Production Quality Manager

Job Description Summary
Our Quality Engineering team serves as the critical link between design, manufacturing, and customer delivery. We go beyond traditional inspection, embedding quality into every stage of the product lifecycle to build enduring confidence with customers and stakeholders. Through a proactive, prevention-focused mindset and data-driven decision-making, we strengthen capability, reduce risk, and deliver measurable operational and business improvements while maintaining the highest standards of safety, reliability, and performance.
Please note you MUST be a UK passport holder due to National Security

Job Description

As the Production Quality Manager at our Rugby site, you will be a visible leader on the shop floor, taking ownership of product quality across our manufacturing operations. Working closely with production teams, you'll make critical quality decisions, resolve issues at source, and ensure the right balance between quality, delivery, and customer requirements.

Supporting low-volume, highly specialised manufacturing for the defence, aerospace, and heavy industrial sectors, you'll drive a culture of accountability, problem-solving, and continuous improvement, ensuring products are built right first time. As a key member of the site leadership team, you'll strengthen operational performance and help shape the future of our manufacturing capability.

Management & Leadership:

• Maintain a daily, proactive presence on the shop floor to monitor performance and identify process risks before they affect delivery
• Review legacy processes to drive the adoption of modern, effective methodologies.
• Provide daily leadership to the quality teams setting clear objectives and development plans.
• Maintain rigorous performance management standards to ensure alignment with manufacturing and quality goals.

• Chair daily quality governance meetings and hold authority over GO/NO-GO decisions.
• Monitor the RMR Quality Dashboard to identify trends, manage risks, and report performance to the leadership team.
• Drive measurable improvements in customer and internal escapes, Product COPQ, inspection backlogs, audit completion, and production recovery activities.

• Define risk-based inspection strategies and lead production quality readiness activities, including FAT and pre-FAT milestones.
• Establish expectations for reliability engineering and analytical methodologies, including FMEA, DFMEA, FTA, and structured problem-solving approaches such as 8D and DMAIC.

• Act as the primary technical point of contact for customer quality requirements, ensuring expectations are understood and achieved.
• Lead Lean Quality initiatives and chair weekly Root Cause Analysis (RCA) reviews to drive sustainable corrective and preventive actions.

• Data-Driven Quality: Experience leveraging digital quality systems, performance analytics, dashboards, and ERP platforms such as SAP to drive informed decision-making and operational excellence
• Champion Visual Management, Kaizen activities, and lessons learned programmes to strengthen manufacturing robustness, quality performance, and operational efficiency.

• Professional Expertise: A degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, or a Quality-related discipline (or equivalent professional experience) with a proven track record in manufacturing quality leadership.
• Team Leadership: The ability to coach and develop talent across diverse engineering teams
• Quality Transformation: Demonstrated success in leading quality transformation, moving beyond traditional inspection to embed quality at the source through modern, digital quality systems.
• Technical Skills: Advanced expertise in Root Cause Analysis (RCA), CAPA, ISO 9001, Lean manufacturing principles, and KPI management.
• Operational Influence: Experience influencing manufacturing strategy and driving operational excellence within high-compliance environments.
• You must hold a UK passport for Security Clearance (SC) as UK EYES ONLY rules apply along with a full UK driving licence.

• Advanced Quality Methodologies: Working knowledge of APQP, PPAP, PFMEA, Control Plans, and statistical quality tools, including SPC and MSA.
• Continuous Improvement Expertise: Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt certification, or equivalent experience in driving operational and quality improvement initiatives.
• Industry Experience: Experience within rotating electrical machines, heavy engineering, power generation, aerospace, defence, or other complex manufacturing environments.