Description
We are seeking a hands-on Quality Manager to lead day-to-day quality management and assurance within our Swindon manufacturing operation.
You will help establish robust, clearly defined and controlled manufacturing processes that meet AS9100 requirements and support safe, repeatable delivery of conforming product.
Working closely with Manufacturing Engineering, Production, Supply Chain, Design Engineering and the wider UK QSHE team, you will translate requirements into effective shop-floor controls, objective evidence and sustainable improvement.
The role combines management-system ownership with practical production support, including First Article Inspection Reports (FAIRs), nonconformance control, root-cause analysis and Kaizen-based improvement.
Responsibilities
- Lead the implementation, maintenance and continual improvement of the Quality Management System within the Swindon manufacturing environment, aligned with AS9100 and ISO 9001.
- Define, map and improve manufacturing and quality processes, including clear ownership, inputs, outputs, controls, measures, risks, records and interfaces.
- Plan, coordinate, review and approve First Article Inspection activity and FAIRs in accordance with AS9102 and applicable customer requirements.
- Embed quality planning into new product introduction, production readiness, transfer of work and changes to product or process.
- Establish effective inspection, verification, acceptance and release controls, ensuring objective evidence is complete, accurate and traceable.
- Lead the control of nonconforming outputs, including containment, review, disposition, escalation and prevention of unintended use or delivery.
- Drive corrective action using structured root-cause methods such as 5 Whys, Ishikawa and 8D, including verification of action effectiveness.
- Lead practical Kaizen and continual-improvement activity to reduce defects, variation, rework, waste and process inefficiency.
- Plan and conduct process, product and QMS audits, and support customer, regulatory and certification-body audits.
- Support control of monitoring and measuring resources, product identification and traceability, preservation, configuration and change control.
- Work with Supplier Quality and Supply Chain teams to resolve supplier-related nonconformities and protect production continuity.
Requirements
- Strong quality-management experience in an Aerospace, Defence or similarly regulated manufacturing environment.
- Practical working knowledge of AS9100 and ISO 9001, with experience applying requirements within production.
- Demonstrable experience preparing, reviewing or approving FAIRs and applying AS9102 requirements.
- Experience defining and deploying manufacturing or business processes, including process mapping, control plans, measures and documented information.
- Proven ability to lead nonconformance, root-cause and corrective-action activity through to effective closure.
- Experience leading Kaizen, Lean or other structured continual-improvement activity in a manufacturing setting.
- Good understanding of production quality controls such as inspection planning, traceability, configuration control, calibration, preservation and release.
- Confident communicator who can work constructively across production, engineering, supply chain and leadership teams.
- Comfortable balancing immediate shop-floor priorities with longer-term system development and certification-readiness activity.
Benefits
- Highly competitive salary with a discretionary annual bonus
- Company pension contribution match of up to 10%
- 25 days annual leave plus Bank Holidays
- Private Medical Insurance (with optional family cover)
- Private Dental care
- Employee Assistance Programme
- Flexible hybrid working model
- Access to a bespoke rewards platform featuring a variety of high street discounts and salary sacrifice schemes