Senior Manufacturing Engineer

Location: Templecombe, United Kingdom

Thales people provide armed forces customers with operational advantage at every decisive moment throughout the mission. Defence and armed forces customers rely on us to deliver the full range of defence mission systems solutions at land, sea, and air. Our platforms extend across the battlespace including Above and Sonar, Electronic Combat, and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance systems.

Together we offer fantastic opportunities for committed employees to learn and develop their career with us. At Thales UK, we research, develop, and supply technology and services that impact the lives of millions of people each day to make life better, and keep us safer. We innovate across the major industries of Aerospace, Defence, Security and Space. Your health and well-being matters to us and that’s why we offer you the flexibility to do what’s important to you; whether that’s part time hours, job sharing, home working, or the ability to flex your start and finish times. Where possible, we support a working pattern that suits your lifestyle and helps you reach your ambitions.

Senior Manufacturing Engineer

4 Day Week (Monday-Thursday)

We are seeking a Senior Manufacturing Engineer to deliver innovative solutions to day-to-day challenges and offer fresh perspectives on complex issues and non-conformances on our factory floor, supporting both current activities and future projects.

The ideal candidate will provide valuable insights into manufacturing techniques, manage non-conformances, support the implementation of new product lines and resolve technical issues. They will also play a key role across our broader industrial footprint, promoting best practices in Design for Manufacture within Engineering and Projects and ensuring our operations are fully aligned with the manufacturing cell’s industrial strategy.

Key Responsibilities:

• Serve as a primary interface for resolving daily manufacturing issues and non-conformances, driving root cause analysis and implementing corrective actions.

• Lead and coordinate Material Review Boards (MRBs), working cross-functionally to manage production failures and configuration changes.

• Optimise manufacturing processes, workflows, and documentation to ensure efficiency, quality and alignment with project requirements.

• Assess, establish, improve and maintain processes for surveying, repairing and refurbishing items returning to the work cell.

• Identify and drive process improvements, equipment upgrades and cost reduction initiatives through regular observation, data analysis and financial assessment.

• Embed Health, Safety, and Environmental (HSE) best practices into daily manufacturing activities and ensure full compliance with regulations.

• Support new product introduction by setting up and validating manufacturing processes and tooling, overseeing initial builds and applying lessons learned to continuous improvement.

• Assess Manufacturing Readiness Levels (MRLs) and run Production Readiness Reviews (PRRs).

• Identify opportunities to mitigate manufacturing risks.

• Utilise ERP and Data Management systems to review and approve data packs on behalf of Industry. Ensuring effective design for manufacture, routing creation and management of Bill of Materials (BOM) structures.

• Mentor and guide junior team members in effective problem-solving, non-conformance management and different manufacturing techniques.

About You

You will have proven experience as a Manufacturing Engineer, ideally with a background in either electrical/electronic assembly, mechanical assembly or production testing. Key attributes include:

• Strong engineering experience within low to medium volume, light mechanical/electro-mechanical/electronics production environments.

• Practical use of continuous improvement and manufacturing techniques.

• Familiarity with manufacturing systems (routings, BOMs, concessions, change requests etc.)

• Broad process knowledge in assembly and testing.

• Excellent communication and documentation skills.

• Effective time management with a focus on meeting customer needs and the manufacturing cells requirements.

Thales Benefits

• 4 day working week

• Annual performance bonus

• 28 days annual leave (Plus Bank Holidays)

• Pension contributions up to 7%

• Healthcare Cash Plan

• Life insurance

• Stock options (SharingThales) every 2 years

• Enhanced maternity and parental leave.

• Generous training budget and allowance to attend conferences/workshops.

• Gym and well-being memberships, Cycle to Work

• Discounts on major retail outlets

• 24/7 Employee Assistance Program and access to mental wellbeing app

This role will require SC Clearance. It would be advantageous if currently held, however, if not currently held, it is a requirement that the successful applicant will undergo, achieve, and maintain SC Clearance.  Please visit the UKSV website for further guidance.

To be eligible for full SC, you generally need to have resided in the UK for the last 5 years.  In some circumstances, a minimum of 3 years’ residence in the UK over the last 5 years may be accepted, with additional overseas checks.

For further details of the evidence required to apply for Baseline and Security Clearance please refer to the National Security Vetting (NSV) Agency - United Kingdom Security Vetting - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

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In line with Thales' Baseline Security requirements, candidates will be asked to provide evidence of identity, eligibility to work in the UK and employment and/or education history for up to three years. Some vacancies may require full Security Clearance which can require further evidence to be provided. For further details of the evidence required to apply for Baseline and Security Clearance please refer to the Defence Business Services National Security Vetting (DBS NSV) Agency.

At Thales we provide CAREERS and not only jobs. With Thales employing 80,000 employees in 68 countries our mobility policy enables thousands of employees each year to develop their careers at home and abroad, in their existing areas of expertise or by branching out into new fields. Together we believe that embracing flexibility is a smarter way of working.

Thales UK is committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free recruitment process. We will provide reasonable adjustments and support to ensure neuro-diverse applicants or those with a disability or long-term condition can be their best during the recruitment process. To request an adjustment, if you need this job advert in an alternative format or if you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Resourcing Ops for mid to senior roles, or the Early Careers Team for graduate and apprentice roles.

Great journeys start here, apply now!