Senior Quality Engineer

Location: North West England

Industry: Aerospace Manufacturing

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Senior Quality Engineer to join a leading aerospace manufacturing business. This is an excellent opportunity for a quality professional with a strong aerospace background to play a key leadership role within a fast-paced sheet metal and assembly environment. As part of the management team, you will lead a team of Quality Engineers, driving quality performance, continuous improvement, and compliance across the business. You will be responsible for ensuring quality standards are maintained while supporting operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. The successful candidate will demonstrate strong leadership, sound technical knowledge, excellent decision-making skills, and the ability to manage changing priorities in a dynamic manufacturing environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Leadership
  • Lead, mentor and develop the Quality Engineering team.
  • Allocate workloads and manage team priorities to meet business requirements.
  • Represent the Quality function at internal and external meetings.
  • Promote a positive, collaborative, and high-performing team culture.
  • Support the ongoing development of team capability through coaching and training.
• Quality
  • Maintain a thorough understanding of aerospace quality standards and integrated management systems.
  • Ensure compliance with internal procedures, customer requirements, and industry regulations.
  • Drive proactive quality improvement initiatives to reduce defects and improve performance.
  • Support non-conformance investigations and corrective actions.
  • Participate in Material Review Board (MRB) activities when required.
  • Lead regular quality performance reviews and ensure accurate reporting of key quality metrics.
• Continuous Improvement
  • Lead and support continuous improvement initiatives across the business.
  • Analyse quality data to identify trends and improvement opportunities.
  • Support root cause analysis and implementation of effective corrective and preventive actions.
  • Promote best practice and a culture of operational excellence.
• Health & Safety
  • Promote a strong safety-first culture throughout the department.
  • Ensure compliance with health and safety legislation and company procedures.
  • Identify and report unsafe practices and recommend improvements.
  • Lead by example in maintaining safe working standards.
• Operational Support
  • Work closely with production and operational teams to ensure customer requirements are achieved.
  • Support planning activities by ensuring adequate quality engineering resource is available.
  • Contribute to achieving delivery, quality and cost objectives.
  • Develop an understanding of manufacturing systems to support quality and cost improvement initiatives.
• Environmental & Workplace Standards
  • Support compliance with environmental management standards, including ISO 14001.
  • Identify opportunities to reduce waste and improve sustainability.
  • Maintain high workplace organisation standards through 5S principles.
  • Ensure company policies and procedures are consistently applied.

About You

You will have:

• Proven experience in a Senior Quality Engineer or Quality Engineering leadership role.
• Previous experience within the aerospace manufacturing sector.
• Strong knowledge of aerospace quality standards, quality management systems, and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Experience leading investigations into quality issues and implementing corrective actions.
• Excellent leadership, communication and organisational skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving ability.
• A proactive approach with the confidence to make informed decisions.
• Good IT skills and experience using manufacturing or ERP/MRP systems.
• A flexible, hands-on approach within a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

What's on Offer

• Competitive salary.
• Generous annual leave entitlement.
• Comprehensive employee benefits package, including retail discounts.
• Free on-site parking.
• Discounted gym membership.
• Cycle to Work scheme.
• Ongoing training and professional development.
• Excellent career progression opportunities within a growing aerospace manufacturing business.