Senior Test Engineer

Fantastic challenges. Amazing opportunities.

GKN Aerospace is reimagining air travel: going further, faster and greener! Fuelled by great people whose expertise and creativity sets the standards in our industry, we’re inspired by the opportunities to innovate and break boundaries. We’re proud to play a part in protecting the world’s democracies. And we’re committed to putting sustainability at the centre of everything we do, opening up and protecting our planet. With over 16,000 employees across 33 manufacturing sites in 12 countries we serve over 90% of the world’s aircraft and engine manufacturers and achieved sales of £3.35 bn.in 2023. There are no limits to where you can take your career.

Job Summary

It’s great to know you’re making a difference to the future of aviation! Whatever part you play you’ll be helping us deliver operational excellence to our customers. Based at our Luton manufacturing plant you’ll do just that. Established in 1993, GKN Aerospace in Luton is a world leader in commercial and military ice protection systems and transparencies. Offering a full range of capabilities; design, analysis, testing, certification and manufacture of electro-thermal ice protection, military fast jet canopies and flight deck windows to over 20 programmes including: Boeing 787, Dreamliner, Airbus A320, AgustaWestland, AW101, Eurofighter Typhoon and Lockheed, Martin F-22 Raptor. Our customers include Boeing, Airbus, Lockheed Martin, Bell Helicopters, Textron, BAE Systems, Pratt & Whitney, Leonardo. Our Luton site is home to 370+ employees and onsite facilities including onsite parking, food hub and vending machines.

The Luton Engineering & Technology team is focussed on developing product and manufacturing process technology related to aircraft ice protection systems, transparencies and coatings, and specialist structures for both civil and defence applications. We’re looking for a Senior Test Engineer with a strong non-metallic materials engineering background, to join our materials and test team to support the production and development of next generation composite aero structures, ice protection and transparency products.

The role as a Senior Test Engineer you will lead a small engineering team, supporting testing for production, research, qualification and validation of new and existing products. You shall technically support the Mechanical Test Lab, with queries, issue resolution and Material Review Board (MRB) decisions. The role will manage sustainment testing, goods in testing and develop the capability of the equipment and team within the function.

There will be occasional overnight travel required to support external testing. You will also support the work of the business to establish safe working practices and necessary level of documentation. You will be involved with projects from the planning / assembly / instrumentation / commissioning phase though to successfully performing and reporting the test. You will also be responsible for providing specialist support to existing programmes within your field of expertise, helping to resolve manufacturing issues and supporting continuous improvement efforts.

You will have a proven track record of leading and delivering technical work, with strong communication skills being confident working with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders, including non-technical audiences.

Core operational hours at our Luton site are: 07:30 - 16:30 Monday to Thursday & 07:30 - 12:30 Friday.

Job Responsibilities

Lead small engineering team, being responsible for day to day management of the Mechanical Test Lab Writing of test plans and reports Facility management, safety and 5S deployment Prepare, run and report out tests to customers, including tooling and hardware design and acquisition Drive operational improvements, including equipment and Capex proposals Lead technical decisions on test results and MRB queries. Manage material re-life and obsolescence testing Internal & external technical relationships with customers and suppliers Contribute to stakeholder management with internal/external customers, and you may lead management of supply chain partners in some cases. Active in creating a personal development plan linked to GKN's development roadmap and will be responsible for delivering on agreed objectives supported by your line manager. Ensure EHS policy and process adherence for your activities and contribute to a proactive EHS culture in the wider team. Management of area risk assessments to ensure everyone is able to work in a safe and responsible manner Contribute to the development of GKN as a 'great place to work', aligned with the core principles - safe, innovative, open & honest, care & respect, and ownership

What You'll Bring

To help us make a difference, you’ll bring your passion and talent for what you do along with the following skills, experience, qualifications and attributes:

Essential:

A relevant, accredited Engineering /Physics / Materials based degree Knowledge and experience of non-metallic material science, characterisation and testing techniques. Ability to lead a team within a testing environment Accommodating to short notice change in work priorities Good interpersonal and communication skills Logical and methodical approach to problem-solving. Strong self-starter, enthusiastic, results-driven, customer focused, and consistently delivers to high standards.

Desirable:

A higher degree qualification such as a Masters, PhD or EngD Ability to plan work through formal project management processes, including scheduling and budgeting and lead a team to ensure successful delivery of required outcomes. You will have an awareness of industry certification requirements.

As Senior Test Engineer you'll have a broad interest in Aerospace engineering with a high level of understanding in non-metallic material technologies & testing and characterisation techniques. You should want to develop and lead people in a technical environment and able to adapt to changing priorities to meet business priorities handling multiple enquires at once. Technical experience of working or managing within a laboratory environment would be required to be able to effectively lead a team of highly skilled engineers.

Your proactive nature will enable you to understand and adapt to new technology areas quickly. Your good communication skills shall enable you to confidently engage with a wide variety of internal and external stakeholders, including operations and other business functions.

The successful candidate should be adaptable in their approach to work, and be willing to understudy other team members in their areas of expertise to ensure business testing priorities are met. As a Senior Test Engineer, the candidate will be naturally curious and seek to increase/deepen their own technical knowledge through study, collaborative working, hypothesis testing and experimentation.

Note: Some GKN programmes are subject to regulatory restrictions which may impact certain nationalities. As part of the application process you will be asked to declare when applying for this role.

The position requires UK National Security Vetting (UKNSV) Security clearance (SC) due to the nature and responsibilities of the work carried out.

What We'll Offer

Once you’re on board you’ll get the following perks and benefits:• Competitive salary dependent on experience• The opportunity to earn up to 15% bonus• Industry Leading Pension Scheme = we’ll match your contributions up to 8% on a 1 : 1.5 basis• Life Assurance 8 x salary• 185 hours holiday + bank holidays• Income protection• Shopping discounts• Cycle To Work Scheme• Employee Assistance Programme• Virtual GP Clinic for you and immediate family• Free onsite parking • Local gym discount • 50% off local travel card • Free airport Dart• Free airport parking • Discount with local nursery and preschool childcare setting • Enhanced family friendly leave• A collaborative, dynamic working environment

As well as a competitive package we’ll offer you a world of opportunity. We want to see your career fly! We’ll support your career progression by providing you with learning and development opportunities. That’s the beauty of being part of a global business, once you’re on board you never know where you career journey may take you!

Join us and keep the world moving … click on the link below to apply

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We’ll offer you fantastic challenges and amazing opportunities. This is your chance to be part of an organisation that has proven itself to be at the cutting edge of our industry; and is committed to pushing the boundaries even further. And with some of the best training on offer in the industry, who knows how far you can go?

A Great Place to work needs a Great Way of Working

Everyone is welcome to apply to GKN. We believe that we can only achieve our ambitions through a coming together of diverse minds who enjoy collaborating in an inspirational environment. Through our commitment to diversity, inclusion and belonging and by living our five powerful principles we’ve created a culture where everyone feels welcome to contribute. It’s a culture that won us ‘The Best Workplace Culture Award’. By embracing and celebrating what makes us unique we encourage everyone to bring their full self to work.

We’re also committed to providing an accessible recruitment process, so if you require reasonable adjustments at any stage during our recruitment process please get in touch and let us know.

We are the place where human dreams, plus human endeavour, shape the future of aerospace innovation and technology. ​​