Manufacturing Engineer – Paint (Series Production)

McLaren Automotive Ltd; Woking; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days’ holiday

Enhanced company pension scheme

Discretionary annual bonus

Private medical insurance

Life assurance

Job summary

McLaren Automotive is seeking a Paint Manufacturing Engineer to support series production in Woking. You will help maintain stable, capable paint processes, investigate issues, and drive improvements across quality, cost, and delivery in a live production environment.

You will work closely with Manufacturing, Quality, Production, Maintenance, Materials, and Operations teams to resolve process issues and improve first-time quality and efficiency.

Qualifications

• Degree in Mechanical or Automotive Engineering or equivalent manufacturing engineering experience.
• Experience in a live series production environment is advantageous.
• Familiarity with PFMEA, control plans and change control processes.

Responsibilities

• Provide engineering support to Paint series production ensuring stable, capable, safe, and efficient processes.
• Investigate production, quality, and process issues using structured problem-solving methods to identify root causes.
• Monitor process performance, identify trends, and drive continuous improvement for first-time quality and throughput.
• Support Paint Shop readiness for daily production needs including tooling, fixtures, and standard operating conditions.
• Lead or support PFMEA reviews, control plans, and process change management within series production.
• Work with cross-functional teams to reduce downtime and improve repeatability.

Skills

Manufacturing engineering

Root cause analysis

PFMEA

Process improvement

Lean manufacturing

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical/Automotive Engineering

Tools

Paint jig tooling

Process equipment maintenance

Job description

What to Expect

We are recruiting Paint Manufacturing Engineers for Series Production to join our Manufacturing Engineering department in Woking. In this role, you will support the day-to-day performance, stability, and continuous improvement of Paint processes within a live production environment, while contributing to quality, cost, delivery, safety, and efficiency objectives.

You will work closely with Manufacturing, Quality, Production, Maintenance, Materials, and Operations teams to resolve process issues, improve first-time quality, maintain process capability, and support robust series production performance.

What You'll Do

• Provide manufacturing engineering support to Paint series production areas, ensuring processes remain stable, capable, safe, and efficient.
• Investigate and resolve production, quality, and process-related concerns, applying structured problem-solving methods to identify root cause and implement robust corrective actions.
• Monitor process performance, identify trends, and drive continuous improvement activities to improve first-time quality, throughput, rework levels, and operational efficiency.
• Support Paint Shop readiness for daily production requirements, including process availability, tooling, fixtures, jigs, consumables, and standard operating conditions.
• Maintain and improve paint application methods, process parameters, work instructions, and standardised ways of working.
• Lead or support PFMEA reviews, control plan updates, risk reduction activities, and process change management within the series production environment.
• Work with Production, Quality, and Maintenance teams to reduce downtime, improve repeatability, and ensure timely resolution of process issues.
• Support facility, layout, and capacity improvement activities to optimise flow, efficiency, and operational performance within Paint.
• Generate, analyse, and report Hours Per Car and other operational performance data to support efficiency tracking, cost reduction, and continuous improvement.
• Support part quality maturation, concern containment, escalation, and long-term corrective action to protect customer quality and production delivery.

What You'll Bring

You will ideally hold a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, or a related discipline, or bring equivalent experience gained in a similar manufacturing engineering role.

Experience in one or more of the following areas would be advantageous

• Manufacturing engineering support within a live series production environment.
• Paint application processes, process control, defect reduction, and quality improvement activities.
• Root cause analysis and structured problem-solving methods, such as 5 Why, Ishikawa, 8D, or similar approaches.
• PFMEA, control plans, process change control, standard operating procedures, and work instruction development.
• Specification, maintenance, and improvement of paint jigs, fixtures, tooling, and process equipment.
• Vehicle assembly processes, end-of-line vehicle processing, finishing, rework, or rectification environments.
• Continuous improvement, lean manufacturing, cost reduction, throughput improvement, and safe working practices within a manufacturing or production environment.

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.