Principal Manufacturing Engineer - Function

BAE Systems.; Barrow-in-Furness; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading defense contractor in Barrow-in-Furness is seeking a Principal Manufacturing Engineer to lead a skilled team and drive improvements in manufacturing processes. The ideal candidate will have a relevant degree or significant industry experience, and possess strong leadership and project management skills. This role offers a competitive salary and a range of employee benefits including flexible health plans and a pension scheme.

Benefits

Competitive pension scheme

Employee share plans

Flexible health and wellness benefits

Private health plans

Shopping discounts

Qualifications

• Relevant degree with some industry experience or HNC with significant Manufacturing experience.
• Strong track record of delivering results on time and within budget.
• Chartered or Incorporated Engineer status (CEng/Ieng) is desirable.
• Leadership or management training/qualifications preferred.
• Project management experience required.
• Strong analytical skills with ability to solve complex problems.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate a team to meet business objectives.
• Provide expert technical guidance and drive improvements.
• Oversee project delivery, managing schedules and budgets.
• Chair technical meetings and ensure alignment with deliverables.
• Engage with stakeholders to meet project goals.
• Act as technical lead for audits and resource planning.

Skills

Leadership

Problem-solving

Project Management

Analytical Skills

Engineering Tools Proficiency

Education

Relevant degree or HNC with manufacturing experience

Tools

Relevant engineering software

Job description

Overview

Job title: Principal Manufacturing Engineer - Function

Location: Barrow-in-Furness. On-site

Salary: Circa £50,000 depending on experience

What you'll be doing

• Lead and coordinate a team, ensuring delivery against business objectives, including training, development, and support toward professional accreditation (CEng/Ieng/EngTech)
• Provide expert technical guidance, leveraging product/process knowledge and innovation to resolve issues and drive continuous improvement
• Oversee project delivery, managing schedules, budgets, performance, configuration control, and governance prior to release
• Chair technical meetings and reviews, ensuring alignment with Manufacturing Engineering deliverables and quality standard
• Engage with internal and external stakeholders, applying agreed tools and systems (e.g. Life Cycle Management, production tools) to meet project goals
• Act as technical lead and signatory, supporting audits, peer reviews, resource planning, and technology business cases

Your skills and experiences

• Relevant degree with some industry experience, or HNC with significant Manufacturing experience
• Strong track record of delivering results on time and within budget, with a focus on safety
• Chartered or Incorporated Engineer status (CEng/Ieng) is desirable, or actively working towards accreditation
• Leadership or management training/qualifications, or a willingness to undertake them
• Project management experience, with the ability to lead and deliver small-scale projects
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to solve complex problems and proficiency in relevant engineering tools and software

Benefits

As well as a competitive pension scheme, BAE Systems also offers employee share plans, an extensive range of flexible discounted health, wellbeing and lifestyle benefits, including a green car scheme, private health plans and shopping discounts - you may also be eligible for an annual incentive.

The Manufacturing Engineering Function team

This is an exciting opportunity to play a pivotal leadership role in shaping the future of manufacturing within a highly complex, cutting-edge engineering environment. As a Principal Manufacturing Engineering - Function, you'll head up a skilled team delivering cross-discipline projects that directly impact the build performance of world-class products. You'll drive the development and implantation of manufacturing methods that meet the highest standards of safety, quality, cost, and delivery across the full product lifecycle. With significant scope to influence operations, manage resources, and ensure alignment between engineering design and manufacturing execution, this role offers both strategic impact and professional growth in a dynamic and critical area of the business. We offer relocation support across all Submarine roles, subject to meeting eligibility criteria

Why BAE Systems?

This is a place where you will be able to make a real difference. You'll be part of an inclusive culture that values diversity of thought, rewards integrity, and merit, and where you'll be empowered to fulfil your potential. We welcome people from all backgrounds and want to make sure that our recruitment processes are as inclusive as possible. If you have a disability or health condition (for example dyslexia, autism, an anxiety disorder etc.) that may affect your performance in certain assessment types, please speak to your recruiter about potential reasonable adjustments.

Please be aware that many roles at BAE Systems are subject to both security and export control restrictions. These restrictions mean that factors such as your nationality, any nationalities you may have previously held, and your place of birth can restrict the roles you are eligible to perform within the organisation. All applicants must as a minimum achieve Baseline Personnel Security Standard. Many roles also require higher levels of National Security Vetting where applicants must typically leave 5 to 10 years of continuous residency in the UK depending in the vetting level required for the role, to allow for meaningful security vetting checks.

Closing Date

Closing Date: 24th September 2025

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.