Principal Manufacturing Engineer - Function

BAE Systems; Kirkby-in-Furness; On-site; GBP 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading engineering firm in the UK is seeking a Principal Manufacturing Engineer to lead a skilled team and oversee manufacturing projects. The ideal candidate will have a relevant degree and strong project management experience. This role offers a competitive salary, excellent benefits, and the opportunity to contribute significantly to manufacturing methods and quality standards.

Benefits

Competitive pension scheme

Employee share plans

Flexible health and wellbeing benefits

Qualifications

• Experience delivering results on time and within budget, focusing on safety.
• Chartered or Incorporated Engineer status is desirable.
• Experience leading and delivering small-scale projects.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate a team to achieve business objectives.
• Oversee project delivery, managing schedules and budgets.
• Engage with stakeholders using agreed tools and systems.

Skills

Relevant degree with industry experience

Strong project management

Strong analytical skills

Leadership or management training

Education

Relevant degree or HNC in Manufacturing

Tools

Engineering software proficiency

Job description

Overview

Job title: Principal Manufacturing Engineer - Function

Location: Barrow-in-Furness. On-site

Salary: Circa GBP50,000 depending on experience

Responsibilities

• 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: 8 th October 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.