Quality Improvement & Capability Manager
CV-LibraryBoltonpermanentPosted: 7 May 2026
Apply NowBolton
Reporting directly to our UK Head of Excellence, you'll act as a strategic architect for product integrityacross our engineering and manufacturing functions. This is a high-visibility role for amentor who can bridge the gapbetween design intent and world-class production, ensuring mission-critical technology is "designed for excellence" long before it reaches the shop floor!
Salary: Circa £60,000 depending on experience
Dynamic (hybrid) working: 3 days per week on-site due to workload classification
Security Clearance: British Citizen or a Dual UK national with British citizenship.
Restrictions and/or limitations relating to nationality and/or rights to work may apply. As a minimum and after offer stage, all successful candidates will need to undergo HMG Basic Personnel Security Standard checks (BPSS), which are managed by the MBDA Personnel Security Team.
What we can offer you:
Company Bonus: Bonus of up to 21% of base salary
Pension: maximum total (employer and employee) contribution of up to 14%
Flexible working: We welcome applicants who are looking for flexible working arrangements
Enhanced parental leave: offers up to 26 weeks for maternity, adoption and shared parental leave -enhancements are available for paternity leave, neonatal leave and fertility testing and treatments
Facilities: Fantastic site facilities including subsidised meals, free car parking and much more...
Healthcare Cash Plan: The Healthcare Cash Plan benefit provides the option to claim cash back on everyday healthcare expenses such as optical, dental, health and wellbeing and more .
Private Medical Insurance: Eligible employees are enrolled as standard into the company funded Private Medical Insurance benefit.The opportunity:
Operating within theQuality Excellence function, you will lead the shift toward a proactive, "right-first-time" culture. We are looking for a coach and facilitator to tackle sophisticated challenges, usingFMEA and DMAICmethodologies to empower our teams and ensure zero-defect excellence across our entire product portfolio. It's a genuinely exciting chance for a determined individual to drive real change while pursuing their own career growth.
We are seeking a time-served Quality professional to bridge the gap between product design and world-class manufacturing. You will own the Product Risk Mitigation strategy-utilising DFMEA to 'design out' failures, PFMEAs/Control Plans toensureoperational excellence, and DMAIC cycles todrivecontinuous improvement in production yields. Your goal is simple: zero-defect product launches built on a foundation of proactive quality and robust process controls.
Day to day focus:
Risk Mitigation:Support the quality and engineering functions through APQP toolsets. Facilitate workshops and coach teams onDFMEA and PFMEAbest practices (based on relevant standards and industry best practices) to ensure risks are identified and "designed out" early in the project lifecycle.
Design to Production Link:Guide the transfer of "Special Characteristics" and Severity ratings from design intent into practicalControl Plans. Partner with manufacturing to ensure that risks identified in FMEAs are managed with realistic measurement methods and robustcontrol plans, ensuring operational readinessfor the production team.
Process Stability & Coaching:Support continuous improvement by mentoring teams throughDMAIC cyclesto stabilise production and improve yields. Support others to use data to monitor performance and reduce variation from the launch phase throughout the entire product lifecycle.
Problem Solving & Lessons Learned:Lead and coach theRoot Cause Analysisprocess when quality issues arise. You will ensure that teams know how to feed findings back into theirFMEAs and Control Plans, maintaining them as "living documents" that prevent the recurrence of failures.
Standards & Audit Support:Act as the subject matter expert for risk-related audits, ensuring our risk management meetsEN9100 / ISO 9001standards. Utilise Action Priority logic to help the team prioritise engineering changes and validation testing for high-risk items.What we're looking for from you:
Professional Experience:5+ years in a mission critical, regulated environment (Defence, Aerospace, or Automotive). Experience inleading teams and mentoring staff on quality principles is essential.
Technical Background:An engineering background (HNC/HND or higher) with expertise inelectronics, manufacturing and design.
Standards: Excellent knowledge ofEN9100 / ISO 9001. Competent in theAIAG & VDA FMEA HandbookorSAE J1739methodologies.
Product Risk:Proven track record in managing product risk throughDFMEA, DFx (Design for Excellence), PFMEA,and the development of robustControl Plans.
Problem-Solving & Tools:Highly Proficient in Root Cause Analysis (8D, 5-Why) and experience usingFMEA software(e.g., APIS IQ-FMEA, Relyence, or similar).
Lean Six Sigma, Certified Black Belt:A proactive approach - the ability to identify and mitigate risks early to prevent field failures. Experience withDMAICcycles is preferred.
Influencing & Facilitation:A strong influencer and skilled facilitator, bridging the gap between design and shop-floor teams through coaching and mentoring to drive a "Quality First" culture.Our company: Peace is not a given, Freedom is not a given, Sovereignty is not a given
MBDA is a leading defence organisation. We are proud of the role we play in supporting the Armed Forces who protect our nations. We partner with governments to work together towards a common goal, defending our freedom.
We are proud of our employee-led networks, examples include: Gender Equality, Pride, Menopause Matters, Parents and Carers, Armed Forces, Ethnic Diversity, Neurodiversity, Disability and more...
We recognise that everyone is unique, and we encourage you to speak to us should you require any advice, support or adjustments throughout our recruitment process.
Follow us on LinkedIn (MBDA), X (@MBDA_UK), Instagram (MBDA_UK) and Glassdoor or visit our MBDA Careers website for more information.
