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- Tasks: Lead quality improvement initiatives and mentor teams to ensure zero-defect product launches.
- Company: Join a leading defence and aerospace company focused on excellence.
- Benefits: Enjoy a competitive salary, bonuses, 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 innovation in mission-critical technology.
- Qualifications: 5+ years in quality management with a strong engineering background required.
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.
Benefits
- 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.
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.
Qualifications
- 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
Contact Detail:
MBDA 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! Get out there and connect with people in the industry. Attend events, join online forums, or even hit up LinkedIn. The more people you know, the better your chances of landing that Quality Improvement & Capability Manager role.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for interviews by practising common questions related to quality management and risk mitigation. Think about how you can showcase your experience with DFMEA and DMAIC methodologies. We want to see you shine!
✨Tip Number 3
Don’t just wait for job openings to pop up. Reach out directly to companies you admire, like us at StudySmarter. Express your interest in potential roles and share how your skills can help them achieve zero-defect excellence.
✨Tip Number 4
Follow up after interviews! A quick thank-you email can go a long way. It shows your enthusiasm for the role and keeps you fresh in their minds. Plus, it’s a great chance to reiterate why you’re the perfect fit for the job.
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: Your cover letter is your chance to shine! Use it to showcase your passion for quality excellence and how your background makes you the perfect fit for bridging design and manufacturing. Don’t forget to mention why you want to join us at StudySmarter!
Showcase Your Achievements: When detailing your experience, focus on specific achievements that demonstrate your ability to drive zero-defect product launches. Use metrics where possible to show the impact of your work – numbers speak volumes!
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply through our website for a smoother application process. It’s the best way for us to keep track of your application and ensure it gets the attention it deserves!
How to prepare for a job interview at MBDA
✨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 also implement them effectively.
✨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 quality management.
✨Emphasise Your Mentoring Experience
Since this role involves coaching teams, be ready to share instances where you've successfully mentored others. Discuss how you facilitated workshops or guided teams through quality principles, showcasing your ability to bridge gaps between design and production.
✨Prepare for Scenario-Based Questions
Expect questions that ask how you'd handle specific quality challenges. Think about potential scenarios related to risk mitigation and operational readiness, and prepare your thought process on how you'd approach these situations to ensure zero-defect product launches.