For almost 50 years, Williams has been at the forefront of one of the fastest sports on the planet, being one of the top three most successful teams in history competing in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship. With an almost unrivalled heritage of engineering and racing F1 cars and unforgettable eras that demonstrate it is a force to be reckoned with, the British squad boasts 16 F1 World Championship titles to its name.
Since its foundation in 1977 by the eminent, late Sir Frank Williams and engineering pioneer Sir Patrick Head, the team has won nine Constructors’ Championships, in association with Cosworth, Honda and Renault. Its roll call of drivers is legendary, with its seven Drivers’ Championship trophies being lifted by true icons of the sport: Alan Jones, Keke Rosberg, Nelson Piquet, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve. The team has made history before and is out to make it again with a long-term mission to evolve and return to the front of the grid.
Job DescriptionAbout the Role
We're looking for a Principal Engineer to join our Design Quality team, working closely with the Head of Engineering Operations to raise design methodology, process and governance to industry leading standards across Vehicle Engineering.
You'll manage a team of engineers, while collaborating with the other Principal Engineers across Design, taking ownership of a defined slice of the Design Quality remit and driving it from concept through to embedded practice. This means mapping and documenting optimum F1 processes, making them genuinely discoverable and usable across the business, and keeping them current as the needs of Vehicle Engineering, Operations, Finance and the Race Team evolve alongside FIA regulations.
It's a role that sits at the intersection of engineering rigour and organisational influence, working with stakeholders across the business to shape new requirements and introduce process that actually sticks, rather than process for its own sake.
Key Responsibilities
- Own the quality, productivity and delivery of your group's work, setting objectives, timescales and success criteria in agreement with the Head of Design Quality
- Deliver new tools and processes that support effective working in the Design Office and, where needed, the wider organisation
- Lead ongoing process mapping and maintain the integrity of every process and procedure you implement
- Lead and coach your team, owning performance reviews and development plans for direct reports
- Act as the key liaison across the design lifecycle value stream, including Manufacturing, Quality, Parts and Logistics, and the Race Team
- Proactively identify and resolve process inefficiencies, and deputise for the Head of Design Quality when required
About You
You're an experienced engineer with a track record of owning and developing engineering processes - not just following them. You combine strong technical credibility in design quality with the people skills to manage a team, coach individuals along their own path, and hold your own with stakeholders across the organisation. You'll bring sound judgement, resilience under pressure, and a collaborative mindset that fits how we work and live our values at Williams F1 Team.
- Existing relevant experience, with strong grounding in design process, design and drawing standards, and quality management/assurance methods
- Proven ability to manage significant projects and take a strategic view of design process dependencies, upstream and downstream
- Strong coaching and people leadership skills, comfortable working across an instruction to empowerment development model
- Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the confidence to influence upwards and across the business
- Good overall knowledge of car design and the commercial realities of concept to track delivery
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Atlassian Williams F1 Team is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity and inclusion. We are happy to discuss reasonable job adjustments.
