Job Title
Senior Durability Testing Engineer
Ref #
59035
Date posted
Tuesday, May 26, 2026
Country
Spain
Location
Idiada
Business area
Product Development
Department
PD - VI - CAE - BDYV
Position level
5 - Supervisory / Professional​ - (L-16)
Working time
Full Time
Contract type
Permanent
Working pattern
9am - 6pm Monday to Friday
What to Expect
Lead and deliver durability testing activities to ensure robust vehicle and component performance, efficient test execution, and high technical quality. This role combines strong technical authority within durability testing, hands on test leadership, and contribution to durability strategy through execution excellence, driving continuous improvement and feeding durability learnings into product development.

 
ROLE DIMENSIONS & SCOPE
Reporting to the Durability Manager, the Senior Durability Testing Engineer will be based at the McLaren testing facility, within the IDIADA proving ground in Spain. The successful candidate will be an integral leading part of the Durability Team which defines, plans and executes system and vehicle level Durability Validation Testing.

What You'll Do
Team Leadership
- Be the Durability Testing Team Operational Leader - assisting with ROTA and workload management, test prioritisation, technical task allocation and testing equipment tracking & management.
- Drive lessons learned activities and promote the adoption of standardised methods and best practices.
- Mentor and technically develop junior- and qualified engineers and technicians, supporting capability growth within the team.
- Foster strong collaboration with vehicle engineering, CAE, quality, and test operations teams.

Test Strategy, Planning & Execution
- Manage detailed day to day durability test plan activities, including control plans and consumables/spares planning, aligned with available resources and facilities.
- Own execution of durability tests, ensuring adequate engineering coverage and safe, compliant operation.
- Monitor test execution against plan, proactively revising schedules and implementing contingency strategies as required.
- Be accountable for test readiness, execution quality, and timely completion of test programmes, delivering the component, system and vehicle durability test plans used to support durability sign off.

Data Analysis & Vehicle Assessment
- Monitor vehicle and component attribute degradation through:
- Analysis and comparison of objective and subjective control plan results
- Ensuring feedback from durability drivers is processed timely and correctly
- Analysis of acquired test and vehicle data
- Manage and execute planned objective and subjective inspections and checks.
- Report on accumulated fatigue using internal durability tracking tools.
- Diagnose durability issues and failure modes through data correlation and vehicle assessment.

Issue Resolution, Decision Making & Reporting
- Perform accurate, timely first level diagnosis of durability issues and failures, including structured reporting.
- Assess test results, identify risks, and make evidence based recommendations, including escalation where required.
- Lead the collaborative production of high quality documentation, including:
- Daily test status updates
- Ongoing performance and degradation analysis reports
- Final test reports with conclusions and engineering recommendations
- Lead the timely creation of concise and complete issue reports (QNs/QCRs) to the highest standard.

Continuous Improvement, Standards & Efficiency
- Lead continuous improvement initiatives within durability testing, improving test methods, test team KPIs and data quality.
- Optimise test efficiency by minimising vehicle downtime and overall testing cost through effective problem solving and strategic decision making.
- Contribute to the definition, maintenance, and evolution of durability test standards, methodologies, and validation strategies from a test operational PoV.
- Ensure testing activities comply with internal standards, safety requirements, and asset care expectations.

Product Development Interface & Knowledge Capture
- Act as a key durability representative within vehicle and component development programmes.
- Feed durability testing learnings into Durability Attribute Team, Design, CAE correlation, and future programme test requirements.
- Support capturing and formalising durability knowledge to support long term product robustness and organisational learning.

What You'll Bring
- Demonstrated experience leading or coordinating durability or test engineering teams.
- Significant experience within an automotive test and development environment.
- Degree in Automotive, Mechanical, or a related Engineering discipline (preferred).
- Strong understanding of complete vehicle systems and their durability behaviour.
- Experience in one or more of the following is desirable:
- Low volume, high performance vehicle programmes
- Whole vehicle development programmes from concept through series production
- Vehicle data acquisition, durability testing, and data analysis methodologies
- Proven ability to apply deep technical knowledge to:
- Evaluation of new technologies
- Development and validation of engineering designs
- Resolution of complex engineering and durability issues
- Proficient in Microsoft Office applications for reporting and data presentation.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.

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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