Principal Manufacturing Engineer Tooling

Fantastic challenges. Amazing opportunities.

GKN Aerospace is reimagining air travel : going further, faster and greener! Fuelled by great people whose expertise and creativity sets the standards in our industry, we’re inspired by the opportunities to innovate and break boundaries. We’re proud to play a part in protecting the world’s democracies. And we’re committed to putting sustainability at the centre of everything we do, opening up and protecting our planet. With over 16,000 employees across 33 manufacturing sites in 12 countries we serve over 90% of the world’s aircraft and engine manufacturers and achieved sales of £3.35 bn.in 2023. There are no limits to where you can take your career.

Job Summary

Together We Rise”

It’s great to know you’re making a difference to the future of aviation! Whatever part you play you’ll be helping us deliver operational excellence to our customers. GKN’s Global Technology Centre (GTC) in Filton, Bristol is a £32m state of the art technology research and manufacturing process development facility which is a hub for world-class innovative technology for the next generation of fuel-efficient aircraft. It includes a collaborative space for research and development with universities, the UK’s CATAPULT network and GKN Aerospace’s UK supply chain, to help strengthen aerospace technology and support the UK’s Industrial strategy

As Principal Manufacturing Engineer Tooling based at our GTC site in Bristol you'll provide technical expertise at a program level for operational and development Programs to enable and deliver zero defect projects utilising engineering and problem solving skills. You'll support and develop the tooling capability within the ME function across the defence business line locations and be accountable for delivering robust, capable manufacturing process and technology as it applies to tooling.

There is the requirement to be flexible with travel (within in the UK) when required to our sites in Isle of Wight, Luton and customers visits and occassional international travel. We offer hybrid working the opportunity to work from home up to two days per week dependent on the needs of the business.

Job Responsibilities

• Provide Site and program technical oversight for the development of tooling solutions to complex problems
• Technical lead on the implementation of tooling, from original concept through to production. Design this tooling for high degree of process capability utilizing the GKN standard Zero Defect Manufacturing (ZDM) tool suite to demonstrate as such.
• Support the definition of, and implement, the global process for tool fabrication quotes, tooling input for new product quotes, tooling configuration changes that involve cost estimation, schedule coordination, and implementation
• Build a community of tooling knowledge to develop best practice and “common approach” to tooling process and procedures.
• Lead the development of new tooling methods and standards
• Exemplifying a safety-first mind-set and ensuring compliance with the GKN Aerospace Health, Safety and Environmental policies and standards.
• Technical expertise at a site and program level in governance and deployment of tooling development and integration for production within GKN Aerospace.
• Breaks down technical problems, risk, opportunities, in the correct order to create products and add value to GKN Aerospace through creating Zero Defects
• Leads positive, team relationships with internal and external customers, as well as co-workers
• Continuously improve tooling function processes by leveraging knowledge across the business to drive improvement

What You'll Bring

To help us make a difference, you’ll bring your passion and talent for what you do along with the following skills, experience, qualifications and attributes :

Essential :

Desirable :

To be successful in this role the Principal Manufacturing Engineer Tooling will demonstrate leadership skills, awareness to drive to the right business goals in complex multisite environments. You will have the ability to influence people, build trust and establish effective working relationships within a global organisation. The successful candidate will understand context of large organisations and is able to adapt between longer term strategic goals and short term tactical deployments.

Note : Some GKN programmes are subject to regulatory restrictions which may impact certain nationalities. As part of the application process you will be asked to declare when applying for this role.

What We'll Offer

Once you’re on board you’ll get the following perks and benefits :

Join us and keep the world moving … click on the link below to apply

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We’ll offer you fantastic challenges and amazing opportunities. This is your chance to be part of an organisation that has proven itself to be at the cutting edge of our industry; and is committed to pushing the boundaries even further. And with some of the best training on offer in the industry, who knows how far you can go?

A Great Place to work needs a Great Way of Working

Everyone is welcome to apply to GKN. We believe that we can only achieve our ambitions through a coming together of diverse minds who enjoy collaborating in an inspirational environment. Through our commitment to diversity, inclusion and belonging and by living our five powerful principles we’ve created a culture where everyone feels welcome to contribute. It’s a culture that won us ‘The Best Workplace Culture Award’. By embracing and celebrating what makes us unique we encourage everyone to bring their full self to work.

We’re also committed to providing an accessible recruitment process, so if you require reasonable adjustments at any stage during our recruitment process please get in touch and let us know.

We are the place where human dreams, plus human endeavour, shape the future of aerospace innovation and technology. ​

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