Senior SQD Engineer Interiors Automotive

McLaren Automotive Ltd; Woking; On-site; GBP 75,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Structured career development

25 days' holiday + bank holidays

Enhanced pension scheme

Discretionary annual bonus

Private medical insurance

Life assurance

Sabbatical after 2 years

Wellbeing initiatives

Job summary

McLaren Automotive is seeking a Senior SQD Engineer to lead supplier quality activities across sourcing, industrialisation, launch and production. You will drive APQP, PPAP, and supplier readiness while collaborating with Engineering, Purchasing, Manufacturing and Supplier teams to resolve complex quality issues.

You will audit suppliers, verify processes, assess capacity, and drive continuous improvement to ensure top-tier quality and performance across the vehicle lifecycle.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in supplier quality or manufacturing quality.
• Strong knowledge of APQP, PPAP, and supplier development methodologies.
• Proven capability in structured problem solving and corrective actions.

Responsibilities

• Lead supplier quality activities from sourcing to launch and series production.
• Drive APQP, PPAP, manufacturing feasibility and supplier readiness activities.
• Resolve complex quality concerns with cross-functional teams and deliver improvements.

Skills

Supplier quality engineering

APQP/PPAP

Root cause analysis

Cross-functional leadership

Data-driven decision making

Audits and process verification

Job description

What to Expect

At McLaren, exceptional vehicles start with exceptional supplier partnerships. As a Senior SQD Engineer (Supplier Quality Development Engineer), you'll play a key role in ensuring our supply base is ready to deliver the quality, capability and performance required for every stage of the vehicle lifecycle.

What You'll Do

• Lead supplier quality activities from sourcing and industrialisation through to launch and series production, ensuring quality, delivery, capacity and performance expectations are achieved across your supplier portfolio.
• Drive APQP, PPAP, manufacturing feasibility and supplier readiness activities, helping suppliers establish robust and capable processes while proactively managing programme risk.
• Partner with Engineering, Purchasing, Manufacturing and Supplier teams to resolve complex quality concerns, lead structured problem-solving activities and deliver sustainable improvements.
• Conduct supplier audits, process verification and capacity assessments to support successful new product introduction and stable series production.
• Develop supplier capability through continuous improvement initiatives, driving best-in-class manufacturing standards and long-term performance improvements.
• Lead departmental improvement activities, using data and KPI performance to identify opportunities, inform decision-making and enhance SQD ways of working.
• Provide clear project status reporting and recommendations to senior stakeholders, ensuring risks, priorities and progress are understood and effectively managed.
• Support and develop the wider SQD team through coaching, technical guidance and leadership support, acting as a trusted point of contact and providing cover during management absence when required.

What You'll Bring

• Extensive experience in Supplier Quality, Manufacturing Quality or Quality Engineering within a complex automotive or advanced engineering environment, with strong expertise in interior commodities and supplier development.
• Strong working knowledge of APQP, PPAP, manufacturing feasibility, process audits and supplier development methodologies.
• Experience leading supplier quality activities throughout new product introduction, industrialisation and series production.
• Proven capability in structured problem solving, root cause analysis and driving effective corrective actions with suppliers.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing processes, quality systems and supplier capacity planning.
• Experience influencing and leading cross-functional stakeholders across technical and operational functions.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to deliver concise updates and recommendations to senior audiences.
• A collaborative leadership style with a passion for coaching, mentoring and developing others.
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to use data to inform decisions, prioritise actions and manage risk.
• A proactive, resilient mindset and a relentless focus on delivering quality, performance and continuous improvement.

What We'll Do for You

• Structured career development framework
• 25 days' holiday, plus bank holiday. Annual buy & sell up to five days
• Enhanced company pension scheme
• Discretionary annual bonus award
• Private medical insurance and health cash plan
• Life assurance benefit
• Ability to apply for a sabbatical of up to one year after only two years' service
• Benefits you can adapt to your lifestyle, such as discounted shopping
• Generous parental leave policies
• A range of wellbeing initiatives, such as employee assistance programme and free financial & mortgage advice

Who Are We?

No restraints. No limitations. We don't simply push boundaries. We completely rethink them. McLaren Automotive exists to create breath-taking performance road cars. It takes a community to do what we do. A diverse group of people with many areas of expertise, united by their passion to deliver visionary products and set new benchmarks. McLaren Automotive commits to equal opportunity for all. Diversity, Equality and Inclusion is at the heart of our impact, it drives our innovation and enables us to truly create something special. Join us on our journey.