Senior or Principal Quality Assurance Engineer

Leonardo SpA; Luton; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Time to Recharge

Pension scheme

Mental health support

Learning opportunities

Flexible hours

Job summary

Leonardo UK in Luton is seeking a Principal Quality Engineer to lead quality initiatives across programmes. The role blends customer-facing QA with hands-on quality assurance, requiring travel and on-site collaboration in a hybrid model.

You will drive AS9100/ISO9001 compliance, RCCA and FRB processes, data-driven improvements, and close engagement with suppliers and customers to deliver safe, reliable products on schedule.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated knowledge of quality management standards such as AS9100 and ISO9001, along with continuous improvement practices.
• Practical experience with Quality Tools including Root Cause Corrective Action, Pattern Fault Lifecycle, Process Mapping, Verification, and First Article Inspection.
• Strong analytical and logical thinking skills, with the ability to translate complex data into practical solutions that support business objectives
• Experience engaging with Customers and Suppliers, demonstrating professionalism and responsiveness.
• Previous experience working in a high-precision manufacturing environment or similarly detail-oriented settings.
• Further education or experience in Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, Defence Electronics, or other similarly complex industries is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Act as the dynamic primary point of contact for quality-related matters with customers and key stakeholders, ensuring their requirements and expectations are fully understood and exceeded.
• Provide advice and support on Quality Assurance and Quality Control activities.
• Contribute to delivering products that meet safety, cost, and quality standards on time.
• Collaborate with Assurance Teams to help meet Programme and IPT objectives.
• Monitor and support quality key performance indicators (KPIs) such as Quality Notifications, Cost of Poor Quality
• Conduct Material Review Boards (MRB), and Failure Review Boards (FRB) if required
• Support improvement activities across the Programme, Product, and Project lifecycle.
• Promote a culture of quality and continuous improvement within the team.
• Support project assurance milestones throughout the Programme and Project lifecycle.
• Prepare reports and data for the Programme and Project teams.
• Contribute to reducing non-conformance costs by conducting root cause analysis and corrective actions.

Skills

Quality management

AS9100

ISO9001

Root Cause Corrective Action

Pattern Fault Lifecycle

Process Mapping

Verification

First Article Inspection

Analytical thinking

Customer engagement

Job description

Job Description:

Your impact

At Leonardo we are offering an exciting opportunity to join us as a Principal Quality Engineer within our Customer Support & Service Solutions team at our Luton site. This dynamic role offers daily variety, empowering you to independently manage your schedule and deliver critical Quality support across both existing and new projects. As part of our small, supportive team, you will collaborate daily to build and advance our quality initiatives to the various functions within each programme. This is a hybrid role. We ideally need you onsite 2 days a week, with the flexibility to come in more often when business needs require it. The role requires occasional travel to support our programmes, so we are looking for candidates who can travel with reasonable notice. We are looking for a dedicated professional who wants to build a long-term foundation with our team and grow alongside our unit.

What you will do as a Quality Engineer:

• Act as the dynamic primary point of contact for quality-related matters with customers and key stakeholders, ensuring their requirements and expectations are fully understood and exceeded.
• Provide advice and support on Quality Assurance and Quality Control activities.
• Contribute to delivering products that meet safety, cost, and quality standards on time.
• Collaborate with Assurance Teams to help meet Programme and IPT objectives.
• Monitor and support quality key performance indicators (KPIs) such as Quality Notifications, Cost of Poor Quality
• Conduct Material Review Boards (MRB), and Failure Review Boards (FRB) if required
• Support improvement activities across the Programme, Product, and Project lifecycle.
• Promote a culture of quality and continuous improvement within the team.
• Support project assurance milestones throughout the Programme and Project lifecycle.
• Prepare reports and data for the Programme and Project teams.
• Contribute to reducing non-conformance costs by conducting root cause analysis and corrective actions.

This is not an exhaustive list, and we are keen to hear from you even if you might not have experience in all the above. The most important skill is a good attitude and willingness to learn.

What you'll bring

• Demonstrated knowledge of quality management standards such as AS9100 and ISO9001, along with continuous improvement practices.
• Practical experience with Quality Tools including Root Cause Corrective Action, Pattern Fault Lifecycle, Process Mapping, Verification, and First Article Inspection.
• Strong analytical and logical thinking skills, with the ability to translate complex data into practical solutions that support business objectives
• Experience engaging with Customers and Suppliers, demonstrating professionalism and responsiveness.
• Previous experience working in a high-precision manufacturing environment or similarly detail-oriented settings.
• Further education or experience in Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, Defence Electronics, or other similarly complex industries is preferred.

Security Clearance

This role is subject to pre-employment screening in line with the UK Government's Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS). An additional range of Personnel Security Controls referred to as National Security Vetting (NSV) may apply, this could include meeting the eligibility requirements for The Security Check (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV). For more information and guidance please visit: https://careers.uk.leonardo.com/gb/en/security-and-vetting

Why join us

At Leonardo, our people are at the heart of everything we do. We offer a comprehensive, company-funded benefits package that supports your wellbeing, career development, and work-life balance. Whether you're looking to grow professionally, care for your health, or plan for the future, we're here to help you thrive.

• Time to Recharge: Enjoy generous leave with the opportunity to accrue up to 12 additional flexi-days each year.
• Secure your Future: Benefit from our award-winning pension scheme with up to 15% employer contribution.
• Your Wellbeing Matters: Free access to mental health support, financial advice, and employee-led networks championing inclusion and diversity (Enable, Pride, Equalise, Armed Forces, Carers, Wellbeing and Ethnicity).
• Rewarding Performance: All employees at management level and below are eligible for our bonus scheme.
• Never Stop Learning: Free access to 4,000+ online courses via Coursera and LinkedIn Learning.
• Refer a friend: Receive a financial reward through our referral programme.
• Tailored Perks: Spend up to £500 annually on flexible benefits including private healthcare, dental, family cover, tech & lifestyle discounts, gym memberships and more.
• Flexible working: Flexible hours with hybrid working options. For part time opportunities, please talk to us about what might be possible for this role.

For a full list of our company benefits please visit our website.

Leonardo UK operates a grade-based salary framework with broad bands. The salary range shown reflects the approved grade band for this role, or a narrower hiring range published within that band, and is benchmarked against the external market. Exceptions above the standard range are managed through governance controls to protect internal equity.

For Senior level, salary banding is £45,000 - £55,000

For Principal level, it's £55,000 - 65,000

Leonardo is a global leader in Aerospace, Defence, and Security. Headquartered in Italy, we employ over 53,000 people worldwide including 8,500 across 9 sites in the UK. Our employees are not just part of a team-they are key contributors to shaping innovation, advancing technology, and enhancing global safety.

At Leonardo we are committed to building an inclusive, accessible, and welcoming workplace. We believe that a diverse workforce sparks creativity, drives innovation, and leads to better outcomes for our people and our customers. If you have any accessibility requirements to support you during the recruitment process, just let us know.

Primary Location:

GB - Luton - Cap. Green 300

Contract Type:

Permanent

Hybrid Working:

Hybrid