Lead Engineer - Body-In-White

Job descriptionLead EngineerPermanent

 

When our founder Bruce McLaren passed away at the age of 32 he left behind a legacy that has shaped who we are today. We have an unrivalled heritage which has its roots in racing; but McLaren Automotive is now creating a story of its own and we want you to be a part of it.

 

For the next 6 years as part of McLaren’s Track 22 plan, we are looking to invest £1 billion into Research and Development, leading to the launch of 15 all-new cars or derivatives during this period.

 

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a driven individual to join our Body In White Engineering team as a Lead Engineer based in the McLaren Technology Centre, Woking.

 

Purpose of the role:

 

Representing Body In White department in McLaren’s Vehicle Line Series and supporting the Vehicle Line Principal or Manager in delivering programme objectives, KPIs and gateway milestones.

 

The Lead Engineer will report to the Body Panels Principal Engineer managing the programme specific engineering team to deliver the Body In White content, and be responsible for ensuring best practice engineering and lessons learned are being captured in the programme.

 

Principal accountabilities:

 

  • Specialising in lightweight aluminium and carbon composite body panels and closures, including dihedral door and hinge design.
  • Responsible for supporting nomination and leading the selected outsource engineering partner to deliver the programme.
  • Lead a cross-functional team to support a simultaneous engineering to releasing with a right first time (RFT) philosophy. Including external suppliers, quality, logistics, concept, vehicle development, purchasing and manufacturing engineers
  •  “Cradle to Grave” approach – leading all Body In White engineering activities from concept and feasibility, specification, design release, verification, and launch to collectively deliver the whole vehicle specification targets.
  • Responsible to deliver FE analysis at component level in support of design releases through management of in-house and external specialist resources.
  • Responsible for technical standardization of best practices in Body design, engineering and technology.
  • Responsible for conducting the programme Risk Assessment Tool (RAT) and ensuring the following documentation is maintained throughout the project:
    • DFMEA, Technical Specification, DVP
  • Responsible to ensure programme team, styling, and concept team have DFM, feasibility, and cost evaluation of concepts
  • Ensuring the following documentation is accurate and reported correctly to reflect the feature content of the vehicle:
    • PBS – Product Breakdown Structure (Pre G2 high level cost)
    • SAP BOM – Piece Cost
    • VTC – Investment
    • ROR – Risk and Opportunity
  • Responsible to release designs that meet the following targets through coordination of internal and external design resources:
    • Cost (Piece, Tooling, D&D)
    • Performance (As specified through the full vehicle attributes)
    • Timing
    • Feasibility (supporting in house manufacturing or assembly processes as well as supplied components)
  • Responsible for Problem Solving:
    • From problem avoidance at the early stages of new projects (Risk Assessments, FMEA, Lessons learnt)
    • Practical problem solving at prototype stage and in series production
  • Responsible for accurate reporting:
    • Bill Of Materials management (structuring, design change)
    • Weight management through correct management of the BOM
    • Costs (including spend forecast, risks and opportunities)
    • Project status reporting
  • Responsible for cost engineering of Body In White components:
    • Rapid and accurate cost estimation to support conceptual decisions
    • More detailed estimation to assure design releases meet cost targets
    • Continuous improvement of cost estimation techniques and abilities through market intelligence, T&M studies and value analysis.

 

Knowledge, skills & experience:

 

  • Engineering degree 2:1 or above
  • 5 years Experience of automotive programmes preferably in Body and low volume/high performance sports cars.
  • Specialist knowledge of Body manufacturing and material technologies:
    • Aluminium cold stamping and SPF process
    • Carbon Fibre composites (Pre-preg and RTM)
    • Fabrications and Castings
  • Knowledge of Panels, Closure systems, and FE Analysis
  • Understanding of DFMEA and its application in automotive environment
  • Knowledge of GD&T
  • Literacy in CATIA V5 or V6, CDM or VPM and DMU tools
  • Experience in problem solving
  • Demonstrable commercial acumen
  • Experience in project management

Personal attributes:

 

  • We are looking for an individual with outstanding passion for high performance sports cars and for carbon fibre composites design and engineering.
  • Well organised and delivery focused – with demonstrable track record of on-time delivery in a high pressure environment.
  • Adopts a creative & thoughtful approach to concept design and solving engineering problems with good attention to detail and an engaging mind, open to new problems outside their normal comfort zone.
  • An excellent communicator with the ability to lead and motivate teams

 

We recognise that we can only achieve our vision with the dedication and collaboration of our world class employees.  It is our aim to become the employer of choice within the global automotive industry.

 

At McLaren Automotive we are constantly looking to improve. To become the employer of choice we are always looking to develop our employee offerings. We currently offer a range of benefits to employees at all levels of the business including Private Healthcare, Contributory Pension Scheme, Life Assurance and Personal Lease Car Scheme. We also offer a range of discounts with our partner organisations.