Manufacturing Engineer Placement 2027

MBDA; Bolton; On-site; GBP 22,000 - 27,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

1 year placement starting Sept 2027

Company bonus

Pension—up to 14% total contribution

Overtime paid

25 days annual leave + extra

Flexi Leave up to 15 days

On-site facilities and parking

Healthcare Cash Plan

Job summary

MBDA is offering a 1-year Manufacturing Engineering placement at our site in the UK. The role focuses on influencing producibility, tooling, build instructions, and cost of manufacture while supporting day-to-day operations on the shop floor and on-site facilities.

Successful candidates will gain exposure to production line architecture, process development, and cross-site travel potential, with on-site work a regular requirement.

Qualifications

• Current undergraduate pursuing a degree in Physics, Maths or engineering disciplines.
• Ability to translate technical information into practical manufacturing actions.
• Willingness to learn tooling, cost analysis and production validation processes.

Responsibilities

• Define tooling needed to build products and develop build instructions.
• Assess cost of manufacture and opportunities for optimization.
• Support production lines and assist suppliers with industrial validations.
• Participate in developing new manufacturing processes.

Skills

Engineering Mind-set

Problem solving

Cost saving

Education

Undergraduate in Physics or Maths or Engineering

Tools

Simul8

SAP/MRP

Creo

Configuration Control

Job description

Manufacturing Engineering is part of the Operations directorate based at our Manufacturing Centre of Excellence.

Manufacturing consists of Assembly, Integration and Test of all our products for the company. The products we make are delivered directly to the customer/end user and therefore manufacturing are vitally important to the delivery aspects of MBDAs business.

Salary: £24,460

Dynamic working: 5 days per week on-site due to workload classification

Security clearance: British Citizen or a Dual UK national with British citizenship

Restrictions and/or limitations relating to nationality and/or rights to work may apply. As a minimum and after offer stage, all successful candidates will need to undergo HMG Basic Personnel Security Standard checks (BPSS), which are managed by the MBDA Personnel Security Team.

What we can offer you

• 1 year placement: Starting September 2027, that allows you to apply your university learning to real-world projects and technologies
• Perform well on your placement and you could secure a graduate role before your final year
• Company bonus: Based on company performance and will vary year to year
• Pension: Maximum total (employer and employee) contribution of up to 14%
• Overtime: Opportunity for paid overtime
• Annual Leave: 25 days plus option to purchase extra holiday
• Flexi Leave: Up to 15 additional days
• Facilities: Fantastic site facilities including subsidised meals, free car parking and much more…
• Healthcare Cash Plan: The Healthcare Cash Plan benefit provides the option to claim cash back on everyday healthcare expenses such as optical, dental, health and wellbeing and more.

The opportunity

Manufacturing Engineers work closely with design to influence the producibility of designs. They are also responsible for the ‘how' we build our products including being responsible for:

• Any tooling required to build our products.
• Instructions on how to build our products.
• The cost of manufacture of our products.
• The industrial validations of our production lines and our suppliers.
• Day-to-day support of our operators building our products.
• The architecture of the production lines.
• Developing new manufacturing processes.

Each day for a Manufacturing Engineer is different, it is a mix of time spent on the shop floor and office based working. There are also opportunities to travel to other MBDA sites and countries, plus visiting suppliers. As part of dynamic working there may be opportunities to do some work remotely, however due to the nature of the job, there will always be a requirement to work on site some of the time.

In Manufacturing, you are also able to not only see but also be part of the realisation of our products.

What we're looking for from you

• Current undergraduate studying towards a degree in Physics or Maths or various Engineering degrees (Aerospace, Mechanical, Manufacturing, Systems, Electrical/Electronic and General).
• An ‘Engineering Mind-set'. This is the ability to take technical information and turn it into something that can be used in building our products, the ability to find improvements and cost saving in the production of our products, the problem solving when something needs fixing.
• Training in the use of tools will be provided, as necessary, but previous use of tools such as Simul8, MRP tools (SAP), Engineering Drawing tools (Creo), Configuration Control would be an advantage.

Information

Training and Development

You’ll be able to choose between a variety of online learning platforms such as Percipio, YouLearn, Career Builder and Video Gateway. Each one is tailored to a specific type of learning. Speak to your line manager to find out more.

We encourage new learning and will provide up to £150 in financial support per year if you wish to participate in further study in your own time. You’ll have access to our Learning Gateway, which hosts the formal course catalogue and is where you can select the right training for your role and future development. The catalogue displays which courses are being delivered virtually or are classroom based. If you want to lead a team, you might be interested in our management training, designed for people of all experience levels.

Dynamic Working

The way we work is changing and your schedule will reflect that. For non-executive employees, we have a flexi-time scheme that allows you to choose, within certain parameters, when you start and finish each day and how you can use time you have accrued. If you have worked the time, you are also able to accrue and take up to 15 days of Flexi-leave per annum, in addition to the 25 days of annual leave provided and bank holidays.

Security Clearance

All employees at MBDA are required to hold UK Security or BPSS Clearance.

For further information, please view our Security & Vetting page.

Our company:

Peace is not a given, Freedom is not a given, Sovereignty is not a given

MBDA is a leading defence organisation. We are proud of the role we play in supporting the Armed Forces who protect our nations. We partner with governments to work together towards a common goal, defending our freedom.

We are proud of our employee-led networks, examples include: Gender Equality, Pride, Menopause Matters, Parents and Carers, Armed Forces, Ethnic Diversity, Neurodiversity, Disability and more…

We recognise that everyone is unique, and we encourage you to speak to us should you require any advice, support or adjustments throughout our recruitment process.

Application Process

This role is scheduled to close for applications at midnight on Monday 4th January 2027 but may close earlier depending on application volumes.