Senior Production Engineer – Defence & Electro-Mechanical

Holt Engineering; Rusper; On-site; GBP 41,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

Holt Engineering in Horsham, United Kingdom, is seeking a Senior Production Engineer to lead development and optimisation of defence-grade electro‑mechanical production capability. This senior role influences design, industrialisation and full‑rate manufacturing to deliver reliable, compliant and scalable systems.

You will translate hardware designs into repeatable production processes, champion DFMA, drive continuous improvement and ensure production readiness from prototype to series

Qualifications

• Degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Manufacturing or Production Engineering (or equivalent experience).
• 10+ years’ experience in defence, aerospace, automotive or another highly regulated environment.
• Proven experience leading NPI activities: process development, prototyping and transition to full‑rate manufacturing.
• Deep understanding of DFM/DFA principles and the ability to embed manufacturability into early‑stage design and industrialisation.
• Strong working knowledge of 3D CAD systems and tooling development for DFMA.

Responsibilities

• Translate hardware designs into scalable production processes that meet defence standards.
• Develop and optimise production workflows, including tooling, fixtures, assembly methods and test procedures.
• Lead root cause analysis and corrective actions for production issues; drive continuous improvement.
• Collaborate with design engineering to influence early design decisions and align with production capability.
• Create and maintain manufacturing documentation: build instructions, process specifications, PFMEAs and control plans.
• Support New Product Introduction from prototype through to full‑rate production.
• Ensure compliance with defence, safety and quality regulations, including configuration control and traceability.
• Manage production readiness activities: capability assessments, equipment qualification and process validation.
• Work with suppliers and internal teams to resolve issues and ensure component manufacturability and quality.
• Drive cost‑effective production solutions without compromising performance or security.

Skills

Leadership

Process development

DFMA knowledge

Cross-functional collaboration

Problem solving

Manufacturing engineering

Regulated environment experience

Education

Degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Manufacturing or Production Engineering (or equivalent experience)

Tools

3D CAD software

Job description

Holt Engineering in Horsham, United Kingdom, is seeking a Senior Production Engineer to lead development and optimisation of defence-grade electro‑mechanical production capability. This senior role influences design, industrialisation and full‑rate manufacturing to deliver reliable, compliant and scalable systems.

You will translate hardware designs into repeatable production processes, champion DFMA, drive continuous improvement and ensure production readiness from prototype to series