Vehicle Line Manager - Chassis

McLaren Automotive Ltd; Old Woking; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days’ holiday plus bank holidays

Enhanced company pension scheme

Discretionary annual bonus

Private medical insurance

Life assurance

Sabbatical option after 2 years

Discounted shopping benefits

Generous parental leave

Wellbeing programs

Job summary

McLaren Automotive seeks a Vehicle Line Manager to lead the Chassis systems for full vehicle programmes, ensuring on-time delivery within budget and quality targets. You will oversee suspension, brakes, steering, active aerodynamics and related software, driving lifecycle decisions and cross‑functional alignment.

You will manage the Chassis department budget, prepare MDP updates, and coordinate with managers and suppliers to hit development gateways while promoting early stakeholder engagement

Qualifications

• Engineering degree 2:1 or above.
• Significant experience working within automotive programmes, covering project management, and system delivery (preferably Chassis systems).
• Experience both High volume and niche volume programs in an OEM or Tier 1 supplier.
• Knowledge of DFMEA and its application in automotive environment.
• Proven project leadership and delivery within an APQP or similar framework.
• Knowledge of Automotive technologies, systems and manufacturing techniques.
• Experience in problem solving.
• Demonstrable commercial acumen.

Responsibilities

• Define and deliver all Chassis project targets and deliverables, ensuring they are cascaded, communicated, and reported against effectively at every stage of the vehicle programme to management.
• Generate and support key technology and system decisions with business cases and a clear lifecycle approach; ensure consequences are understood and fed back into targets, budgets and plans.
• Create and maintain a Chassis High Level Plan (HLP) and coordinate with Chassis Managers and cross-functional teams to align with development plans and gateways.
• Deliver projects on time, on budget and to quality and engineering robustness targets.
• Be the primary point of contact for the Programme; define and embrace the functional and departmental goals and be the voice of the Chassis Function Group.
• Manage the full budget for the Vehicle Line across the Chassis department, including resources, tooling, D&D and BOM costs with support.
• Prepare and present Chassis MDP slides to gateways; represent the Chassis team in Finance, Project and Attribute meetings.
• Support decision meetings with concise technical and project information; reflect decisions in targets, budgets and plans.
• Manage design release process through ETRS for the entire Chassis Engineering group.
• Deliver all systems in line with McLaren Development Process (MDP) targets, KPIs and milestones.
• Develop and maintain the Risk Assessment Tool (RAT) for Chassis; ensure DFMEA's and DVP's are completed per MDP requirements.
• Promote Simultaneous Engineering with early stakeholder engagement to maximise efficiency and avoid late changes.
• Collaborate with purchasing, project and supply chain to monitor supplier performance and develop future strategies.

Skills

Engineering degree 2:1

Automotive programmes

APQP framework

DFMEA

Project leadership

Commercial acumen

Automotive technologies

Problem solving

Education

Engineering degree 2:1 or above

Job description

The Vehicle Line Manager has overall responsibility for delivering the complete Chassis systems content systems for full vehicle programmes, delivering content at committed timing, budget and quality. The role covers Chassis systems and components including suspension layout, wishbones, uprights, bearings, wheels, brakes, steering, active aerodynamics, springs, suspension systems and associated software. What You'll Do Define and deliver all Chassis project targets and deliverables, ensuring they are cascaded, communicated, and reported against effectively at every stage of the vehicle programme to management.

• Generate and support key technology and system decisions with business cases and a clear lifecycle approach. Ensure consequences of decisions are understood and fed back into targets, budgets and plans.
• Create and maintain a Chassis High Level Plan (HLP). Work with Chassis Managers, Principals and cross-functional teams to ensure the CVT HLP is consistent with development plan, gateways, sign-off timing deliverables are met when required.
• Deliver projects on time, on budget and to the quality and engineering robustness targets.
• Be the primary point of contact for the Programme. Define and embrace the functional and departmental goals and be the voice of the Chassis Function Group.
• Responsible for managing the full budget for the Vehicle Line across the Chassis department, including internal and external resources, tooling investment, D&D and BOM cost with support from Vehicle Programme Manager.
• Prepare and Present Chassis MDP slides to project gateways communicating the contents delivered by CVT Managers - Together with Chassis Managers and Principals, represent the Chassis team for the Finance, Project and Attribute meetings and report back to the Chassis department.
• Support decision meetings with concise, accurate technical and project information. Ensure consequences of decisions are understood and fed back into targets, budgets and plans.
• Manage design release process through ETRS for the whole Chassis Engineering group for the vehicle programme.
• Deliver all systems in line with targets, KPI's and milestones as set by the McLaren Development Process (MDP) and Project management leaders.
• Generate and maintain the Risk Assessment Tool (RAT) for Chassis and ensure DFMEA's and DVP's are completed as per MDP requirements.
• Promote, implement and support a Simultaneous Engineering approach where early engagement from all stakeholders is maximized in order to ensure maximum efficiency and performance and avoid late changes and delays in the overall process.
• With the department managers work closely with support functions like purchasing, project and supply chain team to monitor current supplier performance and develop future supply strategies.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & EXPERIENC

• Engineering degree 2:1 or above.
• Significant experience working within automotive programmes, covering project management, and system delivery (preferably Chassis systems).
• Experience both High volume and niche volume programs in an OEM or Tier 1 supplier.
• Knowledge of DFMEA and its application in automotive environment.
• Proven project leadership and delivery within an APQP or similar framework.
• Knowledge of Automotive technologies, systems and manufacturing techniques.
• Experience in problem solving.
• Demonstrable commercial acumen.

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.

We offer a wide - ranging benefits package, which includes:

• 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