Head Of Exteriors

McLaren Automotive Ltd; Woking; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days holiday

Enhanced pension

Discretionary bonus

Private medical insurance

Life assurance

Sabbatical opportunities

Employee wellbeing programme

Job summary

McLaren Automotive Ltd. is seeking a senior Exterior Engineering Leader to own the design content for new and series vehicles and guide program delivery across multiple platforms.

You will drive cross-functional collaboration with internal teams and key external partners to meet quality, cost, and timing targets. The role requires hands-on leadership, APQP experience, and a track record of delivering high-end exterior systems in OEM or Tier 1 environments.

Qualifications

• Senior exterior systems leadership with cross-functional teams.
• Experience delivering OEM or tier-one exterior systems.
• Proven delivery within APQP framework.
• CATIA V5, MS Office proficiency.

Responsibilities

• Direct responsibility for all exterior design content for new and series vehicles.
• Lead exterior program delivery to targets, KPIs, and milestones.
• Collaborate with internal/external stakeholders on technical support.
• Mentor and coach team to develop new skills.
• Drive Lean and Continuous Improvement in engineering.

Skills

Exterior leadership

Cross-functional leadership

Automotive design & delivery

Strategic planning

Education

Mechanical or Automotive Engineering Degree

Tools

CATIA V5

MS Office

CAE tools

Job description

Overall responsibility and accountability for the following functions:

• Body Exterior Design Delivery From Surface Release To SoP + 90 Days
• Resource Planning For All Internal Design Activities
• Validation Of External Partner Designs Ensuring Compliance To McLaren Design Standards & Delivery Expectations
• Exterior Program Delivery
• Management Of Departmental Budget Submission & Target Compliance
• Series Engineering
• Engineering Warranty
• TVM (VAVE)
• Model Year Introduction Design Validation & Delivery
• Passive Safety Compliance Through Design
• Design Compliance To Programme Cost Targets Including Tooling, Material Cost & Timing
• System Based CAE Management Leading To Class Leading Design
• Management of turn key Engineering partners to ensure delivery of Program targets

Body engineering is responsible for leading and managing the engineering team in the development and implementation of Automotive products and systems complaint to program targets and homologation requirements.

The role involves overseeing the project engineering, design & development of automotive components and systems, ensuring that they meet the required quality, safety, and performance standards.

What You'll Do

Strategic and tactical responsibility for implementing project engineering design strategy and strategic operational goals to exceed customer expectations for product development, quality, cost and delivery, maximising efficiency, optimising and driving engineering excellence.

Direct responsibility for all Exterior design content for new & series vehicles

Ensure rapid response to line calls from series offering containment and countermeasure solutions to track based Engineering problems

Responsible for the design solution to legacy & any future warranty issues across the model range

Work closely with internal and external key stakeholders, customer service, manufacturing, sales and customers regarding technical support of their activities. Striving for best-in-class products and business practices to deliver and exceed internal & external customer expectations.

Providing clear leadership and vision, inspire and motivate colleagues to achieve excellence with a focus on mentoring & coaching supporting the development and growth of new skills.

Drive Key Performance Indicators across all areas of the department to ensure that all projects are delivered on cost and on time to the highest quality standards.

Ensure Health, Safety and Environmental issues are prioritised and facilitate, direct and drive implementation of Lean Business strategy and drive Continuous Improvement across all engineering related areas of the business.

• Lead the exterior engineering team to deliver all functional systems in line with targets, KPI’s and milestones set by the McLaren Development Process and Vehicle Line Directors on multiple vehicle platforms with emphasis on:
• Design and Engineering integrity to exceed quality, performance and commercial goals
• Investment Budget - including internal and outsourced labour, tooling costs and supplier or internal D&D investment
• Timing – at every step of the design and development process
• Innovation – Define future component and system technical strategies and associated technologies roadmaps. Where necessary, identify research topics, associated budgets, resource, partners and funding streams
• Lead the strategic development of the exterior engineering function & the colleagues within it to achieve the goals set by the Body Director & the McLaren Leadership team
• Manage exterior project engineering, design & series engineering functions ensuring functional target delivery across programmes
• Develop & lead the function to hot global & specific business targets
• Ensure continuous improvement is built into every aspect of the design leading to greater efficiency in program delivery
• Identify, mitigate and escalation program risks
• Lead cross functional teams to deliver guidance and management on complex business problems e.g., Supplier Champions, Strategic Business Improvement Projects
• Ensure consistency of communications to the Body Director on behalf of the department
• Ensure design-based engineering problems are solved in line with the McLaren practical problem-solving system including a robust understanding and dissemination of lesson learnt that are aimed at avoiding problem repetition and continuously improving our cars and the Company as a whole
• Manage the efficient and effective use of physical and financial resources to support activities and to achieve the objectives of the overall business plan
• Manage activities to ensure a working environment that is healthy, safe and productive
• Maximize personal performance and development as an individual as well as all individuals within your team
• Define or influence the selection of the right design & engineering business partners
• Develop the relationship, framework and ultimately the capability of external design & supply partners to ensure a right first-time approach to design, problem solving and delivery
• Promote, implement and support a Simultaneous approach to Body Styling, Design and Engineering where early engagement from all stakeholders is maximised to avoid late changes and delays in the overall process. This is clearly including internal stakeholders like Quality, Manufacturing Engineering, other Vehicle Engineering teams, Service/After sales, marketing, etc. and external stakeholders like suppliers, outsourced resource partners, etc.
• As the main centre for subject of matter expertise, make sure the function works closely with other support functions for example SQA, Purchase etc to monitor current supplier performance and develop future supply strategies
• Be a single point of escalation for all Engineering design & delivery topics

What You'll Bring

An experienced Exterior system automotive leader of direct and indirect teams

Cross functional leadership is essential in this role with experience required in the following areas :- Design principles, exterior mechanisms, plastics & composite material selection and delivery, supplier quality development, commercial acumen

Experienced in an OEM or tier one with a high level of Exterior systems technical knowledge

Proven ability in delivery project management within an APQP or similar framework.

• Large amount of experience in automotive
• Good amount of experience in automotive design and development function
• Broad amount of experience in Vehicle Platform Management
• Experience of high volume and niche vehicle (low volume) programs

Relevant Experience in Exterior design and Material technology

CATIA V5, PC literate and at ease with MS Office products.

Knowledge of Body Engineering Simulation and Analysis tools and processes

Strong focus on commercial and financial awareness

Experience of working overseas

Qualifications And Training

Mechanical or Automotive Engineering Degree

Proven experience in Leadership, coaching & mentoring across multiple areas of the business

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.