Head of Production & Manufacturing Engineering

Head of Production & Manufacturing Engineering

Department: Production Engineering

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: Bembridge

Description

• Employment type: Permanent
• Salary: £55,000 - £70,000
• Standard Hours: Flexible start / 40 hours per week
• Location: Bembridge, Isle of Wight

The Production & Manufacturing Engineering Manager is responsible for leading production engineering and manufacturing engineering activities in support of Britten-Norman's aircraft manufacturing and modification operations. The role ensures safe, compliant, efficient, and high quality manufacturing processes across aircraft assembly, structures, systems installation, and component manufacture. It combines ; hands on engineering leadership with team management to support production delivery, continuous improvement, and regulatory compliance within a low volume, high complexity aerospace environment.

Key Responsibilities Leadership & Management

• Lead, mentor, and develop Production Engineering and Manufacturing Engineering teams
• Set engineering priorities aligned with production schedules, aircraft delivery milestones, and business objectives.
• Allocate engineering resources to support assembly lines, modification programmes, and NPI activity.
• Promote a culture of safety, compliance, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Production & Operations Support

• tributed day to day engineering support to aircraft assembly, systems installation, and modification activities.
• Resolve production issues impacting safety, quality, cost, or delivery, ensuring robust root cause analysis and corrective action.
• Optimize production planning by improving workflow, line balance, and capacity utilisation.
• Monitor and improve key metrics such as delivery performance, labour efficiency, and schedule adherence.

Manufacturing & Production Engineering

• Develop, maintain, and optimise manufacturing processes, routings, tooling, and work instructions for aircraft and components.
• Support New Product Introduction (NPI), aircraft variants, design changes, and industrialisation activities.
• Ensure manufacturing documentation is compliant with Part 21, Part 145 (where applicable), and internal procedures.
• Drive standardisation and best practice across production and engineering functions.

Continuous Improvement & Cost Control

• Lead continuous improvement initiatives appropriate to low volume aerospace manufacturing (Lean, Kaizen, problem solving)
• Reduce rework, non conformances, and manufacturing waste while maintaining airworthiness and quality standards.
• Identify opportunities to improve build efficiency, flow, and cost without compromising compliance or safety саб.
• Support capital investment cases for tooling, fixtures, and equipment.

Tooling, Equipment & Automation

• Oversee the specification, design, and गर्दछ introduction of jigs, fixtures, and manufacturing aids for aircraft production.
• Work closely with Maintenance and Facilities to ensure equipment availability and safe operation.
• Support selective automation and digital manufacturing solutions where they add value in a high mix environment.

Quality, Safety & Regulatory Compliance

• Ensure manufacturing processes meet Britten Norman quality standards and regulatory requirements.
• Work closely with );