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- Tasks: Lead quality improvement initiatives and mentor teams to ensure zero-defect product launches.
- Company: Join a leading aerospace and defence company focused on excellence and innovation.
- Benefits: Enjoy a competitive salary, bonus potential, flexible working, and comprehensive healthcare benefits.
- Other info: Dynamic hybrid working environment with excellent career growth opportunities.
- Why this job: Make a real impact by driving quality and process improvements in mission-critical technology.
- Qualifications: 5+ years in regulated environments with strong engineering and quality management experience.
The predicted salary is between 57000 - 63000 £ per year.
Reporting directly to our UK Head of Excellence, you'll act as a strategic architect for product integrity across our engineering and manufacturing functions. This is a high-visibility role for a mentor who can bridge the gap between design intent and world-class production, ensuring mission-critical technology is "designed for excellence" long before it reaches the shop floor!
Salary: Circa £60,000 depending on experience
Dynamic (hybrid) working: 3 days per week on-site due to workload classification
Security Clearance: British Citizen or a Dual UK national with British citizenship. Restrictions and/or limitations relating to nationality and/or rights to work may apply. As a minimum and after offer stage, all successful candidates will need to undergo HMG Basic Personnel Security Standard checks (BPSS), which are managed by the MBDA Personnel Security Team.
What we can offer you:
- Company Bonus: Bonus of up to 21% of base salary
- Pension: maximum total (employer and employee) contribution of up to 14%
- Flexible working: We welcome applicants who are looking for flexible working arrangements
- Enhanced parental leave: offers up to 26 weeks for maternity, adoption and shared parental leave - enhancements are available for paternity leave, neonatal leave and fertility testing and treatments
- Facilities: Fantastic site facilities including subsidised meals, free car parking and much more...
- Healthcare Cash Plan: The Healthcare Cash Plan benefit provides the option to claim cash back on everyday healthcare expenses such as optical, dental, health and wellbeing and more.
- Private Medical Insurance: Eligible employees are enrolled as standard into the company funded Private Medical Insurance benefit.
The opportunity:
Operating within the Quality Excellence function, you will lead the shift toward a proactive, "right-first-time" culture. We are looking for a coach and facilitator to tackle sophisticated challenges, using FMEA and DMAIC methodologies to empower our teams and ensure zero-defect excellence across our entire product portfolio. It's a genuinely exciting chance for a determined individual to drive real change while pursuing their own career growth.
You will own the Product Risk Mitigation strategy - utilising DFMEA to 'design out' failures, PFMEAs/Control Plans to ensure operational excellence, and DMAIC cycles to drive continuous improvement in production yields. Your goal is simple: zero-defect product launches built on a foundation of proactive quality and robust process controls.
Day to day focus:
- Risk Mitigation: Support the quality and engineering functions through APQP toolsets. Facilitate workshops and coach teams on DFMEA and PFMEA best practices (based on relevant standards and industry best practices) to ensure risks are identified and "designed out" early in the project lifecycle.
- Design to Production Link: Guide the transfer of "Special Characteristics" and Severity ratings from design intent into practical Control Plans. Partner with manufacturing to ensure that risks identified in FMEAs are managed with realistic measurement methods and robust control plans, ensuring operational readiness for the production team.
- Process Stability & Coaching: Support continuous improvement by mentoring teams through DMAIC cycles to stabilise production and improve yields. Support others to use data to monitor performance and reduce variation from the launch phase throughout the entire product lifecycle.
- Problem Solving & Lessons Learned: Lead and coach the Root Cause Analysis process when quality issues arise. You will ensure that teams know how to feed findings back into their FMEAs and Control Plans, maintaining them as "living documents" that prevent the recurrence of failures.
- Standards & Audit Support: Act as the subject matter expert for risk-related audits, ensuring our risk management meets EN9100 / ISO 9001 standards. Utilise Action Priority logic to help the team prioritise engineering changes and validation testing for high-risk items.
What we're looking for from you:
- Professional Experience: 5+ years in a mission critical, regulated environment (Defence, Aerospace, or Automotive). Experience in leading teams and mentoring staff on quality principles is essential.
- Technical Background: An engineering background (HNC/HND or higher) with expertise in electronics, manufacturing and design.
- Standards: Excellent knowledge of EN9100 / ISO 9001. Competent in the AIAG & VDA FMEA Handbook or SAE J1739 methodologies.
- Product Risk: Proven track record in managing product risk through DFMEA, DFx (Design for Excellence), PFMEA, and the development of robust Control Plans.
- Problem-Solving & Tools: Highly proficient in Root Cause Analysis (8D, 5-Why) and experience using FMEA software (e.g., APIS IQ-FMEA, Relyence, or similar). Lean Six Sigma, Certified Black Belt: A proactive approach - the ability to identify and mitigate risks early to prevent field failures. Experience with DMAIC cycles is preferred.
- Influencing & Facilitation: A strong influencer and skilled facilitator, bridging the gap between design and shop-floor teams through coaching and mentoring to drive a "Quality First" culture.
Quality Improvement & Capability Manager in Bolton employer: MBDA UK Ltd
Contact Detail:
MBDA UK Ltd Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Quality Improvement & Capability Manager in Bolton
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to folks in the industry on LinkedIn or at events. A friendly chat can open doors that a CV just can't.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for interviews by practising common questions and scenarios related to quality improvement. Show them you know your stuff and can tackle real-world challenges!
✨Tip Number 3
Don’t forget to showcase your mentoring skills! Highlight how you've coached teams in the past, especially around FMEA and DMAIC methodologies. It’s all about demonstrating your leadership potential.
✨Tip Number 4
Apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. Plus, we love seeing candidates who are proactive about their job search.
We think you need these skills to ace Quality Improvement & Capability Manager in Bolton
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV speaks directly to the role of Quality Improvement & Capability Manager. Highlight your experience in risk management, DFMEA, and any relevant methodologies that align with what we're looking for.
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter: Use your cover letter to tell us why you're the perfect fit for this role. Share specific examples of how you've driven quality improvements in past positions and how you can bring that expertise to our team.
Showcase Your Technical Skills: Don’t forget to mention your technical background and familiarity with standards like EN9100 / ISO 9001. We want to see how your skills can bridge the gap between design intent and production excellence.
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply through our website for a smoother application process. It helps us keep track of your application and ensures you don’t miss out on any important updates!
How to prepare for a job interview at MBDA UK Ltd
✨Know Your Quality Standards
Make sure you brush up on EN9100 and ISO 9001 standards before the interview. Being able to discuss how you've applied these in your previous roles will show that you're not just familiar with them, but that you can leverage them to drive quality excellence.
✨Showcase Your Problem-Solving Skills
Prepare specific examples of how you've used Root Cause Analysis and FMEA methodologies to tackle quality issues. Highlighting your experience with tools like DMAIC cycles will demonstrate your proactive approach to risk management and continuous improvement.
✨Emphasise Your Mentoring Experience
Since this role involves coaching teams, be ready to share instances where you've successfully mentored others in quality principles. Discuss how you facilitated workshops or guided teams through DFMEA and PFMEA best practices to foster a 'Quality First' culture.
✨Connect Design to Production
Be prepared to discuss how you've bridged the gap between design intent and manufacturing processes. Talk about your experience in transferring 'Special Characteristics' into practical Control Plans and how you've ensured operational readiness for production teams.