Senior Coatings Specialist

Spirax Sarco; Cheltenham; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 76,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

27 days holiday allowance

Private healthcare

Enhanced pension plan

Life assurance

Share Ownership Plan

Free onsite parking

Flexible benefits

Volunteer leave

Job summary

Spirax Sarco in Cheltenham is seeking an experienced Senior Coatings Specialist to lead coating and corrosion protection activities within our manufacturing operations. You will set technical direction, ensure surface preparation, coating application, inspection and quality compliance across multiple projects.

You will collaborate with engineering, quality and production teams, liaise with coating suppliers, review specifications and drive continuous improvement to meet customer and regulatory

Qualifications

• Strong experience in surface treatment, coatings or coating inspection.

Responsibilities

• Lead and provide technical expertise on coating systems and corrosion protection.
• Review coating specifications and develop solutions for projects.
• Coordinate with suppliers and contractors to resolve challenges and optimise processes.
• Verify surface preparation methods and cleanliness against standards.
• Inspect coating application for procedure compliance and customer requirements.
• Measure wet film thickness (WFT) and dry film thickness (DFT).
• Perform adhesion, holiday detection and curing tests.
• Identify non-conformances and drive corrective actions.
• Produce inspection records and supporting documentation.
• Support acceptance activities, handovers and coating dossiers.
• Authorize acceptance or rejection of coating work as needed.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Stakeholder management

Decision making

Attention to detail

Problem solving

Quality enforcement

Conflict resolution

Technical reporting

Continuous improvement

Mentoring

Education

Engineering degree or equivalent STEM

FROSIO Level 3 Coatings Inspector

AMPP CIP Level 2/3 Coatings Inspector

ICorr Coating Inspector Level 2/3

DIN-Certified Coating Inspector

Job description

The Role

We are looking for an experienced Senior Coatings Specialist to join our manufacturing operations team in Cheltenham. This is a key technical role responsible for providing expert guidance on coating and corrosion protection systems, ensuring the highest standards of surface preparation, coating application, inspection and quality compliance across a range of products and projects.

Working closely with engineering, quality, production and supplier teams, you will act as the subject matter expert for coating solutions, helping to drive quality, continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Location: Cheltenham, Gloucestershire

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and provide technical expertise on coating systems, corrosion protection and production methods.
• Support engineering and engineer-to-order projects with coating specification reviews and solution development.
• Liaise directly with coating suppliers and contractors to resolve technical challenges and optimise coating processes.
• Verify surface preparation methods, cleanliness standards and environmental conditions.
• Inspect coating application activities to ensure compliance with approved procedures and customer requirements.
• Measure and record wet film thickness (WFT) and dry film thickness (DFT).
• Perform and witness coating tests including adhesion testing, holiday detection and curing checks.
• Identify non-conformances, recommend corrective actions and contribute to continuous improvement initiatives.
• Produce accurate inspection records, reports and supporting documentation.
• Support final acceptance activities, handovers and coating dossiers.
• Authorise acceptance or rejection of coating work and intervene where quality, safety or specification compliance is at risk.

Your Experience

• Strong experience in surface treatment, coatings or coating inspection.
• Proven experience inspecting industrial coating systems on steel and/or metallic substrates.
• Experience creating or maintaining work instructions and technical documentation.
• Experience working within established quality management systems.
• Background in sectors such as manufacturing, offshore, oil & gas, energy, marine, infrastructure or heavy fabrication would be advantageous.
• Experience with valves or valve-related products is desirable.
• Understanding of ISO 9001 quality standards is beneficial.

Your Skills

• Engineering degree, HND or HNC in a STEM-related discipline.
• Recognised coating inspection certification such as: FROSIO Surface Treatment Inspector Level 3, AMPP Coatings Inspector Program (CIP) Level 2 or 3, ICorr Coating Inspector Level 2 or 3, DIN-Certified Coating Inspector, or equivalent
• Strong leadership, communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to make independent technical decisions and sound quality judgements.
• High attention to detail with a proactive approach to problem solving.
• Professional and confident approach to quality enforcement and conflict resolution.
• Ability to communicate effectively with customers, suppliers, contractors and internal teams.
• Capability to produce clear, accurate and timely technical reports.
• Passion for continuous improvement and developing others.

Why join us?

This is an excellent opportunity to become a recognised technical expert within a growing manufacturing environment, where your knowledge and expertise will directly impact product quality, customer satisfaction and operational performance. You'll work alongside experienced teams, influence best practice and play a pivotal role in delivering high-quality engineered products.

The Steam Thermal Solutions business is one of three businesses within Spirax Group. Spirax Sarco and Gestra, are our two brands that form Steam Thermal Solutions and are global leaders in the supply of engineered solutions for the design, provision and maintenance of efficient industrial and commercial steam systems. Steam Thermal Solutions has global coverage across 67 operating units (called OpCos), organised into four Divisions: EMEA, APAC, Americas, Gestra.

Spirax Group is a FTSE100 and FTSE4Good multi-national industrial engineering Group with expertise in the control and management of steam, electric thermal solutions, peristaltic pumping and associated fluid technologies.

Our Purpose is to create sustainable value for all our stakeholders as we engineer a more efficient, safer and sustainable world. Our technologies play an essential role in critical industrial processes and industrial equipment across industries as diverse as Food & Beverage, Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology, Power Generation, Semiconductors and Healthcare. With customers in 165 countries, we provide the solutions that sit behind the production of many items used in daily life, from baked beans to mobile phones!

Our Purpose, supported by our inclusive culture and Values, unites us, guides our decisions and inspires us everywhere that we operate. We support our colleagues to make their difference for each other as well as customers, communities, suppliers, our planet and shareholders by creating a truly equitable working environment where everyone feels included.

Benefits

• You will receive a competitive salary (and a discretionary bonus)
• Flexible working
• Excellent benefits including 27 days holiday allowance (before bank holidays)
• 3 days’ paid volunteering leave
• Comprehensive private healthcare
• Enhanced pension plan
• Life assurance
• Optional participation in a Share Ownership Plan
• Free onsite parking
• Flexible benefits
• Access to a personal discounts’ portal
• We also offer a range of additional support and benefits through our Everyone is Included Group Inclusion Plan, detailed below

Everyone is Included at Spirax Group

We are passionate about creating inclusive and equitable working cultures where everyone can be themselves and achieve their full potential. For us, that means supportive teams and strong relationships where everyone’s contribution is valued - across social and cultural backgrounds, ethnicities, ages, genders, gender identities, abilities, neurodiversity, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, and everything else that makes us human and unique.

We want everyone to be able to make their difference here, so we will always consider requests for flexible working.

We know that everyone needs some extra help from time to time too, so we have introduced a range of additional benefits through our Group Inclusion Commitments. These include gender-neutral parental leave, 15 days of extra paid caregiver leave, paid time off and support for anyone experiencing pregnancy loss or domestic abuse, menopause-friendly workplace principles and more. Learn more at https://www.spiraxgroup.com/en/life-at-spirax/our-inclusive-group/our-inclusion-commitments.

We are also a Disability Confident Committed Employer. If you would like to apply using this scheme, please select this option in our application form or notify our recruitment partners.