Defence Manufacturing Ops Leader — Hybrid, 21% Bonus

MBDA; Stevenage; On-site; GBP 63,000 - 77,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus up to 21% of base salary

Pension up to 14% total

Flexible working arrangements

Enhanced parental leave

Site facilities: subsidised meals, car

Parking

Job summary

MBDA in Stevenage is seeking a Manufacturing Operations Manager to lead a high‑precision production environment. You will shape operational performance and drive multi‑functional teams to deliver prototyping and development activities across critical defence programmes.

You will foster a strong continuous improvement culture, embed lean practices, and partner with engineering, quality and projects to ensure on‑time delivery, safety and cost targets.

Qualifications

• Experience as an Operations/Manufacturing Manager in a complex, regulated environment.
• Proven leadership of multidisciplinary teams with safety, quality, cost and schedule delivery.
• Experience ramping up new products or stabilising transitioning lines.
• Ability to drive continuous improvement using lean tools and change management.
• Strong stakeholder engagement across engineering, quality and project teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead multi-functional teams to deliver prototyping and development activities across defence programmes.
• Shape operations and embed best practices to achieve manufacturing excellence.
• Drive continuous improvement and lean initiatives across production operations.
• Collaborate with engineering, quality and project teams to mature production lines.

Skills

Operations management

Leadership

Continuous improvement

Lean tools

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Degree in Manufacturing or Engineering

Tools

Lean Six Sigma

Quality frameworks EN9100

Job description

MBDA in Stevenage is seeking a Manufacturing Operations Manager to lead a high‑precision production environment. You will shape operational performance and drive multi‑functional teams to deliver prototyping and development activities across critical defence programmes.

You will foster a strong continuous improvement culture, embed lean practices, and partner with engineering, quality and projects to ensure on‑time delivery, safety and cost targets.