Principal Manufacturing Engineer

Overview

As Principal Manufacturing Engineer you will develop, improve and support Leonardo’s manufacturing processes and equipment to enable world-class production. You will plan and deliver your work across medium-term horizons while providing complex technical guidance to customers and mentoring others. Based in Edinburgh and primarily on-site, you’ll contribute to governance, risk management, and lifecycle planning to drive efficient, safe manufacturing. This is a chance to shape manufacturing capability within a global leader in sensor-based systems.

Pay / Benefits

• flexible leave up to 12 flexi-days per year
• pension scheme with up to 15% employer contribution
• mental health support and financial advice
• inclusion and diversity networks
• bonus scheme for eligible staff
• free access to 4,000+ online courses via Coursera and LinkedIn Learning

Responsibilities

• Develop and optimize manufacturing processes by studying product requirements and collaborating with operators and suppliers
• Lead Manufacturing Maturity Reviews and contribute to Manufacturing Plans within Lifecycle Management
• Review production schedules, labour and material costs, and forecast future needs
• Prepare and summarize product/process reports and trends for stakeholders
• Resolve complex production issues and bottlenecks on the shop floor
• Improve efficiency via capacity analysis, workflow planning, and equipment layout
• Review and contribute to manufacturing documentation including risk assessments and COSHH data
• Design and verify process capabilities and establish manufacturing standards
• Contribute to failure investigations using structured problem-solving (e.g., 8D)
• Maintain accurate routings, production and control plans, and electronic work instructions
• Identify and lead continuous improvement activities and skill development in Manufacturing Engineering
• Train and engage the manufacturing engineer community and promote best-practice sharing
• Support customer engagements and product roadmaps with domain expertise
• Ensure compliance with government regulations to preserve product and company reputation
• Prepare for government-safety clearances and related screening requirements

Key requirements

• Experience in developing and supporting manufacturing processes and equipment
• Ability to provide complex technical advice to internal and external customers
• Experience with governance processes, lifecycle management, and manufacturing plans
• Capability to analyze production schedules and costs and estimate future requirements
• Strong problem-solving and failure investigation skills (e.g., 8D)
• Knowledge of process validation/verification and risk assessment practices
• Experience with data governance for routings, plans and work instructions
• Ability to work onsite in Edinburgh and navigate security requirements

• cross-functional collaboration
• problem-solving
• excellent communication
• manufacturing process design and optimization
• capacity analysis and workflow planning
• simulation planning and layout optimization

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