Head of Quality Assurance – Manufacturing – Series Production

Overview

In this role you will lead the Bolton Quality Assurance team to safeguard production quality across Series Production Programmes. You will collaborate with manufacturing and customer quality representatives to reduce risks and resolve line issues, driving continuous improvement and delivering the quality strategy. You shape the quality culture on the shop floor and across sites, ensuring robust assurance for industrialisation and programme milestones. This is a pivotal leadership role in a high-stakes defence environment with opportunities to influence outcomes at scale.

Pay / Benefits

• Bonus up to 30% of base salary
• Car allowance 300 per month
• Pension contributions up to 14% (employer + employee)
• Flexible working arrangements
• Enhanced parental leave up to 26 weeks
• Subsidised meals and free car parking

Responsibilities

• Deliver all QA activities for the Bolton manufacturing facility to reduce production quality risks
• Maintain customer relationships with Customer quality representatives to minimise programme impact
• Lead multi-functional teams to resolve production line issues using standard problem-solving tools (e.g., 8D)
• Drive improvement initiatives and sustain the quality culture within Manufacturing
• Manage assurance activities for industrialisation of manufacturing lines
• Identify and mitigate production risks via PFMEA, Control Plans, and Special Process validation
• Oversee non-conformance management aligned to business targets
• Provide coaching and line management to QA staff
• Provide consolidated risk view at BU/Function level for project milestones and mitigations
• Ensure FAI scheduling and execution per programme requirements
• Escalate key issues to Head of Operations & Head of Programmes Quality
• Support PRR and IVM, VMS gates with input quality status
• Drive continuous improvement and delivery of the quality strategy and risk assessments

Key requirements

• Degree educated preferred, or substantial experience in Quality Management
• Experience with QA problem solving methods (8D, Six Sigma, DMAIC)
• Proven track record leading change and continuous improvement
• Good understanding of sub-systems related to Weapon Defence Systems
• Experience in people management
• Excellent interpersonal skills with collaborative influence
• Highly self-motivated with persistence to deliver results
• Willingness to travel within the UK and internationally
• Based at Bolton with potential support at other MBDA sites

• Influencing others in a collaborative way
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Self-motivation and persistence
• QA problem solving methods (8D, Six Sigma, DMAIC)
• PFMEA and Control Plans
• Special Process validation

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