Manufacturing Industrial Placement 2027

McLaren Racing; Old Woking; On-site; GBP 18,000 - 23,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days holidays

Enhanced pension

Discretionary annual bonus

Private medical insurance

Life assurance

Wellbeing initiatives

Experience McLaren cars

Job summary

McLaren Automotive is seeking an Industrial Placement Intern to join the Manufacturing Engineering team at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey. The 12-month, full-time placement provides hands-on experience in high-performance automotive manufacturing and live production support projects.

You will learn from experienced engineers, contribute to build processes, continuous improvement, and gain exposure to tools and practices that deliver performance at scale.

Qualifications

• Pursuing Mechanical/Manufacturing/Automotive Engineering degree at a UK university, on track for 2:1.
• Interest in engineering excellence and precision manufacturing.
• Ambition to work in a dynamic production environment.

Responsibilities

• Support integration of new model build processes into live production.
• Assist in process mapping, sequencing and traceability documentation.
• Contribute to engineering change assessments and design reviews coordination.
• Participate in time and motion studies and line balancing to improve efficiency.
• Identify production bottlenecks and collaborate to resolve issues.
• Apply lean principles to reduce waste and improve build quality.
• Assist with facility layout planning and production simulation modelling.

Skills

Analytical mindset

Communication skills

Collaboration

Attention to detail

Problem solving

Adaptability

Initiative

Resilience

AI proficiency

Education

Mechanical/Manufacturing/Automotive Engineering degree (2:1)

Job description

We are recruiting for an Industrial Placement Intern to join our Manufacturing Engineering team at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey. As a Manufacturing Intern, you'll support critical operations across our production environment-helping to implement new build processes, drive continuous improvement, and contribute to the performance and precision McLaren is known for.

This is a 12-month, full-time Industrial Placement designed to give you hands-on experience and practical insight into high-performance automotive manufacturing. You'll work alongside experienced engineers and production professionals, gaining exposure to the tools, processes, and mindset that bring our iconic cars to life.

Please note this is an on-site position (5 days per week).

What You’ll Do

During your Industrial Placement Year, you will be immersed in core manufacturing functions. You’ll play an active role in live engineering and production support projects. Key responsibilities may include:

• Supporting the integration of new model build processes into live production.
• Assisting in process mapping, sequencing, and maintaining traceability documentation.
• Contributing to engineering change assessments and helping to coordinate design reviews.
• Participating in time and motion studies and line balancing to improve efficiency.
• Helping to identify production bottlenecks and working cross-functionally to resolve issues.
• Applying lean principles to reduce waste, enhance productivity, and improve build quality.
• Collaborating on facility layout planning and production simulation modelling.
• Supporting wider manufacturing projects as needed based on business requirements.

Throughout the Industrial Placement Year, you’ll gain an understanding of how McLaren delivers performance at scale -from initial process design to final vehicle assembly-and build key skills to support your early career.

What You’ll Bring

• You must be currently be on track to achieve at least a 2:1 and be studying for a Mechanical, Manufacturing, Automotive Engineering, or related degree at a UK university.
• A strong interest in engineering excellence and precision manufacturing.
• Enthusiasm for the automotive industry and a desire to work in a dynamic production setting.
• Analytical mindset and willingness to engage with real-world engineering challenges.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills.
• Basic understanding of manufacturing concepts such as lean principles or process mapping is advantageous.

You must also bring a passion for cars, and a desire to work at the cutting edge of the automotive industry within our Manufacturing business area.

Personal Attributes

We’re looking for individuals who are curious, proactive, and driven to contribute in a fast-moving production environment. Key traits include:

• Hands‑on mindset - ready to roll up your sleeves and support real-time manufacturing projects.
• Attention to detail - accuracy in planning, measuring, and reporting is critical.
• Problem‑solving - analytical thinker who can spot inefficiencies and suggest improvements.
• Adaptability - able to work across different production functions and embrace fast change.
• Collaboration - works effectively with technicians, engineers, and cross‑functional teams.
• Initiative - takes ownership of tasks and actively looks for ways to contribute.
• Resilience - stays focused and positive in a high‑pressure, performance‑driven environment.
• Commercial awareness - appreciates how quality, time, and cost interact in manufacturing.
• AI proficiency - comfortable using AI tools ethically and effectively to support learning, productivity and problem‑solving.
• Communication - clear, respectful, and confident when sharing ideas or updates.

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.

• Passion for performance - aligned with McLaren's commitment to engineering excellence.

What We’ll Do for You

We offer a wide‑ranging benefits package, which includes:

• 25 days' holidays, 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
• Benefits you can adapt to your lifestyle, such as discounted shopping
• A range of wellbeing initiatives, such as employee assistance programme and free financial & mortgage advice
• Opportunities to experience our fantastic cars