Job Title
Process Engineer – Composites Manufacturing
Ref #
58970
Date posted
Wednesday, April 22, 2026
Country
United Kingdom
Location
Sheffield
Business area
Sheffield
Department
Sheffield
Position level
5
Working time
Full Time
Contract type
Permanent
Working pattern
8:30am - 5:30pm Monday to Friday
Salary
N/A
What to Expect

The Composites Process Engineer plays a central role in the development, validation, and industrialisation of new composite manufacturing processes within the MCTC process engineering team. This position is focused on taking emerging process concepts from early-stage development through structured programme gateways and into robust, repeatable production. 

The role is critical in ensuring that new manufacturing technologies and methodologies are successfully matured, proven, and delivered into production environments, meeting requirements for quality, cost, performance, and rate. 

What You'll Do

Process Development & Industrialisation 

Lead the development of new composite manufacturing processes, including material systems, tooling concepts & forming methods. 

Define and execute process development plans, progressing technologies through feasibility, prototyping, and validation stages. 

Drive process maturation through programme gateways (e.g. concept → prototype → pre-production → production), ensuring clear deliverables, risk reduction, and readiness at each stage. 

Translate early-stage concepts into scalable, production-ready processes with defined parameters, tolerances, and controls. 

Design for Manufacture (DFM) & Cross-Functional Integration 

Lead Design for Manufacture (DFM) activities, ensuring component designs are optimised for composite manufacturing processes from the outset. 

Work closely with design and engineering teams to influence geometry, tolerances, material selection, and jointing strategies in line with process capability. 

Provide early-stage manufacturing input during concept and design reviews, identifying risks and driving design changes to enable efficient, cost-effective production. 

Act as the key interface between design, materials, and manufacturing, ensuring alignment and avoiding late-stage redesign or production issues. 

Trialling & Validation 

Plan and deliver structured trials, DOEs (design of experiment) , and validation activities to characterise process capability and performance. 

Analyse trial data to establish process windows, understand sensitivities, and de-risk manufacturing routes. 

Work closely with design, materials, and manufacturing teams to ensure design-for-manufacture alignment during development. 

Support pilot builds and pre-production runs, ensuring processes are stable and repeatable before production release. 

Production Readiness & Launch Support 

Own the handover of new processes into production, ensuring all documentation, training, and controls are in place. 

Define standard operating procedures, control plans, and key process parameters to ensure consistent production performance. 

Provide technical support during initial production ramp-up, resolving early-life issues and embedding process stability. 

Continuous Improvement & Optimisation 

Identify opportunities to refine and evolve both new and existing processes, improving efficiency, cost, and quality. 

Contribute to the ongoing technology roadmap, feeding lessons learned back into future process development activities. 

Collaboration & Technical Leadership 

Work cross-functionally with design, materials, quality, and production teams to ensure seamless integration of new processes. 

Act as a technical authority for composites processing, supporting decision-making throughout programme delivery. 

Communicate progress, risks, and outcomes clearly to stakeholders at key programme milestones. 

What You'll Bring

  • Background in engineering or relevant hands-on experience in manufacturing  

  • Experience or understanding of composite materials and manufacturing processes  

  • Exposure to developing and trialling manufacturing processes (e.g. prototyping, validation, or production support)  

  • Ability to work with engineering drawings, CAD data, and technical specifications  

  • Experience collaborating with design and cross-functional teams, with awareness of Design for Manufacture principles  

  • Problem-solving mindset, with the ability to identify issues and support practical solutions  

What We'll Do for You

We offer a wide – ranging benefits package, which includes:

  • Structured career development framework
  • 25 days’ holiday, plus bank holiday. Annual buy & sell up to five days
  • Enhanced company pension scheme
  • Discretionary annual bonus award
  • Private medical insurance and health cash plan
  • Life assurance benefit
  • Ability to apply for a sabbatical of up to one year after only two years’ service
  • Benefits you can adapt to your lifestyle, such as discounted shopping
  • Generous parental leave policies
  • A range of wellbeing initiatives, such as employee assistance programme and free financial & mortgage advice
Who Are We?

No restraints. No limitations. We don’t simply push boundaries. We completely rethink them. McLaren Automotive exists to create breath-taking performance road cars.

It takes a community to do what we do. A diverse group of people with many areas of expertise, united by their passion to deliver visionary products and set new benchmarks. 

McLaren Automotive commits to equal opportunity for all. Diversity, Equality and Inclusion is at the heart of our impact, it drives our innovation and enables us to truly create something special. Join us on our journey. 

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