#LI-CT1
Reporting directly to our UK Head of Excellence, you'll act as a strategic architect for product integrityacross our engineering and manufacturing functions. This is a high-visibility role for amentor who can bridge the gapbetween design intent and world-class production, ensuring mission-critical technology is "designed for excellence" long before it reaches the shop floor!
Salary: Circa £60,000 depending on experience
Dynamic (hybrid) working: 3 days per week on-site due to workload classification
Security Clearance: British Citizen or a Dual UK national with British citizenship.
Restrictions and/or limitations relating to nationality and/or rights to work may apply. As a minimum and after offer stage, all successful candidates will need to undergo HMG Basic Personnel Security Standard checks (BPSS), which are managed by the MBDA Personnel Security Team.
What we can offer you:
Company Bonus: Bonus of up to 21% of base salary
Pension: maximum total (employer and employee) contribution of up to 14%
Flexible working: We welcome applicants who are looking for flexible working arrangements
Enhanced parental leave: offers up to 26 weeks for maternity, adoption and shared parental leave -enhancements are available for paternity leave, neonatal leave and fertility testing and treatments
Facilities: Fantastic site facilities including subsidised meals, free car parking and much more...
Healthcare Cash Plan: The Healthcare Cash Plan benefit provides the option to claim cash back on everyday healthcare expenses such as optical, dental, health and wellbeing and more .
Private Medical Insurance: Eligible employees are enrolled as standard into the company funded Private Medical Insurance benefit.The opportunity:
Operating within theQuality Excellence function, you will lead the shift toward a proactive, "right-first-time" culture. We are looking for a coach and facilitator to tackle sophisticated challenges, usingFMEA and DMAICmethodologies to empower our teams and ensure zero-defect excellence across our entire product portfolio. It's a genuinely exciting chance for a determined individual to drive real change while pursuing their own career growth.
We are seeking a time-served Quality professional to bridge the gap between product design and world-class manufacturing. You will own the Product Risk Mitigation strategy-utilising DFMEA to 'design out' failures, PFMEAs/Control Plans toensureoperational excellence, and DMAIC cycles todrivecontinuous improvement in production yields. Your goal is simple: zero-defect product launches built on a foundation of proactive quality and robust process controls.
Day to day focus:
Risk Mitigation:Support the quality and engineering functions through APQP toolsets. Facilitate workshops and coach teams onDFMEA and PFMEAbest practices (based on relevant standards and industry best practices) to ensure risks are identified and "designed out" early in the project lifecycle.
Design to Production Link:Guide the transfer of "Special Characteristics" and Severity ratings from design intent into practicalControl Plans. Partner with manufacturing to ensure that risks identified in FMEAs are managed with realistic measurement methods and robustcontrol plans, ensuring operational readinessfor the production team.
Process Stability & Coaching:Support continuous improvement by mentoring teams throughDMAIC cyclesto stabilise production and improve yields. Support others to use data to monitor performance and reduce variation from the launch phase throughout the entire product lifecycle.
Problem Solving & Lessons Learned:Lead and coach theRoot Cause Analysisprocess when quality issues arise. You will ensure that teams know how to feed findings back into theirFMEAs and Control Plans, maintaining them as "living documents" that prevent the recurrence of failures.
Standards & Audit Support:Act as the subject matter expert for risk-related audits, ensuring our risk management meetsEN9100 / ISO 9001standards. Utilise Action Priority logic to help the team prioritise engineering changes and validation testing for high-risk items.What we're looking for from you:
Professional Experience:5+ years in a mission critical, regulated environment (Defence, Aerospace, or Automotive). Experience inleading teams and mentoring staff on quality principles is essential.
Technical Background:An engineering background (HNC/HND or higher) with expertise inelectronics, manufacturing and design.
Standards: Excellent knowledge ofEN9100 / ISO 9001. Competent in theAIAG & VDA FMEA HandbookorSAE J1739methodologies.
Product Risk:Proven track record in managing product risk throughDFMEA, DFx (Design for Excellence), PFMEA,and the development of robustControl Plans.
Problem-Solving & Tools:Highly Proficient in Root Cause Analysis (8D, 5-Why) and experience usingFMEA software(e.g., APIS IQ-FMEA, Relyence, or similar).
Lean Six Sigma, Certified Black Belt:A proactive approach - the ability to identify and mitigate risks early to prevent field failures. Experience withDMAICcycles is preferred.
Influencing & Facilitation:A strong influencer and skilled facilitator, bridging the gap between design and shop-floor teams through coaching and mentoring to drive a "Quality First" culture.Our company: Peace is not a given, Freedom is not a given, Sovereignty is not a given
MBDA is a leading defence organisation. We are proud of the role we play in supporting the Armed Forces who protect our nations. We partner with governments to work together towards a common goal, defending our freedom.
We are proud of our employee-led networks, examples include: Gender Equality, Pride, Menopause Matters, Parents and Carers, Armed Forces, Ethnic Diversity, Neurodiversity, Disability and more...
We recognise that everyone is unique, and we encourage you to speak to us should you require any advice, support or adjustments throughout our recruitment process.
Follow us on LinkedIn (MBDA), X (@MBDA_UK), Instagram (MBDA_UK) and Glassdoor or visit our MBDA Careers website for more information.
#LI-CT1