No restraints. No limitations. We don’t simply push boundaries. We completely rethink them. McLaren Automotive exists to create breath-taking performance road cars.
With innovation at the core of all we do, every challenge starts with the same question. How can we do it better? This restless spirit runs right through McLaren Automotive. And the search for perfection is evident in everything we do.
As a Perceived Quality Lead Engineer within Product Quality, you will engage at the very front end of the conceptual design process and play an integral role within the project team as the lead Product Quality representative, to influence the design as well as product to support the business and product quality targets. You will be responsible for creating targets, specifications, and designs of components to achieve the attribute targets on several future vehicle projects. These sensory attributes are a collection of subjective and objective factors which have an influence on the customer’s perception of the overall Perceived Quality of the vehicle, with respect to its intended purpose and benchmark competitors. The Perceived Quality Lead Engineer reports to the Head of Product Quality Standards. The individual will not receive direct supervision and is ultimately accountable for leading cross functional team to achieve the Product Quality targets.
The collation and understanding of current product issues sourced from both internal departmental systems and external field sensors is central to this role to ensure continuous product improvement. This is a challenging area with responsibilities ranging from functional resource management, project gateways, initial product target setting, engineering release sign off all the way through to vehicle launch.
The role relies upon excellent interpersonal and communication skills with a key attribute being the ability to challenge, persuade, convince, and guide with assertion, while building important relationships at all levels both internally and externally across the business.
Product Quality Standard coordination:
As the sole representative of Perceived Quality at each project specific meeting, it will be your responsibility to ensure that the PQ targets are deployed and understood by each business unit area with any activities affecting them. It is also key to ensure that customer quality aspects are considered throughout, and the right decisions are made based with the quality targets in mind.
Achieving all project gateway milestones is key to the successful delivery of all new products. Therefore, you will be required to coordinate the completion of all revenant Perceived Quality MDP deliverables for the ongoing programmes.
Perceived Quality coordination:
Perceived Quality (PQ) is a collection of subjective and objective factors which have an influence on the customer’s perception of the overall worth of the vehicle, with respect to its intended purpose and benchmark competitors. The PQ team finds and delivers design and engineering solutions for Perceived Quality factors on future vehicle programmes.
Work closely with the Perceived Quality specialist to ensure all targets and aspects of PQ are deployed to the programme team and evaluate the product and process design capability against critical quality targets for major vehicle systems, expose and manage virtual problems at an early stage of product development and communicate to the business, thus finding optimal design solutions. Coordinate the accuracy and consistency between the PQ targets for ongoing programmes.
Implement a climate of best-practice and continuous improvement in PQ procedures and solutions. This includes evolving or refreshing all current Design Guides, PQ documents, and McLaren standards.
Oversee and coordinate the PQ processes and Standards in the McLaren Standard Library.
Communicate the principles of PQ to the McLaren engineering community to encourage adherence. Effectively communicate concerns to senior management for concept/business decisions.
Create Perceived Quality Virtual Audit schedule for CAS and CAD releases.
Co-ordinate lessons-learned activities at the successful completion of each engineering sign-off milestone.
As an integral part of the Product Quality Standards team, involvement begins at the front end of the conceptual design process, working cross-functionally to evaluate the product and process design capability against critical quality targets for major vehicle systems. It is also in your direct responsibility to provide an integrated link between design intent, quality target expectation and engineering drawing / quality control plan definition to ensure robust design capability and effective communication. Coordinate the MPA (McLaren Production Audit), fault resolution tracker to ensure the project has clear direction on all quality issues and feedback into the engineering community any design driven concerns.
You will need to be degree-qualified in a relevant Engineering discipline, Product Design or Consumer Science. This role requires in-depth specialist knowledge of one of these fields. Awards received during study or work will be influential. You should be able to demonstrate design (aesthetic) empathy through work experience or personal projects. You will require exceptionally good MS Office Skills Knowledge. CATIA CAD software or Alias/ICEMSurf CAS software is not necessary but would be a benefit. Your knowledge of the English language must be good (at least European C1 level).
You will join a close-knit and supportive team of talented people from diverse backgrounds, who will guide and support you in your journey to become a perceived quality specialist. We will actively seek to develop you and promote your career. The opportunities in McLaren for a person in this role are many. Beyond that, we are a company which invests in potential, and you will equally be judged on the following personal characteristics:
• Analytically intelligent, thinks fast on your feet, naturally creative and questioning.
• Presentable, self-confident, and affable.
• Motivated, driven, is positive.
• Curious, resilient, acts with integrity.
• Clear thought and an organised mind, with attention to detail.
At McLaren Automotive we offer a competitive salary with bonus, and a range of benefits to employees at all levels of the business including Private Healthcare, Contributory Pension Scheme, Life Assurance, and a Personal Lease Car Scheme. We have an extensive range of award-winning courses to assist your development, and we are active promoters of female careers in industry.