute to regulatory and safety compliance governance
• Support change control processes and audit readiness for global markets
• Participate in cross-functional reviews to ensure alignment with international quality standards

Materials Engineering / Laboratory

• Assist in material selection, testing, and performance reviews for new and existing components
• Conduct failure analysis and support the implementation of durability improvements
• Manage and distribute material property data to the wider engineering teams using database tools

You’ll also be part of wider graduate development activities including mentoring, cross-functional projects, and business wide innovation challenges.

What You’ll Bring

• You must have achieved, or be on track to achieve, a 2:1 or above in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) or Business-related discipline
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with an attention to technical detail
• Effective communication and stakeholder engagement abilities
• A passion for the automotive industry, product excellence, and continuous improvement
• Confidence using Microsoft Office tools; familiarity with tools like Minitab, Power BI, or quality systems is a plus
• You must also bring a passion for cars, and a desire to work at the cutting edge of the automotive industry within our Quality business area, We’re looking for graduates who bring the mindset and behaviours to succeed in a high-performance, engineering-led environment.

Ideal candidates will demonstrate

• Curiosity for quality - a drive to understand how every detail impacts performance, reliability, and customer satisfaction
• Analytical mindset - confident working with technical data and using it to support decisions
• Attention to detail - precise and methodical in tasks involving testing, inspection, or documentation
• Problem-solving ability - able to identify root causes and contribute to practical, cost-effective solutions
• Resilience - able to handle challenges with a solutions-focused mindset
• Collaboration - strong interpersonal skills to work across functions and influence stakeholders
• Integrity - committed to upholding product safety, compliance, and ethical engineering standards
• AI proficiency - Comfortable using AI tools ethically and effectively to support learning, productivity, innovation, and problem-solving
• Passion for innovation - enthusiasm for new technologies, continuous improvement, and pushing boundaries

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.

What We’ll Do for You

We offer a wide-ranging benefits package, which includes:

• 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
• Benefits you can adapt to your lifestyle, such as discounted shopping
• A range of wellbeing initiatives, such as employee assistance programme and free financial & mortgage advice
• Opportunities to experience our fantastic cars