Senior Manufacturing Engineer

Thales is a global technology leader with more than 83,000 employees on five continents. With over 7,500 people in the UK, operating across defence, space, aerospace, and digital security, we help build a future we can all trust. Thales supports the security and stability of our nation by providing extraordinary technology to our customers, as well as delivering social value to the UK with our products and services.

Senior Manufacturing Engineer

(internally known as Senior Industrial Process Engineer)
Location: Crawley, full-time (5 days/ week) onsite
If you’re ready to shape how cutting‑edge products are built and want real influence in a high‑impact engineering environment, we’d love to hear from you!
What the role has to offer

• End‑to‑end influence: Ownership from late‑stage industrialisation through to steady‑state production, shaping how new products are manufactured

• High‑impact environment: Work within a multidisciplinary industrial engineering function (IPEs, Architects, Cost Engineers) on complex, high‑reliability defence products

• Continuous improvement & innovation focus: Opportunity to embed Industry 4.0, lean methodologies, and advanced manufacturing practices across the shopfloor

Our Opportunity
 

Reporting to the Manufacturing Engineering Manager and working within the Industrial Engineering function, this role leads the late stages of industrialisation and supports the production of released products while driving continuous improvement. As a Senior Industrial Process Engineer, you will deliver the industrial capability for new products, support existing ones, and lead MRL 6–8 activities, ensuring compliance with MRL, APQP and safety standards. You’ll optimise shopfloor processes through data‑driven improvements, contribute to earlier industrialisation phases, identify Industry 4.0 opportunities, and mentor the wider IPE team.

We’re looking for someone with proven industrial engineering, manufacturing or NPI experience, strong lean and DFM/DFA capability, and the communication and influencing skills needed to work effectively across teams and drive delivery. This role offers the chance to work on highly technical, low‑volume products across four business areas, providing both depth and variety in a cutting‑edge engineering environment.

If you’re an experienced manufacturing or industrial engineering professional who thrives on solving complex problems, shaping how products are built, and driving real improvements on the shopfloor, this is a role where you can make a genuine impact and grow your career.

Building a Future, we can all trust.
Thales relies on our skilled talent in Manufacturing, Supply Chain Management, LEAN, and Logistics to deliver our products and services to existing and new customers all over the world. From production of credit cards, drivers licenses, and passports to maintenance, repair and operations activities on electrical and mechanical equipment coming out of commercial aircrafts, this robust job family is a launching pad to develop your technical and behavioural skills to prepare you for future career growth. 
Industrial Process Engineering plays a pivotal role in bringing new products to life - guiding them from the Bid Phase, through Design, into full Production, and then supporting them throughout their operational lifecycle. It’s a discipline where innovation meets practicality: designing the tooling, processes, skills and technologies that ensure every product, component and repair is delivered efficiently, reliably and to the highest quality standards.
The function brings together Industrial Process Engineers, Senior IPEs, Industrial Architects and Cost Engineers, forming a collaborative team that shapes how products are industrialised and manufactured. From early concept through to steady‑state production, the team ensures solutions are robust, competitive and economically manufacturable, applying ‘Design for Manufacture’ and ‘Design to Cost’ principles while working within the capabilities of the organisation and its wider supply chain.
What we offer you
We offer a competitive salary and benefits package designed to support our employees’ wellbeing and professional growth, which includes:

• Annual bonus (VCP)

• Pension – match like-for-like up to 7% of annual base salary

• Life Assurance – 2 x base salary minimum (8 x salary if part of the pension scheme)

• Income Protection – 50% of salary less state benefits for 5 years

• Annual Leave – 201 hours, bank holidays, plus 1 company day

• Private Medical Insurance - Couples cover

• 4 day working week – 9.25 hours per day

• 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme

• 24 hours paid leave for volunteering activities

• Access to flexible benefits and discounts – dental insurance, buying & selling annual leave, cycle to work, and many more

Key Responsibilities and Tasks

• Lead and own the late‑stage industrialisation process (MRL 6–8), ensuring products are ready for full‑scale manufacture

• Support earlier industrialisation phases in collaboration with the Industrial Architect

• Set best‑practice standards and provide technical leadership across the Industrial Engineering team

• Provide ongoing IPE support for production post‑launch (MRL 8+), resolving issues and optimising flow

• Drive continuous improvement through VSM, 5S, TPM, PFMEA, control plans, and InCIght methodologies

• Develop and optimise production processes, including BOMs, routings, MES routes, ERP setup, and MI creation

• Ensure compliance with all health, safety, environmental and regulatory requirements across manufacturing processes

• Identify and implement Industry 4.0 opportunities to enhance capability, efficiency, and data‑driven decision‑making

About You
At Thales, we are committed to equal opportunities and welcome all talented individuals to consider joining our team. So even if you don't match every statement below but feel you have some of the experience, knowledge or skills needed for this role, we encourage you to apply. It will take all of us working together to deliver solutions to the world’s most critical challenges.

• Proven relevant experience in a similar role and/or transferable skills

• Background in industrial engineering, manufacturing engineering or process engineering

• Experience of establishing new products into an industrial manufacturing environment

• HNC or HND in a relevant discipline, an engineering apprenticeship, and/ or equivalent proven experience

• Strong understanding of lean principles and continuous improvement

• Skilled in Design for Manufacture (DFM) and Design for Assembly (DFA)

• Proven ability to convey information clearly, confidently and appropriately to different audiences

• Demonstrated experience of working across departments, building strong relationships and ensuring alignment

• Proven presence, credibility and the ability to influence decisions and stakeholders constructively

• Experienced in presenting data, updates and recommendations in a structured, concise and easily understood manner

• Proven structured reasoning and sound judgement abilities

• Experienced in driving progress for both team and project objectives, ensuring milestones are met

Join us as a Senior Industrial Process Engineer to shape new product industrialisation, drive continuous improvement, and build your career in manufacturing engineering!

UKEO (UK Eyes Only)
Due to the nature of the work that we do at Thales, many of our roles are subject to security restrictions.  This role requires you to be a UK National and achieve Security Clearance (SC) without any caveats. It would be advantageous if currently held, however, if not currently held, it is a requirement that the successful applicant undergo, achieve, and maintain SC Clearance prior to commencing employment.  If approved by the MOD, a dual national from a non-ITAR country may be considered. 

Please visit the UKSV website for further guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-security-vetting-clearance-levels/national-security-vetting-clearance-levels.

To be eligible for full SC, you generally need to have resided in the UK for the last 5 years.  In some circumstances, a minimum of 3 years’ residence in the UK over the last 5 years may be accepted, with additional overseas checks.

#LI-AH1

At Thales, we ensure equal opportunities, pay and working conditions for all. The benefits we offer include private medical insurance, buying or selling annual leave, cycle to work schemes, employee discounts, paid volunteering day, stocks and shares, annual bonus and much more depending on the role. Read more about our benefits here.

We are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued for who they are and the unique strengths they bring. Discover more about our programmes, employee networks, wellbeing policies, and inclusive features here.

If this role isn’t quite right for you, we encourage you to join our talent community where your details will be shared with our recruitment teams for other potential opportunities. Join the Talent Community here.

Join Thales in the UK – Innovate with us and shape the future!