Lead Engineer - Carbon Fibre Structures

McLaren Automotive Ltd; Woking; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days holiday

Enhanced pension scheme

Discretionary annual bonus

Private medical insurance

Life assurance

Sabbatical option

Wellbeing initiatives

Job summary

McLaren Automotive Ltd. seeks a Lead Engineer to head the design and engineering of carbon fibre structures across multiple vehicle lines and projects. You will drive robust delivery via the McLaren Development Process (MDP) and coordinate with Vehicle Line management.

You will lead a technical team, manage budgets and schedules, and ensure design integrity while delivering on quality, performance and commercial goals across R&D to production.

Qualifications

• Experience leading cross-functional engineering teams.
• Proven background in OEM or Tier-1 environments with carbon fibre structures.
• Track record delivering design and engineering targets from R&D to production.
• Strong knowledge of manufacturing processes for carbon composites.
• Ability to manage budgets, scheduling and supplier relationships.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and engineering of carbon fibre structures across vehicle lines and projects.
• Manage and coordinate technical experts to deliver systems on time, to targets and milestones.
• Ensure design integrity to meet quality, performance and commercial goals.
• Collaborate with Vehicle Line and Body Engineering leadership to define project goals.
• Achieve BOM cost targets and manage investment budgets including internal and outsourced labor.
• Deliver Technical Specifications, DVPs and DFMEAs in line with standards.
• Define future component and system technical strategies and roadmaps; identify budgets and topics.
• Contain Quality Concerns within programme targets and resolve QCRs.
• Develop relationships with outsourced partners and implement performance management.
• Promote a simultaneous approach to Body Styling, Design and Engineering with early stakeholder engagement.
• Develop technical competence to provide DFMEA/DFM support without sole reliance on suppliers.
• Support supplier nomination strategy to ensure timely DFM input and RFT releases.

Skills

Leadership

Carbon Fibre Composites

Automotive Industry Knowledge

Product Development

Education

Degree in Mechanical or Automotive Engineering

Tools

DFMEA tool usage

GD&T

Body Engineering Simulation

Job description

What to Expect

Lead the design and engineering of a specific set of carbon fibre structures components across all McLaren Automotive vehicle lines and projects. Ensuring the systems and components you are responsible for are delivered robustly via McLaren Development Process {MDP] together with all applicable attributes; Passive Safety, Weight, NVH and Quality of Design. All areas to be delivered on time and budget. The scope of the role covers all projects from R&D stage to series production and vehicles in the field.

The Lead Engineer is a true technical leader and expert in his/her area of responsibility. This role will work within a matrix organization with direct report line to the Engineering Manager whilst delivering towards project-based goals set by Vehicle Line management leaders on multiple parallel projects.

What You'll Do

• Management and Coordination of technical experts in their field (Project Engineers, Design Engineers).
• Lead the team to deliver all systems in line with targets, KPI’s and milestones set by the MDP and Vehicle Line management leaders, on multiple vehicle programmes.
• Achieve required standards on Design and Engineering integrity to exceed quality, performance and commercial goals.
• Working closely with Vehicle line and Body Engineering leadership and other relevant stakeholders support the definition and implementation of all goals for all projects/systems under your responsibility (i.e. HLP, ETRS, budget, BOM, Spec book)
• Achieve the BOM cost target on all systems you are responsible for.
• Achieve the Investment Budget - including internal and outsourced labour, tooling costs and supplier or internal D&D investment.
• Deliver Technical Specifications, DVPs, DFMEAs for all systems you are responsible of and in line with McLaren and VCA standards.
• Innovation – Define future component and system technical strategies and associated technologies roadmaps. Identify research topics, associated budgets, resource, partners and funding streams, where necessary.
• Contain Quality Concerns [QCRs] within programme targets.
• Solve/Close QCRs promptly and in line with McLaren Quality Concern Management system [PPS] including a robust understanding and dissemination of lesson learnt that are aimed at avoiding problem repetition and continuous improvement.
• Develop the relationship, framework and ultimately the capability of your strategic outsourced resource partners including a clear performance management process.
• 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 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.
• Develop a high level of technical competence within the in-house team to provide a significant and immediate DFM support to the design process without necessarily relying on suppliers
• Support the supplier nomination strategy to deliver prompt and accurate Technical Specifications and DFM input into the design process to achieve RFT releases and to avoid styling process delays.

What You'll Bring

• Experience in leadership and influencing of direct and indirect teams
• Experienced in an OEM or tier one with a high level of Body Structures systems technical knowledge, particularly in field of Carbon Fibre Composites
• Experience on a wide range of systems and components such as crash structures, monocoques, subframes, and other vehicle structures
• Knowledge of Carbon Fibre composites manufacturing technologies

Pre-preg and Autoclave

RTM (High/Low pressure, VARTM)

Press Moulding (CSMC, SMC, fast cure Prepreg)

Hand layup, press forming, braiding, filament winding

• Experience of Composite materials destructive and non-destructive testing and FE Analysis
• Experience with cost estimation and engineering of carbon composites parts
• Proven ability in delivery project management within an APQP or similar framework
• Good level of experience in automotive design and development function
• Experience of high volume and niche vehicle (low volume) programmes
• Relevant Experience in Lightweight Body Design and materials technology
• PC literate and at ease with MS Office products
• Knowledge of DFMEA and its application in automotive environment
• Knowledge of GD&T
• Knowledge of Body Engineering Simulation and Analysis tools and processes
• Sound commercial and financial awareness
• Educated to Degree level in Mechanical or Automotive Engineering

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.