Senior Manufacturing Engineer in How End, Central Bedfordshire

Senior Manufacturing Engineer

Based in Ampthill, Bedfordshire

Salary from £53,000 to £57,000 + Bonus, 4 day week, Pension

You're the engineer the shop floor calls when a build isn't going to plan. You know why a bonding process keeps failing, how to rework a routing so the line flows properly, and what the BOM should look like before the first kit is picked.

This is a senior manufacturing engineering role on complex electro-mechanical defence systems. You'll own the manufacturing process for your area from NPI and prototype build through to full rate production and, eventually, end of life.

What you'll actually be doing

• Defining build sequences, process instructions and production layouts for electro-mechanical assemblies, using lean principles to get flow right first time

• Building and maintaining manufacturing BOMs and routings in SAP

• Specifying new tooling and fixtures, and writing the technical requirement specifications behind them

• Estimating engineering and shop floor effort for new work

• Leading root cause and corrective action when yield or quality drops

• Shaping the site's manufacturing technology roadmap and capital equipment plans, from requirement through to acceptance

• Working closely with production, industrial engineering, quality and design, and pushing back on design when something won't build well

The goal is simple: lower manufacturing cost, higher yield, and programme milestones hit.

What you'll need

• Solid experience as a Manufacturing Engineer, Process Engineer or Production Engineer in a complex assembly environment

• Hands-on electro-mechanical assembly process knowledge, including bonding

• Lean manufacturing and Six Sigma tools used for real, not just a certificate on the wall

• Experience managing BOMs and routings in SAP or a similar MRP/ERP system

• Confident producing 2D technical drawings in CAD

• A track record of driving continuous improvement and process change that stuck

• Eligibility for UK security clearance

Nice to have

• Composites processing experience

• PFMEA, control plans or SPC

• A defence, aerospace or other regulated manufacturing background

Why it's worth a look

You won't be one of fifty manufacturing engineers. You'll be the recognised expert for your area, with a real say in how products are built and where the site invests next. The work spans the full product lifecycle, so you see NPI, production and improvement, not just firefighting.

If you're a Manufacturing Engineer ready for more ownership, or a Senior Manufacturing Engineer who wants more influence than your current role allows, this is worth a conversation.